Displayed is a Feb. 6, 1952, Adolph Rupp signed University of Kentucky vs. Ole Miss basketball program from the contest played at the University of Kentucky's Memorial Coliseum. Rupp grew up in Kansas and played college basketball for the University of Kansas and famed coach Phog Allen. He had two nicknames, "The Baron of the Bluegrass" and "The Man in the Brown Suit." Rupp was always extremely superstitious. Early in his coaching career, Rupp was coaching basketball at Freeport High School in Freeport, Illinois. Before a big game, he bought a new blue suit to replace his usual brown suit that he wore when coaching. The Freeport team lost the game, and Rupp never again wore a blue suit to coach, but always a brown one. Rupp coached at Kentucky from 1930-72. He favored a fast break style, with set plays for when a fast break wasn't possible. His Kentucky teams won four NCAA Championships, one NIT title, 27 Southeastern Conference Championships, and 13 SEC Tournament titles. He coached 32 All-Americans and 44 NBA draft choices. He coached Kentucky in the famous 1966 NCAA Championship Game in which Kentucky, with an all-white team lost by 72-65 to Texas Western, with an entirely African American starting five. Rupp had years before tried to recruit black players for Kentucky, but he was rebuffed by the University of Kentucky administration. That 1966 NCAA title game caused a seismic change against sports segregation in the SEC, ACC, and SWC Conferences. When Rupp retired, his Kentucky teams had won 876 games, the most in Division I Men's basketball at that time.

The displayed Kentucky basketball program measures 7.75x10.75", and it has 16 pages, including covers. Rupp signed a neatly scripted, bold signature on the front cover, in blue ink from a fountain pen. Also, signing in blue fountain ink on the front cover is "Harry C. Lancaster," Kentucky's assistant basketball coach. The program has a scorecard, and photos of both squads. The Kentucky photo has photos of Cliff Hagan Hagen and Frank Ramsey, who later became Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers after impressive pro careers with, respectively, the Boston Celtics and the St. Louis Hawks & Dallas Chaparrals. The program has a biography of Rupp, one which begins "The Man in the Brown Suit." The offering comes with a PSA/DNA LOA for both the Rupp and Lancaster signatures, "Cert. Number: AN03398." The program has a number of very small spots and some slight wear along the spine, but considering the more than seven decades age of the offering, it is in really EXCELLENT condition.

Estimated domestic USA shipping cost only. Does not include handling or insurance: $25.81 Please feel free to contact us for a more accurate shipping cost.