Here is a rare opportunity to obtain a piece of sports history that incorporates Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Rick Barry all in one incredible document! Transport yourself back a half century to Cincinnati, Ohio and settle in with the official scorekeeper to follow the famed Cincinnati Royals during the 1966-67 season. Offered here is the team’s only known official scorebook (1 of 1) presented with the blessings of the club’s official scorekeeper from that season - a remarkable, museum-worthy artifact that tracks the video-game numbers put up by 6'5" all-world point guard Oscar Robertson as he, the great 6'8" Jerry Lucas and the rest of the Royals tangled with legendary squads like Russell and Hondo's Boston Celtics, West and Baylor's L.A. Lakers, Wilt's Philadelphia 76ers (1967 NBA Champions) and several other stars now enshrined in Springfield, Mass.
The scorebook is in nothing short of sensational condition, essentially NM-MT overall, with roughly half of the scoresheets in the book filled in. Done in pencil in a remarkably meticulous hand, the 9-by-12-inch scorebook tells the story of all 42 Royals home games that season (40 regular season plus 2 post-season) at the Cincinnati Gardens, detailing practically every aspect of each game including points, field goal and free throw attempts and made, and fouls for each player (though not assists or rebounds), plus team scoring by quarters, running scores throughout the game and details about referees, total attendance, location and date. It’s simply a stunning look back from the courtside perch of the official scorekeeper, tracking every moment as the Royals’ brightest star and triple-double machine Oscar Robertson averaged 30.5 points, 10.7 assists and a rather modest (for him) 6.2 rebounds per game that season - the 6th time in his first 7 years in the NBA that "The Big O" eclipsed 30 points per game. His counterpart Jerry Lucas was a double-double machine in his own right at power forward averaging 17.8 points and 19.1 rebounds. The Royals finished the year 29-42 and were defeated in the first round of the playoffs by the eventual NBA Champion Philadelphia 76ers, led by Wilt the Stilt. Each of the Royals' home playoff games (both losses) are included; Wilt went for 37 points in Game 2 and 18 points in the elimination Game 4.
In addition to what Oscar did night after night, some of the memorable performances noted in the scorebook are: NBA sophomore Rick Barry's 57-point game in Warriors win (10/29/66); Barry's 50-point game on Christmas Day wasting Oscar's 38-point output (12/25/66); Elgin Baylor (40) and Jerry West (35) combining for 75 points in Lakers win (12/29/66); a young Willis Reed tallying 38 points in a 131-129 Knicks loss to the Royals behind Lucas' 35 and Oscar's 34 (11/2/66). Robertson's largest scoring game of the season came on Nov. 10, 1966 at Cincinnati Gardens when he put up 48 points in a thrilling 113-112 loss to the mighty Celtics - one of eight 40-point games for "The Big O" that year.
Comes with a Letter of Authenticity from the Royals' official scorekeeper from 1966-67. Also includes LOA from previous owner explaining that he got it directly from the Royals' official scorekeeper.