Albersheim's 2014 Winter Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/20/2014
A 6'5" forward/guard, Brown starred at Brooklyn's George W. Wingate High School and signed to play for the University of Dayton in 1960. However, he and fellow Brooklyn star Connie Hawkins were banned from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) when it was revealed that while still in high school he had been introduced to a gambler, Jack Molinas, who was involved in illegal point shaving. Brown was never accused of point shaving and his only crime was associating with Molinas. With the NCAA and NBA ban in place, he continued to play basketball in Dayton's amateur leagues, and in 1967 signed with the American Basketball Association (ABA)'s Indiana Pacers. During his eight-year (1967–1975) ABA career, spent with the Pacers, Memphis Sounds, and Utah Stars, Brown scored 10,498 points, appeared in four All-Star games, and earned three Championship rings. Brown was one of seven players unanimously selected to the ABA All-Time Team in 1997. He is one of four players (the others are Reggie Miller, George McGinnis, and Mel Daniels) to have his jersey (#35) retired by the Pacers.
His autograph is very scarce as not many people bothered to get his autograph and when you do find them, it’s usually on multi-signed items! Careful, there have been a bunch of forgeries that have popped up over the last couple of years in anticipation of his election to the Basketball HOF. WoW!!! We offer his 1974-75 Topps #240 basketball card signed in blue ballpoint. This is the first REAL signed gum card that we’ve seen of Roger’s (although we’re confident that there are other real ones out there). An interesting note is that the Pacers dismantled their championship dynasty by trading HOFer Mel Daniels and superstar Freddie Lewis to the Memphis Sounds. Roger Brown joined his two good friends as a free agent in Memphis because the Pacers wouldn’t pay him what he was seeking. Awesome!!!
Letter of Authenticity from Richard Albersheim