Basketball legend Oscar Robertson’s personal collection of historic career memorabilia – headlined by his 1971 Milwaukee Bucks NBA championship ring – hockey great Guy Lafleur’s 1976-77 Hart Memorial Trophy and a circa 1941 Ted Williams game-worn cap highlight the Lelands 2018 Invitational Auction, which opened on Monday.
Over 1,000 lots are up for grabs in the company’s signature event, which is focused on high-end memorabilia and cards. Over one million vintage sports cards are among the listings along with a fur coat Joe Namath donned during his splashy days as a New York icon and a 1936 Jimmie Fox game-used H&B vault-marked bat.
The Big O Collection
In addition to the championship ring he earned with the Bucks, which quickly soared past $20,000 in the opening hours of the auction, numerous other valuable items from Robertson’s collection are being offered. Lots include game-worn jerseys from his playing days with the Bucks and at the University of Cincinnati, his Basketball Hall of Fame ring and Hall of Fame induction trophy, 11 of his NBA All-Star rings, his 1956 Indiana high school basketball championship ring and his 1958-59 College Player of the Year Award. Each of the 51 lots in his collection will include a letter of authenticity signed by Robertson.
“It gives me pleasure to share my memories with fans and collectors through items that I have kept over the years,” said Robertson, who was named as one of the five greatest players of all-time by the NBA and was the first player in history to average a triple-double for a season.
Modern and Vintage Baseball Memorabilia
The auction also boasts a 1959 Mickey Mantle All-Star game-used bat, Jackie Robinson’s 1951 LOOK magazine presentation watch, an 1871 Eagle Baseball Club Poster, Nellie Fox’s 1959 White Sox American League Championship ring, a pair of never-before-seen “Holy Grail” Carl Horner Imperial Cabinets of the 1903 White Sox and 1904 Red Sox, a circa 1927 Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig dual-signed baseball, an early 1920s Tris Speaker game-used and factory side-written bat, a 2014 Bryce Harper Nationals game-worn walk-off home run jersey and several Mike Trout game-used bats.
Baseball historians should appreciate a 1894 Temple Cup program – one of the finest baseball programs known to exist and the only known copy in private hands—and a Hy Sandham print from the same game. Other baseball items include a 1966 Pete Rose game-worn Reds jersey, 1919 World Series “Black Sox” tickets, a 1911 Maude Nelson girls baseball poster and a circa 1939 signed baseball with five original Baseball Hall of Fame inductees and Johnny Evers.
Vintage Cards
Heading up the vintage card section is a 1948-49 Leaf Satchel Paige graded PSA 7, numerous complete high-grade baseball sets including 1934 Goudey, 1939 and ’41 Play Ball, 1949 Bowman and two sets of 1951 Bowman. There is an improbable collection of 16 1954 Red Heart Mickey Mantle cards, all graded PSA 6, more T206 cards originating with hobby pioneer Charles Bray and huge lots of ungraded vintage cards that came from Lelands’ recent “hoarder” find.
Football Memorabilia, Game Worn Jerseys
In addition to the Namath fur coat, other football memorabilia up for auction include jerseys from Jack Ham, Brett Favre, Franco Harris (Pro Bowl) and Dermontti Dawson along with a 1902 inaugural Rose Bowl program and a contract signed by Jim Brown for the 1966 season, one he never played after his sudden retirement from the NFL.
Additional game jerseys in the auction include those once donned by Wayne Gretzky (from the “Ninety-Niners” traveling All-Star team), Pele (circa 1968), Rod Gilbert (Rangers), Havlicek (Ohio State), Jerry Lucas (Ohio State) and Bernard King (Nets).
Horse racing items in the sale include those associated with legendary thoroughbreds Secretariat, Seattle Slew and American Pharaoh.
The complete catalog is available online at Lelands.com. The auction runs through August 17.