Basketball · REFERENCE ENTRY
Wilt Chamberlain
1961 · Fleer Basketball · #8
Chamberlain’s recognized Fleer rookie is the lower-numbered portrait issue.
- Sport
- Basketball
- Year / season
- 1961
- Set
- Fleer Basketball
- Number
- #8
- Format
- Card
- Issue status
- Rookie card
About this card
Wilt Chamberlain’s 1961 Fleer Basketball card is number 8 in that release. Fleer’s 1961-62 basketball set of 66 cards was one of the few NBA card sets of its decade, and it holds early cards of many Hall of Famers.
The catalog labels this a rookie card, based on the source cited below.
How to identify it
Fleer cards of this period show wear and miscuts clearly, and the most famous ones have been counterfeited, so compare the printing and the card back with a known example.
In Wilt Chamberlain’s run
This is the only Wilt Chamberlain entry in the catalog so far.
In the 1961 checklist
The catalog’s selected checklist for the 1961 Fleer Basketball release also includes Oscar Robertson and Jerry West. It is a partial checklist of cataloged cards, not the full release.
What to know about this issue
- This portrait card is distinct from the set’s separate In Action depiction.
- The 1961 Fleer release uses standard 2½ × 3½-inch cards.
Inspect the source
Source reviewed 2026-10-07. The source describes this issue; it does not verify any item offered by a third party.
No assigned grade, market value or verified offer is supplied by this reference entry.
Read the basketball collecting guideRaw or graded. Inspect the actual copy.
The issue stays 1961 · Fleer Basketball. These are research checks, not a condition assessment of a specimen.
Raw / ungraded
- Match the issue
- Match the full year or season, release, number and named edition to this reference. Ask for readable images of the actual item’s front and back.
- Record visible condition
- Inspect corners, edges, centering and surface in suitable photographs or in person. Record damage or unanswered questions without assigning a predicted professional grade.
- Keep authentication separate
- Ungraded does not establish authenticity or mean “never authenticated.” A protective case alone does not establish a professional condition grade.
Professionally graded
- Read the complete label
- Record the grading company, exact issue, card grade and any qualifiers or designation. Keep an autograph grade separate from the card’s condition grade. An authentication-only designation may have no numeric condition grade.
- Compare the certification record
- Use the company’s official lookup and compare its issue details and available images with the actual item, label and holder. A matching certification number alone does not establish that an offered item is genuine.
- Compare within the stated scale
- Retain the company’s exact grade name and number. Different companies and grade designations are not automatically equivalent; a numeric label does not establish a current price.
A source-linked reference or historical scan does not authenticate the card you are considering. CardRoster supplies no assigned grade, certification or price for it.