1993 Action Packed Hall of Fame #13 Red Holzman, Coach

We now have three cards in the coaches subset of 1993 Action Packed Hall of Fame. There’s only six of them in this first series, so it takes a lot to make the cut. The first two were strong, so can that strength hold up? There was the Red Auerbach card, one of the best photos on a coach card. And then John Wooden, a man who basically never lost a game (just kidding…but really strong numbers there)! Now we encounter Red Holzman at card #13.

Although strong when printed, this card doesn’t hold up as well as the first two. Let’s start with the positives for us collectors. There’s some great trivia on this card, for example that the Knicks retired number 613 in his honor, representing his total wins with them. And this statement should raise red flags for basketball collectors, “Member of the 1946 NBL and 1951 NBA champion Royals.” When coaches used to play, it’s fun to find photos of them coaching and playing on basketball cards. But that’s hard to do for coaches that played during the creation of the NBA, unless they happened to appear in 1948 Bowman. Red Holzman is one of these with his 1948 Bowman #32 card. We covered this card and addressed this item already. But some of the milestones don’t stand as strongly anymore. “Retired as 2nd-winningest coach in NBA history,” lots of coaches above that today. “Ranks 7th” in NBA playoff wins, lots of coaches above that today. But the best season for the Knicks at 60-22, that still stands. Pat Riley tied it in ’92-93. “Registered five 50-win seasons with the Knicks,” many of those seasons still stand as the best Knicks seasons ever.

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