This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/4/2017
The Introduction of Lew Alcindor…
“The combination of his immense social significance and prodigious basketball accomplishments makes this the most historic basketball shirt to have ever come to market.” … MEARS President Troy R. Kinunen
Early Years
Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor was born April 16th, 1947, in New York City. The young athlete quickly grew to nearly 7’ tall and became the talk of the cities’ basketball community. As a member of the 1963-1964 Power Memorial team, Alcindor led his team to 71 straight victories and three City Catholic High School titles. Even with such basketball success, the young Alcindor endured racism and even was the subject of a stinging racial slur from his own coach. The hurt caused a distrust of those associated with the Catholic Church and was a motivation of his conversion to Islam.
UCLA: The Choice
As the hottest recruit in the history of basketball, over 60 teams, including St. John’s, Columbia, Boston College, and Michigan sought the young Phenom. Alcindor was aware of the Bruins, who had won the last two NCAA Championships, and he liked the pressing, running style, and team concept inspired by coach Wooden.
Alcindor was equally intrigued by the Southern California lifestyle compared to gritty New York. He was also very aware of the Don Barksdale and Arthur Ashe, currently a sophomore at UCLA. Although he loved basketball, Alcindor’s core values equally shaped his decision making.
In an article titled “UCLA Basketball -- Wooden Part 4: Recruiting Lew Alcindor” published at www.bruinsnation.com, the final choice of which college to attend was explained.
“Finally, Alcindor met Wooden in his office. Though his initial impression of Wooden was that of a square, bespectacled little old man with a Midwestern twang, Alcindor liked Wooden. He had been promised the moon by almost every college coach in America, but Wooden, who called him Lewis, only promised him a quality education. Wooden told him that was impressed by his grades and that he would do well at UCLA. Alcindor felt respected by Wooden. Everyone said they liked big Lew, but Alcindor thought Wooden was the only one who meant it.
Alcindor made his college decision there and then in Wooden's office. On May 4, 1965, in the Powell Memorial gym, in front of 80 members of the media, Alcindor announced that he would be attending UCLA.” The choice illustrates the deep convictions of the man.
The dye had been set which would soon form the career and soul of Lew Alcindor.
The Other Choice
Our consignor also had a choice to make.
During our conversation, our consignor proudly recalled how he was integrally involved with the teams’ day to day activities assisting Coach Wooden, his assistant coaches, and players, all during the team’s glory years when they won 7 consecutive NCAA Championships.
Because of work well done as team assistant, our consignor was given the choice by the equipment manager and could have taken a cash bonus or possibly the star of the day Bill Walton’s game worn shirt, but instead selected the shirt worn during the first season by the greatest college basketball player of all time. After the 1967 season, the team switched to a new jersey design, thus making this obsolete and available for the taking.
Our consignor chose the white Alcindor for both his on court accomplishments, and even more importantly to him, for the awareness he brought to important social issues during his lifetime. especially the treatment of African Americans which was highlighted by Alcindor’s refusal to participate in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics in protest against racism in America.
Social Significance
During his time at UCLA, Alcindor began his involvement in the social issues which defined the 1960s. On June 4th, 1967, Alcindor joined Jim Brown, Bill Russell, and Willie Davis to support Ali’s refusal to enter the army. Shortly after Alcindor participated in a protest at UCLA after Dr. King’s assassination and boycotted the 1968 Olympics because former IOC president Avery Brundage allowed German dictator Adolf Hitler not to field any Jewish athletes in the 1936 Games.
His own words reflecting his thoughts are published on the website, www.extremelysmart.com, an article deals with the changing of his name and conversion to Islam.
“Before the 1971-72 season, Alcindor converted from Catholicism to Islam and took the name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar which means “noble, the noble one, servant of the Almighty.” But why did he change his name after reverting to Islam? The reason is revealed in Playboy magazine where he said:
. . .I was latching on to something that was part of my heritage, because many of the slaves who were brought here were Muslims. My family was brought to America by a French planter named Alcindor, who came here from Trinidad in the 18th Century. My people were Yoruba, and their culture survived slavery . . . . My father found out about that when I was a kid, and it gave me all I needed to know that, hey, I was somebody, even if nobody else knew about it. When I was a kid, no one would believe anything positive that you could say about black people. And that’s a terrible burden on black people, because they don’t have an accurate idea of their history, which has been either suppressed or distorted.
Highly intelligent, Kareem Abdul Jabbar is a highly successful author and his works include:
“Black Profiles in Courage: A Legacy of African-American Achievement”; “Brothers in Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion, WWII’s Forgotten Heroes”; “A Season on the Reservation.”
UCLA: 1966-1967 Season
UCLA policy did not allow freshman to play on the varsity team, so Alcindor made his debut as a sophomore during the 1966-1967 season. During his first season under Coach Wooden, the team went 30-0 with Alcindor appearing in 30 games and scoring 870 points, which was the most points scored in a season during his college career at UCLA. To cap off the season, the Bruins was the National Championship by beating Dayton 79-64.
The Evaluation
For this lot, the shirt was authenticated by MEARS Evaluator Troy R. Kinunen. His findings:
With the aid of a light table and digital microscope, we evaluated the shirt for originally and alterations. We found no alterations and the shirt remained in the same original condition as last worn by Alcindor following the end of the 1967 season.
Style: White durene body shell with UCLA team color yellow/blue neck and arm ribbed trim. “UCLA” and “33” (front/back) appears in yellow on blue serif double tackle twill. Straight cut tail. The shirt compares favorably to period images of Alcindor during the 1966-1967 season.
Dating (1966-1967): Per the style of the shirt, we date this jersey to the 1966-1967 season. During Alcindor’s freshmen year, the team wore shirts with “BRUINS” spelled on the front. During his first season playing for the team (sophomore year), the team wore this version of the “UCLA” yellow on blue double tackle serif twill font. The two color lettering and font was exclusive to 1966-1967. The following season the team switched to an all blue lettering and font which were used through the 1968-1969 season also. Therefore, this is a one year style worn exclusively by Alcindor during the 1966-1967 season.
Manufacturer (Wilson): The shirt is supplied by Wilson and the style of the manufactures tag dates to the 1963-1966 era (courtesy of the Official MEARS Tagging Database).
Size (42): Measurement of the actual supports verifies the chest measurement is consistent with the tagged size of 42.
Game Wear: The shirt exhibits heavy game wear. The lettering and numbering shows signs of heavy, even puckering.
Imagery Analysis: For this shirt, MEARS used the process of imagery analysis (both inclusionary and exclusionary) to determine the authenticity of this shirt.
Inclusionary: A visual review of the shirt with attention paid to the cut of the lettering and font, the style of the lettering and font, and the placement of the lettering and font with respect to the placement of UCLA in conjunction with the “33” and the placement of the numbering and lettering with respect to the placement in conjunction to the bottom of the neck line and the arm openings.
For this review, MEARS examined all available publications, Getty Images, and wire photos. Of the 13 available images we reviewed, all of them compared quite favorably. We found zero instances of the actual positioning of the font and lettering differing from the compared photos. The reverse “33” also compares favorably to a period image. Therefore, it is my opinion that only one single shirt was issued to be worn by Alcindor during the 1966-1967 season.
Exclusionary: Review of the lettering and font allowed us to remove the years 1965-1966 as a possibility of issuance due to the fact the shirt worn during that season had “BRUINS “spelled out on the front. For the seasons 1967-1969, the team went to a solid blue UCLA lettering and “33”font, therefore, eliminating those years for consideration.
In summary, the “UCLA” and “33”font compares favorably to the 13 period images compared for this evaluation.
Final Grade (MEARS A10): Based on the five categories of review per the Official MEARS Worksheet, we found no reasons for a point deduction and awarded this shirt a perfect MEARS A10 grade.
Provenance
The shirt was obtained in 1970 by our consignor who served a two year stint with the team. While working at UCLA directly under Coach John Wooden and serving as the Assistant Team Manager, our consignor received this shirt directly from the acting equipment manager. Included with this lot is his 1971-1972 UCLA Student Identification Card. After receiving the shirt, our consignor took it home where it was rarely displayed and has been in his possession after since. Also included with this lot is a collecting gathered by our consignor which includes (3) photos of Alcindor wearing the shirt, 1967 (December 9th) UCLA Program, 1967 (December 23rd) UCLA Official Program, and 1968 (March 22-23) 30th Annual NCAA Basketball Championship Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Program.
This jersey serves as the Introduction of Lew Alcindor to main stream America and a nation’s first glimpse into the mind, abilities and passion of the greatest basketball player of all time. LOA Troy R. Kinunen / MEARS