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Lot # 1201: 1956 Bill Russell Olympic Gold Medal Game Original Photograph (PSA Type I)

Category: Basketball

Starting Bid: $200.00

Bids: 24 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "2024 Winter Classic",
which ran from 2/25/2024 10:00 AM to
3/16/2024 10:00 PM



Displayed is a 1956 Bill Russell Olympic Gold Medal Game original news service Type I photograph taken as Russell led the United States team to an 89-55 victory over Russia. With this victory, the United States won the Olympic Gold Medal in basketball for each of the four times that game was a medal sport at the Olympics. The United States team was made up of players from colleges, players from military service, and selectees from Industrial basketball, technically amateur, in which highly skilled players worked for a company and also played for the company's basketball team. Bill Russell and K.C. Jones were the United States team's stars. Both Russell and Jones had played for the San Francisco Dons when that university won the NCAA Championship in both 1955-56. Russell averaged 14.1 PPG in the Olympics and Jones averaged 10.9 PPG. The U.S. team obliterated its Olympic opposition. The United States went 8-0 and AVERAGED a 53.5 PPG victory margin. In the Gold Medal Game, Robert Jeangerard led the United States with 16 points, K.C. Jones had 15, James Walsh 14, and Russell had 13. Mikhail Semanov, with 15 points, was the only double-figure scorer for Russia. The offered photo measures 6.9x9". The International News Photo suggested caption, on the verso, reads, in part, "United States vs Russia Basketball Action Melbourne... U.S. Basketball Star W.F. Russel [sic] (6) Easily Outjumps A. Laoutitenas Of Russia to take a rebound in the U.S. - Russia Olympic Final Game." Russell went on to win 11 NBA Championships as a player with the Celtics, and another two NBA Championships as the Celtics' coach, and he is often regarded as the greatest winner in the history of American team sports. The photo depicts Russell, lithe and muscular, just before he entered the NBA. He would go on to average 15.1 PPG and an astounding 22.5 TRB in his pro career, and become a 5-time MVP. The offered photo has been encapsulated and PSA certified Type I AUTHENTIC.

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