You may know that Fleer entered the basketball card world with the classic 1961-62 Fleer basketball set. It features the Wilt Chamberlain rookie card, the Jerry West rookie card, and the Oscar Robertson rookie card.
You may not know that their second set was released 10 years later and featured an iconic American franchise: The Harlem Globetrotters!
There were two different sets produced between 1971 and 1972. First was a 84 card set released in traditional wax packs. Each box contained 24 packs. Those .10c packs had eight cards, one sticker, and one piece of delicious gum.
Fleer also released a special promotional tie in set with Cocoa Puffs Cereal. Four card packs were included in specially marked packages of Cocoa Puffs and gave collectors the opportunity to build a 28 card set with a slightly different design than the traditional release. The cocoa puffs cards included a facsimile autograph on the single player cards and a Cocoa Puffs logo on the back.
The standard 1971-72 Fleer Harlem Globetrotters card back is on the left and the Cocoa Puffs card is on the right.
The Globetrotters date back to 1926, and while they are now known for being a exhibition team focusing on pranks and trick shots, they have had some very competitive teams in their history. In 1948 and 1949, they beat the NBA champion Minneapolis Lakers, Wilt Chamberlain was a member of the team in the late 50s, and Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins joined the team for four seasons in the 1960s.
This 1971-72 set featured stars like Curly Neal and Meadowlark Lemon. Singles can be found on Sportlots, COMC, and eBay starting at $1-$2. Complete 84 card sets typically sell for over $100 and the 28 card Cocoa Puffs set is similar in price despite having fewer cards.
Checklists from TCDB
1971-72 Fleer Globetrotters Bobby Hunter #74
1971-72 Fleer Globetrotters Gus Ausbie #23