This is the first card, of the last pair, in the ten-card subset known as “One on One,” card #9, Elvin Hayes. The pairs of cards with the same color “One on One” logo represent dream matchups or rivalries as determined by Action Packed. The set starts off with Walt Frazier and Jerry West, cards #1 and #2, two players who faced off against each other in the Finals multiple times. In our last video from this set, we compared Bill Bradley and Elgin Baylor, cards #7 and #8. Let’s take a look at this #9 Elvin Hayes and see how this final pair starts off. Spoiler alert, his pair is not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, although it probably should be. Hayes and Lew Alcindor, at the time, faced off in the first nationally televised regular season college game and Hayes limited Alcindor’s points. Hayes and Houston won and broke a 47-game win streak that the UCLA Bruins and Alcindor had going. The game was responsible for Hayes being named the Sporting News college basketball player of the year. There was an important rematch in the tournament that year and the Alcindor and the Bruins emerged victorious.
Elvin Hayes is the first “F/C,” otherwise known as a power forward, in this “One on One” subset. Hayes was a rock. Look at this statement on the back, “Paced NBA in mins 4 times and retired as all-time leader in mins and games played.” To this day, Hayes is still third all-time in minutes played with, amazing, exactly 50,000 on the dot. And he only missed nine games in his sixteen-year career. Hayes was also defined by his rebounding. He was the “All-Time NCAA Tournament leader with 222 rebs.” He “led NBA in rebs per game with 16.9 in 1969-70 and a career-high 18.1 in 1973-74.” Keep in mind that 1969-70 was only his second season. He set the NBA record for most offensive rebounds in an NBA Finals game with 11, a record that Dennis Rodman would tie twice. We also see he was fourth all-time in total rebounds on this card and he still holds the rank of fourth to this day. Really excited to do another comparison with the player Action Packed chose as his matchup, but that’s enough for now…
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.