There are a select few people who we can say truly changed the Boston Celtics organization. Larry Bird (whose birthday is today) helped save the whole league along with Magic Johnson in the 1980s. Red Auerbach, the franchise’s patriarch, created “Celtic Pride” and his shrewd trades built a perennial champion.
But Bill Russell stands out as perhaps the most singularly impactful Celtic in history. His arrival instantly paid dividends in a championship, he won eight straight titles, and then two as the first Black head coach in NBA history. He fueled the most dominant run we will ever see in professional sports.
Along the way, Russell was notoriously stingy with autographs, leaving only a few precious items for fans and collectors.
That changes this week.
“I’ve decided to sell most of my collection,” Russell said over the summer, announcing an auction of a significant number of items. “There are a few things I’ll keep for myself, but the rest I will share with the world ... Another reason I decided to sell at this time is my charity, MENTOR, will benefit from the proceeds.”
The obvious question is why Russell would be selling what seems like such prized possessions. MVP awards, championship rings, and game-worn jerseys are among the highlights of the extensive sale.
“There are many things that the public, as fans would assume, that a player would keep. And yet there are things that every one of these players and their families value that have nothing to do with money,” David Hunt, President of Hunt Auctions, told Boston Sports Journal. Hunt Auctions is conducting the sale. “It sounds cliche, but I mean for example, his Medal of Freedom, that happens to be worth a lot of money, but it's not relevant. He's keeping that. They're not selling it, which is wonderful. But then there's other things such as the photograph that might be signed from a particular person to him, that may not be worth, you know, $500 but he wouldn't sell it for a million.”
Russell has his own reasons, and raising money for his charity is chief among them. There are 429 items up for auction on Friday, and the total sale could fetch millions of dollars. An additional auction-related donation will be made to Boston Celtics United for Social Justice with a multi-focus commitment to addressing racial injustice and social inequities in the Greater Boston area.
“We've been talking about it for years,” Hunt said. “This wasn't like a haphazard, six months ago, ‘hey, let's have an auction.’ We've been talking to him for years about this process.”
And while there are big-ticket items, like the jersey Russell wore in his final game as a Celtic (in the 1969 Game 7 Finals win over the Lakers) which will draw heavy bidding from deep-pocket collectors and investors, there are also items that are much more affordable.
Among the most unique are cashed checks Russell either made out to cash, or to other people. One was a check cut to Jim Brown, so there are two legendary signatures. Those are estimated to go for somewhere in the high-hundreds to low thousands. Not cheap, but more realistic than a championship ring. There are also autographed magazine covers and things like various small awards that fall as low as an estimated $200-300.
“The jerseys are very expensive, but we always insist, and the players almost always acquiesce, to have things in there that their regular fans can afford too,” Hunt said. "You don't want to advertise, ‘hey, we want to share this with the fans, but only pieces that are $100,000 or more.’ That's just not in the goal of what this is about, which is really, truly to afford fans the opportunity to have something from an icon like Bill Russell.”
Nearly 500 items will be auctioned off starting at noon this Friday at the TD Garden. There is a preview day on Thursday for people hoping to get a look. Bids can also be accepted remotely through HuntAuctions.com. There is a pre-registration process that must be completed ahead of time for anyone hoping to bid on an item.
