LOT #80682 |
Sold on Aug 20, 2023 for: Sign-in
or Join (free & quick)
1975-76 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Game Worn Goggles with Provenance....
Click the image to load the highest resolution version.
Sold on Aug 20, 2023 for:
$23,400.00
Bid Source: Internet bidder
Get one of these:
Explore Available Items
Description
Earliest known goggles worn as a Laker!
1975-76 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Game Worn Goggles with
Provenance. Red Auerbach had the cigar. Michael Jordan flew in
the air with his tongue out. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was known for
those unmistakable goggles.Twice during his legendary career, the king of the skyhook was forced to deal with eye injuries. On January 12, 1968, while a junior at UCLA, Lew Alcindor (as he was then known) suffered a scratched cornea while vying for rebound against Tom Henderson of the University of California. As a result, he would miss games against Stanford and Portland while recuperating in the Jules Stein Eye Clinic. Then, during a pre-season game in 1974, he got poked in the eye again and punched the basket support stanchion in anger, breaking his hand and causing him to miss the first sixteen games of the regular season.
After his return, Kareem started wearing a scuba-style mask to protect his eyes against future injury. Proving to be to clunky and cumbersome, a higher grade and more streamlined pair was sourced and produced. It was this style that he would continue wearing for the remainder of his NBA career. It was a career which would see him earn six NBA titles, six NBA MVP awards, and retire as the top scorer in NBA history.
The pair of goggles on offer here was worn by Kareem during his first season as a Laker in 1975-76, when he won his forth NBA MVP after averaging 27.7 points and leading the league in rebounding and blocked shots.
Lightweight and totally transparent, these French-made goggles with rubber bridge guard and elasticized headband (not attached), are the same style and brand which he would continue wearing for the remainder of his professional career. Light wear is exhibit on the rubber bridge guard. For the style match from 1976, see Getty Images 72386944.
In his letter of provenance, the consignor writes:
I went to Crescenta Valley High School, in La Crescenta, California, part of Los Angeles County. A football player at our high school was paralyzed from a school football game, and they began having an annual "Tim Richards Friendship Fair" every summer after his accident to raise money to help with his large medical bills. Those fairs always had an auction of donated items as part of the way to raise money. I attended one of these events in June of 1976 and one of the items up for bid were Kareem's googles. They were procured by our head basketball coach, Ed Goorjian, who was well known and respected throughout Los Angeles because of his coaching skill and abilities at our high school. The Lakers kept in contact with him because of the quality of basketball players he turned out, and actually more than one of our players went on to play for the Lakers.
These are the earliest known goggles Kareem wore as a Laker. Letter of provenance from consignor. LOA from Heritage Auctions.
Auction Info
2023 August 19 - 20 Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction #50063 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
August, 2023
19th-20th
Saturday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 27
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 631
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
20% of the successful bid per lot.
Shipping, Taxes, Terms and Bidding
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms
Important information concerning Sales Tax and Resale Certificates. Learn More
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms