Addendum: There are 32 pieces in this lot, not 40 as indicated in catalog. LOA from Mikan's son should also say 32.
Professional basketball first came to Minnesota in 1947 when two investors purchased and relocated a near extinct National Basketball League (NBL) franchise, the Detroit Gems. Starting from scratch, a new team called the Minneapolis Lakers were born. They began playing games at both the Minneapolis Armory as well as the Minneapolis Auditorium. Behind the dominant play of their 6' 10" center George Mikan, the Lakers became the NBA"s first dynasty and were virtually unbeatable at home in their early years, even taking a 30-game home winning streak into the 1950 season.
Presented here is an incredible collection of thirty-two (32) individual 11.5" by 2.5" original wooden floor pieces from the Minneapolis Armory home court where the Lakers played through 1960. What's more, each one is signed by George Mikan with his uniform number "99" inscribed in bold black marker. His large autograph stretches 6-7 inches on each piece.
The 32 pieces come to us from the Mikan Family, but the story of how they were originally procured from the Armory is detailed in a letter of provenance. Long story short, a bad late 1990's movie was filmed there and the production crew broke up the basketball floor during the process. One of the extras saw an opportunity and took several dozen pieces that were going to be dumped. This also explains the somewhat messy physical condition of each floor piece. The bottoms and sides are coated with dried black tar. Fortunately, the top section where Mikan has signed remains relatively clean on most.
Includes LOA from Mikan's son. Also includes an interesting letter of provenance from the man responsible for getting most of the floor boards from the original Armory court.
Pre-certified by PSA/DNA.