This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/7/2016
Wilt Chamberlain is one of the most dominate figures in all professional sports. A highly recruited high school player, Chamberlain starred at the University of Kansas before turning pro. His resume read, “Rookie of the Year”, 13X All Star, 2X NBA World Champion, NBA Final MVP, 4X Regular Season MVP, member of the NBA 50 Greatest, and HOFer.
To honor such a historic career, MEARS is proud to offer this truly historic shirt. Per our evaluation:
Style: Issued as the yellow durene pull over with rounded tail. Arm and neck openings are trimmed with the purple/yellow/purple ribbing. During the 1973-74 season, the team changed the piping color scheme trim to a single purple line. Durene was used during the era until being switched to mesh during the mid-1970s after Chamberlain’s career with the Lakers. “LAKERS” appears on the front with purple on white double tackle twill. “13” appears on the front and reverse with white on purple double tackle twill drop shadow font. “CHAMBERLAIN” appears on the reverse with purple on white double tackle twill. The style of the shirt has been verified as being correct to have been worn by Chamberlain during the 1968-73 era.
Manufacturer (Tiernan): Supplied by the California based Tiernan company, the style of tag is consistent with examples that have entered the hobby which date from 1965-85. Other examples of Tiernan Lakers shirts from the era include:
1969 Chamberlain
1971 Goodrich
1971 West
1973 Riley
1968-73 Chamberlain (MEARS #313255)
1968-73 Chamberlain (MEARS #314336)
1971-72 Flynn Robinson
Therefore, Tiernan was verified as being the correct supplier of Lakers shirts during Chamberlain’s tenure of 1968-73.
Game Wear: Shirt exhibits light to moderate game wear evenly distributed throughout the durene body shell. All of the sewn on font and lettering show light signs of wear. Shirt was examined on a light table and there were no visible signs of alterations.
Final Grade (MEARS A7.5): When examining and comparing the jersey to the 5 categories of evaluation per the MEARS Official Worksheet, MEARS determined the following: 2.5 points were deducted for light/moderate wear.
(86N0180)
LOA Troy Kinunen / MEARS
(JSA Auction Letter)