Roger Brown and Connie Hawkins are two Basketball Hall of Fame inductees that have been famously connected since their New York City high school rivalry and playground battles that started in the late 1950's. Brown was so good that he had two nicknames, "The Rajah" and "The Man of 1,000 Moves", while Connie was simply known as "The Hawk."
Both players were implicated, but never found guilty, of involvement with the college basketball point shaving scandal of the early 1960's, as they were simply acquaintances of Jack Molinas. Molinas was a charismatic figure and well-connected to the NYC hoop scene, as he had been a star player at Columbia and had also played in the NBA. Because of their guilt by association with Molinas, both players ended up in exile. The NCAA didn't want them (Brown had been at Dayton, Hawkins at Iowa) and the NBA blackballed them. That both would one day end up the Basketball Hall of Fame was thought impossible at the time.
Thankfully several years later a new pro league, the ABA, gave them a both a chance, and they finally were able to demonstrate their greatness on the hardwood. Both players were eventually exonerated and were welcomed to the NBA. Hawkins took that opportunity and joined the Phoenix Suns. Brown was thriving as an Indiana Pacer and chose to stay in the ABA. Brown passed away in 1994 and Hawkins in 2017, and both have been the subject of books and films. Legends.
Presented here are vintage autographed items in period ballpoint for each player, obtained AT THE TIME, on their 1971 Topps basketball cards and index cards affixed with their cool insert stickers that were in the wax packs that year. This colorful array of hoop treats has PSA/DNA certification.
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!