I’m excited to continue through this ten-card subset from the 1993 Action Packed Hall of Fame set. We’re up to #7, New York Knicks legend Senator Bill Bradley. Every once in a while, there’s an out-of-the-ordinary detail where you least expect it. Here, in what should be boring biographical info, we see “1965 (Territorial)” where his Draft information should be. We have two things to cover with this basketball card. We’ll talk about the territorial draft, and, while we learn a bit about Bradley, try to guess who Action Packed chose as his competitive matchup. 1993 Action Packed Hall of Fame is unusual in that it begins with a subset, ten cards called “One on One.” This subset pairs up players that Action Packed considered great matchups and rivalries and we’ve really seen some great pairs. First was Walt Frazier and Jerry West, a great pair because they actually met in the Finals three times. We had Dave Bing and Earl Monroe. Cards #5 and #6 were two powerful centers, Willis Reed and Dave Cowens. So who did they choose as the rival for Bill Bradley? First clue, it is another forward.
This card reminds us that Bradley was a scoring machine in college. It mentions his 30.2 ppg at Princeton, but just a note, he averaged over 30 points per game as a freshman as well! It mentions his NCAA tournament record-setting performance of 177 points in five games. It mentions his Final Four record of 58 points versus Wichita State. Of course he would be drafted early. This brings us back to the 1965 Draft, the last Draft featuring Territorial picks. A team could forfeit a first-round selection and draft a player within a 50-mile radius of its home arena. The Knicks chose Bill Bradley as their Territorial Pick before the draft began. The idea was to build local support for pro teams by drafting strong college players that might already have a fan base.
Bradley didn’t begin with the Knicks until 1967, choosing instead to study at Oxford and play ball in Italy. Comparing these two is good food for thought. With the Knicks, Bradley won championships in 1970 and 1973. Here’s the next clue about who Action Packed chose as his matchup: He was playing against Bradley in the 1970 NBA Finals. The same Finals as cards #1 and #2 in this set! Two pairs from this same series! This really narrows it down…Los Angeles Lakers, forward, 1970…Bradley’s pair is Elgin Baylor! The pairs of players in this “One on One” subset have the same color of subset logo. Bradley and Baylor have this purple which frankly, doesn’t really go well with the card.
If you’re not familiar with this 1993 Action Packed set, 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. Bill Bradley was 1982. 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.
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