1986 & 1987 Larry Bird Game-worn Sneakers
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APPRAISER:
When you brought these in today, I almost jumped out of my own
shoes. You bring us a pair of 1986 Converse Weapon shoes worn by Larry Bird in the '86 finals, and a pair that he wore in the '87 finals signed by him. How did you get these?
GUEST:
The 1986 shoes, um I got them at an auction from 2013.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
They were advertised as uh Larry Bird 1986 NBA Finals shoes, and they even came with a picture from game three of the finals. It started me looking at other photos from that series, and I was able to match them up to game three, game five, which is the Ralph Sampson fight, and then game six, the concluding game from the NBA Finals. According to the provenance, Larry donated them to a, to a charity auction at the conclusion of the 1986 NBA Finals.
APPRAISER:
And the '87 sneaks?
GUEST:
Those were actually advertised as Larry Bird-signed game shoes. They weren't documented to a particular season or series. But when I saw the scuffs on the shoes, I had such a fun time matching up those shoes, I said, "I bet I can match up these shoes," and then, after going through photos, I was able to match them up to uh game four from the 1987 NBA Finals. That's the one where Larry put the Celtics ahead at the end with a three-pointer, but then Magic Johnson scored the, scored the winning shot on the junior skyhook, and then I was able to further match them to game six of the, of the 1987 NBA Finals, and that's one where the, where the Lakers won the whole thing.
APPRAISER:
Yes, they did. So what made you decide to put on your Hardy Boys detective hat here to do this extra work?
GUEST:
I grew up in the Boston area. My mother used to take my brother and I to uh a small college outside of Boston to watch the Celtics practice.
APPRAISER:
Hellenic.
GUEST:
Hellenic College.
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
This is before the big sports craze. So it would really be my brother and I waiting in the parking lot and having the players show up. We were actually invited to go in and watch the Celtics practice a few times, and I actually got to go back to the locker room, too, and as a kid, standing in front of Larry Bird's locker, with a pile of shoes up to here, of course, I asked him for a pair, and the answer was no. But I had to wait 30-plus years to get a pair. But it was worth it.
APPRAISER:
When you're a little kid, how does Larry Bird look to you?
GUEST:
He looks, he looks like this, you know? You're really kind of looking up to him.
APPRAISER:
(laughs)
GUEST:
It's surprising how big he is.
APPRAISER:
Six-nine.
GUEST:
You lose... Six-nine-- you lose perspective on TV. He was a big deal back then to boys growing up in Boston.
APPRAISER:
He's not called Larry Legend for nothing. Larry came from French Lick, Indiana He resuscitated the Celtics. The Celtics back in 1979 were in a horrible slump. They'd gone 29-52, they were terrible. He turned them around in 1980. They had 61 wins and lost in the Eastern Conference Finals. And then the following year, they drafted McHale and they traded for Parish, got them in the door, and they won the NBA championship. Just two years removed from a horrendous record.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Bird, of course, was the finals' MVP. So now we fast-forward through
the 1980s. Not only did he resuscitate the Celtics, taking them to the finals again in '84, and '85, '86, '87, but he and Magic Johnson literally resuscitated the NBA. The NBA up until that point was showing the NBA Finals on tape delay at 11:30 at night. You couldn't find them. With these two, everyone all of a sudden wanted to watch Larry and Magic. And Larry was one of the greatest players ever. 12 time All-Star in 13 years. First ballot Hall-of-Famer. So value-wise, the sneaker market has gone
bonkers over the last couple of years. Now, a lot of times you hear on the ROADSHOW that we talk about condition, right? And it's about the better condition?
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPAISER: But not when it comes to game-used memorabilia. You want to be able to see the wear, you want to be able to, what you've done, match the wear on the shoes…
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
…to the actual photo, so you can see that they were used by that player. And your homework is going to do very well for you in value. What'd you pay for these?
GUEST:
I paid $5,000.
APPRAISER:
I would put a conservative auction estimate at $20,000 to $25,000 on these.
GUEST:
Oh. Oh, that's not $5,000. Oh, wow. Yeah, it's...
APPRAISER:
(laughs)
APPRAISER:
It's not $5,000.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
I'd insure them at least $40,000.
GUEST:
Hm.
APPRAISER:
How much did you pay for the Bird 1986 Finals-worn shoes?
GUEST:
I paid $14,000 for those.
APPRAISER:
These, because again, he wore them in the finals, they won. It's considered one of the greatest teams, his last MVP year. These, I'd put $50,000 to $75,000 on these.
GUEST:
(whispers): $75,000, wow. (aloud): Oh, I didn't expect that for those. I kn… I thought they were good, but I didn't... Oh. That's cool, okay. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
I'd put $150,000 for an insurance value.
GUEST:
Oof, wow. That's surprising to me Lee, I, I didn't think it was that much. Oh... Jeepers. (laughs)
APPRAISER:
Got some big shoes here to fill.
GUEST:
Yeah, big shoes to fill, right.
APPRAISER:
Thank you for bringing them in. Thank you for sharing the legend of Larry Bird up close and personally with us today.
GUEST:
Thanks for having me. Wow. Thank you.
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