The uniform that NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain wore during his rookie season with the Philadelphia Warriors recently sold at action for more than $1.79 million, a record for any vintage (pre-1980) game-worn basketball piece.
According to SCP Auctions, Chamberlain wore the jersey and shorts for every home game during the 1959-60 season, as well as five playoff games and several contests at neutral venues on his way to being named the league MVP and rookie of the year.
The uniform was authenticated and photo-matched by three leading sports memorabilia companies and graded a perfect “A10,” which means the uniform is unaltered and remains in the same condition as it was the last time Chamberlain wore it.
That’s why there are still blood stains on the front of the white jersey, which was manufactured locally by Pearson Sporting Goods and features a “PHILA” wordmark and Chamberlain’s No. 13 across the front, as well as a “40 4L 59” tag on the bottom left to note the size, extra length and year.
The jersey and shorts, which also have similar spot staining on the rear and left leg, were procured directly from Chamberlain several decades ago by a close friend. It is believed to be the only surviving uniform from his time with the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors (1959-65).
The minimum bid for Chamberlain’s uniform was set at $200,000, but it fetched 16 bids, including the winning offer from filmmaker Rob Gough, who earlier this month bought the New York Rangers jersey Wayne Gretzky wore when he scored his final NHL goal for $715,120.
For comparison, a Chicago Bulls jersey worn by Michael Jordan during Game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals sold last September for a record $10.1 million, surpassing Diego Maradona’s 1986 World Cup jersey ($9.3 million) for the most valuable game-worn sports memorabilia.
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