"Finest basketball team that ever stepped out on a floor." - James Naismith
Most Canadians on the board probably know who the Edmonton Grads are there was quite a bit of talk about them the past few years after they were inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2017 and also had a Canadian Heritage Minute released around the same time. For those who don't know here's a video that will give a brief overview.
Also here's the full heritage moment.
From 1915 to 1940, the Edmonton Grads won an average 95% of their games. While the exact number of official games played by the team is uncertain—due to official record-keeping practices only beginning seriously after the Grads' Canadian Championship win in 1922—the total number is estimated to be 522 with only 20 losses.
In addition to dominating their sport in North America, the Grads also took on the best teams in Europe, ultimately defeating challengers in Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Berlin. The Grads swept four consecutive Olympic Games from 1924 to 1936, winning all 24 Olympic matches they played. This achievement was unrecognized on the medal podium, however, as women's basketball did not become an official Olympic sport until the 1976 summer games in Montreal.
The Grads disbanded in 1940 after the outbreak of the Second World War. At that time, the team held 108 local, provincial, national, and international titles and had been the undisputed world champions for 17 years in a row. Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, called the Grads the "finest basketball team that ever stepped out on a floor."
OK. So there's a bit of background - there's much much more - but that will suffice and give an overview.
Now on to the card. This card has been something of a grail of mine for years now. I had seen this particular copy sitting on ebay for a long while but was always determined to find a raw copy in the wild. Since 2014 i haven't seen a single one in the wild and i've been digging. I'll keep looking at this point it's become a bit of an obsession i don't wanna give up. That said Siakam cards flew through the roof (as many cards did) and i was able to turn, literally, $3 (Siakam purchase price) into this card. Now it's not only significant being the 1st Edmonton Grads card. It's also, undisputedly, the first Basketball card ever with a Photo of actual players. The T51 Murad Williams College is the first to show basketball - but it's a painting and no specific players are depicted. So here it is the highest graded copy out there and there are Only 6 cards graded. The set was released in packs of Chocolate in Canada in 1924 and was significant because it also contains Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb
1924 Willard Chocolate Edmonton Grads
Now as the say in infomercials - Wait there's more.
The following year another Chocolate company, Dominion Chocolates, released a similar set and it contained a Grads card as well so you know i had to grab that.
1925 Dominion Chocolates Edmonton Grads
Also in 1961 in Canada Wheaties did a Great Moments in Canadian Sports set that included the grads. Yup, got that too.
So i now have a copy of all three Grads cards in existence and couldn't be happier.
I've also gone down a bit of a rabbit hole and am starting to pick up other Grad related stuff like this Press photo of Coach Percy Page wearing the 1936 Olympic jacket.
And this clipping of the Cleveland Favorite Knits who are the US Champs the Grads beat to become world champs. Notice they no longer have "World Champs" on their shorts. The famously wore the "World Champs" shorts on their shorts until they were thoroughly turned out by The Grads.
I do have one regret in all of this. Years ago i had arranged to meet Kay MacBeth the last remaining member of the Grads. Unfortunately, she got too weak and passed away in June of 2017. She seems like she would have been an incredible person to chat with.
I think that is enough for now. Hope some of you enjoy this.
