The phone call came five years before Bill Russell put a trove of personal items up for auction. David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions, was asked if he could appraise some of the items in Russell's trophy case.
Russell is one of the most unimpeachable athletes in sports history. He is a two-time NCAA champion, an Olympic gold medalist, winner of 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and coach. For decades, his signature had been a rarity in the collecting space. The chance to own something of his is something that hobbyists would be interested in.
There was more to the query. Russell is a civil rights icon. He was the first black coach to guide a team in a major pro sport and the first to win an NBA title. He stood with Muhammad Ali.
Hunt, who conducted posthumous auctions for Babe Ruth, Roberto Clemente and Ted Williams, said that it was not about selling the items at first.
Russell and his team pored over objects for more than five decades of memories after that initial phone call. Hunt said they discussed items that might be of interest to prospective buyers. Russell identified what he might part with and what he wouldn't. Hunt said that Russell hadn't decided if he wanted to sell anything during the evaluation period.
The items were not at their maximum financial value when Hunt received them. The sports cards and memorabilia market experienced a boom as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. Baseball has taken off, but vintage basketball has taken off.
There was never a better time to sell. Civil rights history and sports would interest anyone.
Hunt Auctions put 429 lots up for sale in theLegends suite at the TD Garden. Russell's items netted a combined $7.4 million, with proceeds benefiting two charities: MENTOR, a Boston-based non-profit co-founded by Russell that aims to strengthen mentoring relationships, and Boston Celtics United for Social Justice, which fights racial injustice and social inequalities in the Greater Boston.
Hunt said that there has been no other basketball collection sold that compared to that value, significance, player caliber, media coverage.
A game-worn Celtics jersey and a warm-up jacket from the 1960s are expected to sell for six-figure sums each, when the second online-only auction is held on Friday. The personal collection of Red Auerbach, Russell's coach and mentor, is included in Friday's auction.
Preservationists and those who manage museums that honor Black athletes, Boston athletes and Hall of Famers are interested in how the Russell auctions came about and what they meant to collectors.
Richard Johnson, the curator at The Sports Museum in Boston, said that Dave Cowens, a former director of the museum, called Russell's home after hearing about the planned December auction and spoke to his wife, Jeannine.
Johnson, who has been in his role since 1982, said that they had already consigned everything to the auction house.
It was difficult to find Russell's stuff for a long time. He played in the NBA at a time when shoes and jerseys were not available for sale. When vintage basketball items were available, analysts say, they were underappreciated by the market.
After his peers started selling their stuff on the market, little of Russell's followed. Even for his era, one appraiser called game-used Russell jerseys exceedingly rare. Russell's signature was not available. He was known for preferring chats rather than signing his name.
Hunt was tasked with placing values on items. Russell missed the first two months of his Celtics season because he wanted to compete so badly for the gold medal from the Summer Olympics in Melbourne. There was an award for participating in his first All-Star Game, an autograph copy of Russell's 1957 Topps rookies card, and a leather jacket that he wore in the 1969 NBA Finals. His basketball career included those.
Hunt described other items as important pieces of history, necessary to preserve for people down the road. The letter and clippings from that day were sent to Russell by Robinson, who was so moved that he mailed a letter to him.
Robinson wrote to Russell that it was gratifying to know that the athletes had pride in themselves.
There was a lot in the December auction. It was sold for $94,000.
His first ring sold for over $600,000. The gold medal he won in the Olympics went for more than half a million dollars. Russell's final Celtics uniform, his five most valuable player trophies, and his first NBA championship ring were all sold, totaling $3.13 million. Unless given explicit permission, auction houses do not release the identities of buyers.
The December auction happened a few months after Russell listed his home on Washington's Mercer Island for over $2 million. Russell had left behind a trophy case and an autograph ball for the next owner, as he planned to stay in the area but downsize, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. Jeannine Russell said they were not doing interviews.
A former estate handler said that in auctions that benefit charities, it is customary to donate anywhere from 5% to 15% of the total sale. The $7.4 million December night would have raised between $370,000 and $1,110,000 for charity.
Russell showed up to say goodbye. He posted photos on social media of a road trip.
The legacies of legends usually leave when Hunt handles them. Russell has been involved in every step of the way.
Hunt said that people were in tears when they thanked them.
Russell has never-evers in his collection. President Barack Obama awarded him the Medal of Freedom in 2011.
Hunt said there was nothing to talk about with the medal of freedom.
Obama made a speech at the Basketball Hall of Fame that was embedded in a touch screen. He mentioned that Russell was reluctant to take over the Celtics. He talked about the titles won in Boston and San Francisco. What Obama homed in on had nothing to do with basketball. He focused on the city.
Obama said in the video that it was an act of civil disobedience that still echoes today.
The newly renovated Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is located in Springfield, Mass. There are two of the most important visages in basketball history in the atrium. One is Michael Jordan and the other is Bill Russell.
A Russell locker has a personally donated All-Star Game jersey, shorts and two signed basketballs. The renovations of the Hall were completed last year.
At the basketball exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., entrants are greeted by a photo of Philadelphia 76ers center Wilt Chamberlain grabbing a rebound against Russell. There are four items with Russell. Damion Thomas said any Russell items have either been acquired or borrowed. The 1969 Finals jersey, which sold for more than one million dollars, was of particular interest to the museum, but out of price range.
Athletes get a bad rap for auctioning off their stuff, but I think it is a positive, Thomas said. Art museums should not have all of the Bill Russell items.
Hopefully, all of the prominent places have some sort of Russell representation.
The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., does not have specific artifacts, but it does have digital/printed assets.
The Sports Museum is a half-mile labyrinth dedicated to New England sports history. The locker of Ted Williams, the 20-strikeout scorebook and Doug Flutie's Boston College jersey are past commemorations.
There is an exhibit dedicated to the Celtics that has a portrait of Russell on the side. Russell was on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Issue from 1968. There is a piece of the old Boston Garden floor with Russell's signature on it. The items at the museum are either donated or on loan.
There is a relative lack of Russell items on display here. Johnson said he met Russell at the funeral of John Havlicek.
He said that if this country gave out royal titles, he would be Sir Bill Russell.
During his career, Russell wasn't always treated like royalty. He faced racism in Boston. Racist graffiti was written on the walls of his home. In his memoir, Second Wind, he wrote of the racism in the city, saying there were all varieties, old and new.
The Celtics locker room is 100 feet from the Legends suite, where Russell's belongings were being moved in December. He said the weight of history back in Boston overwhelmed him.
Johnson said that he never begrudges anyone's desire to part with their things. It was great to see the crown jewels.
There are statues of Boston sports legends in the Sports Museum. New England artist Armand LaMontagne carved them from blocks of wood which took roughly half a year to complete. A picture of Carl Yastrzemski is depicted mid-swing, his eyes locked on Pesky's Pole, while Larry Bird is depicted with his famous shooting stroke. The Golden Greek, Agganis, a mid-20th century Lynn, Mass., superstar who tragically died at 26, is there.
Bill Russell is not visible.
The day after Bird's statue was unveiled, Johnson remembers. The woman called the museum.
She shouted, "but not Bill Russell!"
Johnson replied that he was preaching to the choir.
Russell refused to be portrayed even when Auerbach tried to convince him.
The displays of art, photos, trophies, jerseys, signatures and other objects at The Sports Museum or the Hall of Fame are intended to evoke emotional responses to make visitors remember or wonder. The history of sports culture, cement the relationship with fans and educate the next generation can be found in objects that are available on the collectibles market.
Johnson said that everything they have has a story or two connected to it.
When asked if the marketplace in New Albany, Ohio, had won pieces at the December auction, Stephen Michaels blurted out, "You don't know me, do you?"
There are items that were paid more than 12% of the entire auction's purse. The ring is halfway up Michaels middle finger.
The Boston Celtics and the World Champs are separated by the year 1969: Russell's last as a professional. As Michaels rotates the ring, etched names come into view on opposite sides.
Michaels says that he can't even get it on his finger.
It cost more than half a million dollars.
There are items that are more avant-garde, such as the hat on Michaels head, made to commemorate the late Kobe Bryant and signed by Russell.
Michaels says that he wore a faded, curved-brim cap.
It might seem excessive to spend $600,000 a night. Russell is the one.
Michaels received a blank check in December from the owner of LJ's.
Ruberto said they have the utmost respect for him, as a person first, and his career, as Michaels showed off a selection of Russell's Olympic items.
Ruberto chuckled and said that this stuff belongs in a museum.
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