The online bidding in SCP Auctions’ 2017 Fall Premier auction ended early Sunday morning with Lot #1 – an original 12-foot-tall, 1,800-pound “Rocky” bronze statue, one of two identical examples created by noted sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg for use in the 1982 film “Rocky III” – leading the way with a final realized price of $403,657. Next up was a rare 1966-67 UCLA home jersey worn by Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when he was still known as Lew Alcindor during the first of his three NCAA title-winning seasons with the Bruins, which went for $137,849.
The bronze Rocky statue includes a large, engraved gold plaque on its base that reads in part: “ROCKY BALBOA Created in 1980 for the Movie ’Rocky III’ by A. Thomas Schomberg Edition #2/3.” A third copy of the Rocky Statue was created by Schomberg in 2006 and remains at the Schomberg Studios in Evergreen, Colorado.
Overall, the auction of 867 different lots brought in more than $3 million including the sale of Wilt Chamberlain’s 1971 Western Conference NBA All-Star game worn jersey for $121,304. Other top auction lots included Mel Ott’s 1948 New York Giants game worn manager’s uniform ($91,138); Michael Jordan’s 1984 dual signed and game worn Converse shoes (1 of 2 pairs) from Team USA’s gold medal run at the L.A. Summer Games ($88,644); a 1917-21 Ty Cobb H&B professional model game used bat ($75,320); John Wooden’s circa 1970’s UCLA worn coach’s jacket ($58,460); and a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 card graded EX MT 6 by PSA ($56,590). In June, SCP Auctions sold Jordan’s other pair of Converse shoes from the ’84 Games – the gold-medal-winning-game pair – for $190,373 to shatter the previous auction mark of $104,765 for game worn shoes.
The buyers of the items wish to remain anonymous at this time. All prices include a buyer’s premium. Full auction results are available at www.scpauctions.com. -Terry Melia
