A group of (4) college basketball coaching legends are presented here, pioneers and icons who are still impacting the game long after they have left the sidelines, best known for leading the iconic programs of Kentucky, UCLA, Indiana and Temple.
Not only are these autographs on individual index cards neatly encapsulated, but Adolph Rupp, Bob Knight and John Wooden have been deemed near perfect MINT 9's by PSA/DNA, with Harry Litwack's a strong NM-MT 8, for their unique and classic penmanship style.
We could write paragraphs about each coach and their Basketball Hall of Fame accomplishments and impact on the game, but we will touch on just a few brief highlights here, as if you need any convincing!
Adolph Rupp (D. 1977)-"The Baron of Basketball" and Kentucky's arena bears his name. 4 NCAA titles, 6 Final Fours.
Bob Knight-"The General" from Indiana University. 3 NCAA titles, 5 Final Fours, 1 NIT title.
John Wooden (D. 2010)-"The Wizard of Westwood" from UCLA. 10 NCAA titles, 12 Final Fours.
Harry Litwack (D. '1999)-Known as "Chief" of the Temple Owls. 2 Final Four appearances and 1 NIT title.
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!