Former Celtic and 11-time NBA Champion Bill Russell is auctioning off his memorabilia, he announced.
Russell, 87, announced in a Tweet that he’ll be working with Hunt Auctions to sell jerseys, pictures, rings, and even a letter that the MLB’s Jackie Robinson wrote to the NBA star.
I’m excited to announce Im working with @huntauctions to offer a large portion of my personal collection. My charity @mentornational will benefit from a portion of the proceeds. Thank you to my @Celtics fans, I look forward to a great event! @NBA @BleacherReport @espn @SLAMonline pic.twitter.com/i8nKs46gtb
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) July 22, 2021
The letter that Robinson wrote to him, was after the Celtics boycotted a game because he and other black players on the C’s were denied at a hotel, in Lexington, Kentucky.
“Hunt Auctions is honored to announce a highly significant offering of historic basketball artifacts and personal materials from the collection of Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell,” Hunt Auctions said in a statement. “The collection has been carefully preserved by Mr. Russell until its current unveiling to the public chronicling his historic basketball career and leader within the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s period.”
Hunt Auctions has sold memorabilia from Joe DiMaggio, Roberto Clemente, Johnny Unitas, Ted Williams, and others.
How much things will be sold for is unknown, but a road Yankee jersey Babe Ruth wore sold for $5.64M, and no other piece of memorabilia has even come close to that mark of a price. They’ll start the auction this fall.
“There are a few pictures I’ll keep for myself, but the rest I will share with the world,” Russell said in a video statement.