Henry Finkel Basketball Card

This Henry Finkel basketball card is number 34 in a series of 99 that was manufactured by the Topps Company Inc. for the 1969-70 National Basketball Association season. The card is longer than standard cards, measuring 2½ by 4 ¾ inches. The front of the card features an orange oval inset surrounded by drawn figures playing basketball. Inside the inset is a posed picture of the Boston Celtics center. The card’s reverse features a small cartoon image illustrating the factoid that “Henry is a member of the NBA’s 7-Foot club!” as well as a short biography and career statistics. Hinkel played nine years in the NBA with the San Diego Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Boston Celtics with whom he won the NBA championship in 1974.

It is apparent Finkel is wearing his jersey backwards on this card, which looks strange compared to modern cards but was common in basketball cards until the early 1970s. It is believed that the player’s would forfeit their fee to the team if the team name appeared so many players wore their jerseys backwards, wore their warm-ups, or posed in such a way to obscure the team name.