I Bought This Only Because Of His Name

Tax refund season is fantastic. It's like found money when you get a return and I always treat myself to a little something with a portion of my refund when I receive one. This year I picked up six cards from work. My boss recently purchased a complete set of 1961-62 Fleer Basketball. The entire set was BVG graded and I nabbed a couple cards for myself in the process.

The least valuable card I bought is today's subject. I genuinely bought this because I've always liked Sihugo Green's name. That and he played for the Chicago Packers which seems sacrilegious to think a Chicago team would name itself the Packers. Oh, and the fact it cost essentially nothing didn't hurt either. I'm currently researching him as I type this and just learned he was the first overall pick in the 1956 NBA Draft ahead of some guy named Bill Russell.

I'm also just learning Russell was actually drafted by the St. Louis Hawks before immediately being dealt to Boston. The Hawks became the Atlanta Hawks, and trading Bill Russell seems entirely like a Hawks thing to do.

Let's get back to Sihugo. He missed his second season while serving in the Army. His number is retired by the University of Duquesne and he helped lead them to the 1955 NIT title, a tournament more prestigious at that time than the NCAA tourney. Green went on to manage a linen company.