1956 - 1958 Celtics Team-signed Photo & Basketball
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APPRAISER:
Team-signed Celtics photo, team-signed Celtics basketball. How did you get them?
GUEST:
Well, they came into the family through my husband's side of the family. His grandfather worked for the I.R.S., and he did taxes, and he met Red Auerbach, and they became very good friends. And he used to do Red's taxes every year. And then when the first grandchild was born, which was my husband, Red had given these things to the grandfather.
APPRAISER:
Red Auerbach is one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time. Hall of Famer who was the Celtics coach from 1950 to 1966. But as or even more importantly, he also served to diversify the NBA in the '50s and the '60s, which was a critical junction...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...of civil rights in this country.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
After Red joined the Celtics in 1950, he drafted Chuck Cooper, who was the first African American player to be drafted into the NBA.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
He adds to the team Bob Cousy, probably the most dynamic player in the NBA. And he also added Bill Sharman, who, together with Cousy, became one of the great backcourt duos in the NBA. Well, instantly the record turned around. They started getting into the playoffs every year, season after season, but they would choke in the playoffs. Well, now we fast-forward to 1956. Red just wanted to win, and he wanted the best players possible on the court. He was able to trade two players for Bill Russell. And Bill Russell was the toughest player on the court. He could rebound, he could pass, he was unselfish, and he led the team in playing tenacious defense, and that became their new identity under Red Auerbach. That's when they won their first championship.
GUEST:
Oh, wow.
APPRAISER:
This photo is the birth of the Celtics dynasty. But Auerbach was really the architect of that.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
So this photo is '56-'57. This ball was signed '57-'58.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And the next years, heading up to 1966, when Auerbach retired as head coach, he won nine championships with the Celtics.
GUEST:
Mm.
APPRAISER:
So we're talking about how he diversified, too, the NBA. In 1964, he had the first all-Black starting lineup. '66, Red retires after a phenomenal, phenomenal career. Who does he name his head coach for the Celtics? Bill Russell. Bill Russell became the first Black head coach in the NBA. Generally, at the top of the hierarchy in sports memorabilia are going to be game-used pieces, but signed pieces have a very strong demand. In an auction, I'd put each one of these at $10,000 to $15,000.
GUEST:
No. You're kidding-- Each of them, separately? Oh, my gosh.
APPRAISER:
If I were going to insure them, I would not insure them for any less than $50,000 for the pair.
GUEST:
Wow. (laughing): That's a big surprise. That will be a big surprise to my husband, too, when he finds out. Yeah. Very nice, but definitely a shock.
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