CGC-graded Sports Illustrated Scores New Record for Price

A 1961 copy of Sports Illustrated that features basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain’s first cover appearance just set a record of its own. The magazine, authenticated and graded by Certified Guaranty Company® (CGC®), sold for the highest amount for any Sports Illustrated when it traded hands in a private sale.

The copy of Sports Illustrated #v15 #18 (October 30, 1961; Wilt Chamberlain and Frank McGuire cover) graded CGC 9.4 was reportedly sold for $60,000. The sale was announced on Twitter by Bobbyp29 Collectibles on April 25, 2023. A mere 13 examples of this edition are recorded in the CGC Census, with the next finest earning a grade of CGC 8.5.

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The sale comes just two months after a Sports Illustrated #v20 #15 (April 13, 1964; Sandy Koufax cover) graded CGC 9.8 set the record for that title at Heritage Auctions with a $32,400 price realized on February 26, 2023. Similar to the Chamberlain cover that just sold, the Koufax edition is one of only a dozen certified by CGC and is by far the finest graded.

Wilt Chamberlain began his pro career in 1959 with the Warriors, who moved from Philadelphia to San Francisco in 1962. He later played for the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers, before retiring in 1973. He was an NBA All Star 13 times and was part of two championship teams. He remains the only NBA player to score 4,000 points in a season and his record of 100 points in a game in March 1962 is widely considered unbreakable.

As of the magazine’s cover date, the Warriors’ 1961-62 season was five games old under new head coach Frank McGuire. The Warriors were edged by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals, and McGuire opted not to move west with the team the following season. He had only three losing seasons in his entire collegiate coaching career at St. John's, North Carolina and South Carolina. In 1957, he led North Carolina to a national title, and received National Coach of the Year Awards in 1952, 1957 and 1970.

Launched in 1954, Sports Illustrated is renowned for vividly chronicling rising stars, championship teams and other elements of sports history as it has happened over the past seven decades. Recent high-dollar Sports Illustrated sales include a Sports Illustrated #v55 #16 (October 12, 1981; Wayne Gretzky cover) graded CGC 9.4 that realized $30,000 in February 2022, and a Sports Illustrated #v4 #25 (June 18, 1956; Mickey Mantle cover) graded CGC 9.0 that realized $27,600 in August 2022.

Sports Illustrated was one of the first magazines for which CGC offered certification, grading and encapsulation when it launched the service in 2009. Today, certification is available for many popular magazine titles, including Newsweek, Time and TV Guide, as well as comic magazines such as Wizard, Vampirella and Marvel magazines. The encapsulation process employed by CGC ensures that magazines are secure and protected while providing optimal viewing through the crystal-clear holder.

CGC Magazines uses a 10-point grading scale and a tamper-evident holder made of heavy gauge archival plastic that is transparent. To learn more about CGC Magazines’ services, click here.