This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/2/2012
America vs. the world always sounded about right for fans of international competition, but America vs. South America (plus Canada) seemingly had the earmarks of being a greater mismatch, but ended up in the 1959 Pan Am Games in Chicago being kind of a glimpse at what was to come in Rome the next year. With a squad not quite as imposing as the vaunted 1960 Olympic team, the Pan Am basketball team led by Oscar Robertson and Jerry West still managed to sail past six opponents with hardly a scare in winning the gold medal. With Robertson leading the scoring at 16.5 points per game, the United States knocked off six opponents by nearly the same 40-point margin that would be the benchmark for the 1960 Olympians. The Oscar Robertson Pan Am jersey offered here is yet another remarkable artifact from the legendary star, a Size 46 Long Wilson-tagged jersey that is virtually identical in major respects like fabric, colors and embroidery to the Robertson shirt from the Olympics one year later. This jersey also shows game use but is problem-free in terms of the trim and "U.S.A." and No. 12 (Robertson's number in the Pan Am Games), with little or no fraying with any of the stitching. Yet another significant and historic shirt from the amateur career of one of the greatest amateur players in history who just so happened to up it all a notch or two somehow when he turned professional.
Comes with a Letter of Authenticity from Oscar Robertson.