“Pistol Pete” Maravich’s transition from LSU college All-American to Atlanta Hawks NBA rookie was a hot topic in all the basketball preview publications at the time. Before Pete settled into his better known #44 with the Hawks, he briefly wore jersey #19.
Presented here is Pete in the rarely seen #19, on the dribble, floppy socks, adidas shoes and all, boldly signed “Pistol Pete” at the time in large black ballpoint.
This early Pete autograph has Beckett Authentication. Classic!
Provenance:
As documented in the story The Great Autograph Hunt from the February 5, 1974 Dayton (Ohio) Journal Herald, Jack Zimmerman and his grade school buddies Tim Gallagher and Vince Martin started collecting autographs of athletes through the mail, at games and at team hotels, primarily in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas. The boys were relentless in their pursuit of baseball, basketball and football players, obtaining the stars and "commons" of the day, plus "old timers" and "legends" that were coaches, broadcasters or responsive through the mail. Jack was locked in on collecting from about 1968 through 1975, until pursuit of his own basketball career took priority. Jack became an All-State high school player, then had a Hall of Fame career hooping at the University of Dayton, followed by several seasons as an overseas pro, including suiting up for the prestigious Maccabi Tel Aviv club. Jack's extensive collection was essentially put in a time capsule in 1976 and has literally followed him all over the world. We are proud to present selected treasures from Jack's collection in our Auction, fresh to the hobby and seeing the light of day for the first time in over 45 years!