The Detroit Pistons are one of the NBA’s most storied franchises. In 1941, the team was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as the Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons, a member of the National Basketball League (NBL). Since moving to Detroit in 1957, the Pistons have won NBA championships in 1989, 1990 and 2004. In this lot are two team-signed basketballs from the Pistons. The first, an official Voit LB2 model basketball, celebrates the 1959-60 squad, which finished second in the NBA’s Western Division with a record of 30-45 under the direction of two different coaches: Red Rocha (13-21) and Dick McGuire (17-24). It sports 11 autographs including both coaches as well as Shellie McMillan, Gene Shue, Gary Alcorn, Chuck Noble, Bailey Howell, Walter Dukes, Archie Dees, Billy Kenville and Ed Conlin. All signatures appear strong with McGuire’s fading a bit over time. The second team-signed item, an official Spalding (Stern) basketball, was autographed in thick black marker by 12 members of the 1985-86 Pistons team, which finished third in the NBA’s Central Division with a 46-36 record. Notable signatures on the ball include Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Joe Dumars, Kelly Tripucka, Vinnie Johnson, Kent Benson, Chuck Nevitt, Mike Gibson and Earl Cureton. Signatures bleed a bit and rate 6-7/10.
Pre-certified by PSA/DNA.
Includes Letter of Provenance from collector Bruce Tennen.
Bruce Tennen's passion for Tigers baseball as a boy eventually lead him to pursue a career in the sports industry, covering Arizona teams as an AP journalist in the late 70’s and working in the front office for the San Diego Clippers in the early 80’s. He would later move on to a successful career in mortgage banking, arranging credit and acquisition funding for numerous Pistons players, executives and broadcasters. Bruce has been fortunate enough to build relationships with dozens of professional athletes and team executives, giving him the connections necessary to build his impressive collection.