The Big O’s list of career accomplishments is never-ending. To begin, Oscar Robertson led his segregated, all-black high school to the 1955 Indiana State Championship, then was named Indiana’s “Mr. Basketball” the following season. He attended the University of Cincinnati, winning the national scoring title each year he played for the Bearcats, set 14 NCAA records, and was named College Player of the Year in each of his three varsity seasons (1958-60). Then, just before turning pro, Robertson won a gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics as co-captain of Team USA. His NBA career was just as spectacular, earning Rookie of the Year in 1961 followed by league MVP honors in 1964. The 12-time All-Star led the NBA in assists six times and, alongside a young Lew Alcindor, led the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA Championship in 1971. When time came to pick the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, the Big O was front and center. Like Michael Jordan did decades later, Oscar Robertson revolutionized the way basketball was played. Off the court, he fought against racism and led an anti-trust lawsuit against the NBA that culminated in extensive reform of the draft and free agency rules.
The culmination of Robertson’s career was his election to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980. To commemorate the milestone, Robertson was presented with this Hall of Fame ring at the very first ceremony in which inductees were so honored with this special hardware. The face features a large diamond framed by victory laurels mounted on a black stone. “BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME” in raised letters encircles the mounting. The left shank has “ROBERTSON” engraved above the Naismith Hall of Fame logo and the right shank has “1979” engraved above a relief of two players. The inner band has the Balfour hallmark, although the original “10K” gold marking is illegible due to a heavy amount of wear. Oscar was obviously proud of this visual representation of his enshrinement. Sharp-eyed NBA historians will note that this ring has the year “1979” on its shank. Though Robertson was officially inducted in 1980, this was a quirk found on the rings of the two other Class of 1980 inductees, Jerry West and Jerry Lucas. An unbelievably unique piece of NBA history belonging to one of the game’s great innovators and early superstars. The ring comes with a signed LOA from Oscar Robertson himself.
Estimate: $35,000+