Items from the collection of former coach Red Holzman have a new home in the collection of the world’s most famous New York Knicks fan.
Two-time Academy Award winner, director, producer, writer and actor Spike Lee enhanced his collection by purchasing 13 of the 35 items consigned by Holzman’s family in the SCP Auctions Summer sale.
Among the prized catches by Lee was the game-used net from the Knicks’ first championship in 1970 for which he paid $69,184 and Holzman’s 1970 NBA Coach of the Year Trophy, which sold for $31,517.
Lee was a 13-year-old growing up in Brooklyn when an injured Willis Reed famously hobbled onto the court in time to help the Knicks beat the Lakers in Game 7.
“I remember being at that game on May 8, 1970,” Lee said in a statement. “It was a memory I will never forget. Willis Reed coming back and the Garden went nuts. It was a very special moment in Knicks history.”
Lee’s NBA fandom is well known. He appeared as Mars Blackmon in the famous Nike TV ads with Michael Jordan, traded barbs with Reggie Miller from his courtside seats and even wrote the backs of some basketball cards in the 1990s.
Holzman’s family consigned 35 items from his life and career to the auction. Combined, they sold for a total of $319,341, including the buyer’s premium. Holzman’s 1970 NBA championship ring was the top seller at $107,482. The Hall of Fame coach died in 1998 and the items had been in the possession of his daughter Gail and her husband, Charles.
A complete listing of items sold is available at www.scpauctions.com. The company’s 2019 Fall Premier Auction is scheduled for November 27 – December 14.
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