With this card, we’re completing the ten-card “One on One” subset from 1993 Action Packed Hall of Fame. The pairs of cards with the same color “One on One” logo represent dream matchups or rivalries. There was Walt Frazier and Jerry West on cards #1 and #2, who actually met in the Finals multiple times. We saw Bill Bradley and Elgin Baylor go “One on One” with cards #7 and 8. Now we’re adding card #10, Nate Thurmond. He makes a pair with the #9 Elvin Hayes, a card we looked at earlier. So to finish this subset, let’s place these players “One on One” against each other and see what we find.
Before viewing the back, we see a difference in how the position of power forward is indicated. Hayes is “F/C” and Thurmond is “C/F,” so Thurmond is more “center” and less “power forward.” Let’s go to the reverse and compare stats and records. Keep in mind that Hayes played two additional years and many more games (if you remember our video on this Elvin Hayes card, we learned that he only missed nine games in those sixteen seasons). But even factoring in the additional games played by Hayes, he’s still much more dominant in scoring, 27,313 points versus 14,437 for Thurmond. And with Hayes winning a championship and Thurmond without any, I think Hayes emerges victorious. But look closely at the rebounds. Thurmond actually beats Hayes on a per-game basis for rebounds. So this is why Action Packed paired these players! Cards 9 and 10 in the “One on One” subset, Elvin Hayes and Nate Thurmond, both legendary rebounders. Knowing this, let’s learn a bit more about Thurmond since we looked at Elvin Hayes closely in the last video.
He had the second-highest rebound total in a game in NCAA tournament history. Elvin Hayes was the NCAA leader in rebounds for the tournament with 222. There’s other amazing numbers for Thurmond! Eighteen rebounds in a quarter versus Baltimore in 1965 and 42 rebounds in a game against Detroit that same year! Only Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell did better. When this card was printed, he was 6th all-time, he’s now 11th. Elvin Hayes is still 4th by the way. We see he was “one of 7 players in NBA history to compile 14,000 points and 14,000 rebounds.” Although not on this card, Thurmond was the first player to record a quadruple-double in NBA history (22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists, 12 blocks). So although I think Hayes wins this “One on One” pairing, when it comes to rebounding and presence on the court, there’s no argument that Nate Thurmond is a legend!
Before we go, if you’re not familiar with this set, let’s talk about it a bit. It’s hard to find a better set for the price. The cards are a much higher quality than most early ’90’s cards. They have thick stock with these rounded corners distinctive of Action Packed. They’re embossed, the player is glossy against a matte finish on the background. Action Packed was trying to innovate here, and they even filed their own patent for the design seen in fine print on the back, “Pat. #315,364.” And, although not true vintage, the set is still full of great Hall-of-Famers and loaded with information. It’s really a must for collectors who enjoy delving into the history of the game. There are nice subsets dedicated to Larry Bird and Julius Erving as well. Since the set honors the 25th anniversary of the Hall of Fame (as displayed in the gold foil on the front), each card mentions when the player was inducted. Elvin Hayes was inducted in 1990. Really a neat set of cards for the history, and because it’s overlooked, complete sets can be found for under $20 if you look hard enough.
You must be logged in to post a comment.