Before the Fleer — also tracked on this index — there was the Star. Issued by the Star Company in 1984-85, card #101 is the earliest widely collected card of Michael Jordan, printed during his rookie season, a full year ahead of the 1986 Fleer that most of the world knows as his rookie. For the collector who wants the true beginning, this is it.
Its status is the hobby's great debate, and that is part of its romance. Because Star cards were distributed in team sets rather than packs, the major grading bodies have historically declined to recognize #101 as Jordan's official "rookie card," ceding that title to the Fleer. Yet there is no arguing the chronology: this card came first, and it shows Jordan as a rookie. It occupies a singular place — the connoisseur's Jordan, the one that rewards knowing the story.
Not the famous rookie — the first one. The earliest card of the greatest player the game has seen.
It is also among the most demanding cards to own with confidence. The Star issues were widely and skillfully counterfeited, so provenance and authentication matter as much here as condition — a reputable grade is not a nicety but a necessity. A genuine, well-preserved #101 is a scarce and serious object, valued precisely because so few can be trusted and so few survive in top shape.
The 1986 Fleer is the icon. This is the artifact beneath it — the first card of Michael Jordan, prized by the collectors who care most about where the story actually starts.