Over 140 items from Julius Erving’s career sold for $3.5 million in SCP Auctions’ latest catalog. The auction was scheduled to close Saturday night but finally concluded after aggressive bidding in the extended period pushed into the early morning hours of Sunday. In all, the auction generated $6.5 million and featured several one-of-a-kind pieces of baseball memorabilia as well. Sixteen items sold for more than $100,000.
“This is the most incredible auction we have been a part of,” said David Kohler, president of SCP Auctions. “With such historic items, we were able to realize our best auction ever.
Five of the six highest selling items in the auction were from the Dr. J collection. Erving consigned his items to SCP earlier this year after saying most of it was in storage. Nearly every uniform and award from his career was turned over to the auction house.
Erving’s 1974 New Jersey Nets ABA championship ring sold for $460,471 after a rush of late bids, the highest price ever paid for an authentic sports championship ring. His 1983 76ers championship rings sold for $244,240; the 1983 All-Star game MVP trophy he received went for $115,242; his last game worn jersey from May 3, 1987 realized $88,826) and his 1974-75 ABA MVP trophy sold for $173,10. All prices included a 20% buyer’s premium.
What could be the last Yankee bat used by Lou Gehrig also drew intense interest after generating a lot of pre-sale online publicity. The winning bidder paid $403,664 for the bat, which was consigned by the estate of the well known actor Bing Russell.
Other highlights of the auction included the sales of a historic 1887 Mike “King” Kelly Banquet Program ($214,936), Muhammad Ali’s fight-worn trunks from the Ali vs. Frazier “Fight of the Century” ($173,102), Mickey Cochrane’s 1934 American League MVP trophy ($125,332) and a Ted Williams Boston Red Sox game-worn road jersey ($77,820).
Full auction results, inclusive of buyers premium, are available at www.scpauctions.com. Names of the winning bidders weren’t revealed.
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