Oscar Robertson Auctioning Off His MVP Trophy


NBA legend Oscar Robertson is auctioning off a bunch of his memorabilia, and the haul includes the MVP trophy that Robertson won in 1964. Oscar isn’t sentimental about any of it, to say the least. Per Fox Sports: “Former Boston star Bob Cousy sold his 1957 trophy at auction in 2003 for $51,673, and Philadelphia legend Julius Erving got $177,632 last year at auction for his 1981 award. Now, fellow Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson will be selling the 1964 trophy he won with the Cincinnati Royals. Robertson is going through SCP Auctions, the same company that sold the Cousy and Erving trophies. SCP president David Kohler predicts Robertson’s award should fetch about the same as Erving’s in the online auction that will run Wednesday through Dec. 1. ‘A lot of (sports stars) are selling a lot of items,’ Robertson said. ‘I don’t feel that I need to keep it, to be honest. I haven’t seen it for 40 years. It was sitting in the attic.’ Still, it’s an MVP award. And one could say Robertson is the greatest basketball player ever to put such a trophy up for sale. ‘I know what I did in basketball,’ Robertson said. ‘I don’t need that to remind me. If there’s an opportunity for somebody out there to get more enjoyment from it, that’s fine.’ The latest SCP auction includes nine other items put up by Robertson, including the jersey he wore for the 1960 gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic team, and memorabilia from a variety of sports. Kohler said the marquee item is a circa 1922 Babe Ruth New York Yankees sweater that could garner as much as $500,000. […] ‘Everybody has financial problems,’ Robertson said. ‘This is America. These aren’t the best of times. One of my companies is doing well and the other not so well. The money is important. Money is always important. Let’s just get real. People get sick, people retire. Money is important in the country we live in.’ Robertson wouldn’t elaborate further on his financial situation. It was reported in September that one of Robertson’s companies, Orchem, a specialty chemical supplier and manufacturer, is facing foreclosure and has unpaid taxes, charges and penalties totaling more than $194,000. Robertson could fetch more than $500,000 in the auction. Along with the MVP trophy, the most sought-after items likely will be the 1960 Olympic jersey and the top-50 ring. Erving, who grossed more than $3 million from a sale last year that also included his 1983 NBA championship ring, got $115,342 for his top-50 ring. Robertson said he’s willing to part with his 1960 jersey because he said most important is the memories he has of time spent with his Olympic teammates. But he did draw the line at least for now on auctioning off his gold medal from those games in Rome. ‘You got $10 million?’ Robertson, who might have another auction later with SCP, said when asked if he ever would sell the medal. ‘I’ll give it to you for $10 million.'”