Offered is an original 1951 Baltimore Bullets program vs the Philadelphia Warriors neatly scored, tight binding, no missing pages. Program is EX condition. The visiting Minneapolis Lakers would beat the Bullets in Baltimore 90-80. HOF’er, George Mikan had 31 points, Jim Pollard had 19, while Vern Mikkelsen and Whitey Skoog both tallied 14 points for the Lakers.
The program has been signed by 5 players on the cover (4 for the Bullets and 1 autographs from the Lakers).
Includes:
Don Barksdale –(D 1993) was an American professional basketball player. He was a pioneer as an African-American basketball player, becoming the first to be named NCAA All-American, the first to play on a United States men's Olympic basketball team, and the first to play in an National Basketball Association All-Star Game. After college, he played for the Oakland AAU team until the NBA began to integrate. While playing professional basketball, he started a career in radio broadcasting. In 1948, he became the first black radio disc jockey in the San Francisco Bay area. He also worked in television and owned a beer distributorship. He became the first African-American beer distributor and the first African-American television host in the Bay area with a show called Sepia Review on KRON-TV. In 1951, he signed a lucrative contract with the Baltimore Bullets and entered the NBA as a 28-year-old rookie. He would be one of the first African-Americans to play in the NBA after Nathaniel Clifton, Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd and Hank DeZonie had joined the league in 1950. While with the Bullets, he became the first African-American to appear in an NBA All-Star Game, in 1953. Shortly afterward, he was traded to the Boston Celtics. Two years later, his playing career was cut short by ankle injuries. Elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, posthumously.
Don Rehfeldt (D. 1980 at age 53) was a two time Big Ten (then Western Conference) leading scorer in 1949 and 1950 and the Big Ten MVP in 1950 at Wisconsin. He was also a First Team All-American in 1950. Don is a charter member of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Athletic Hall of Fame, elected in 1991. He was most noted for his hook shot. Upon graduation in 1950, Rehfeldt was the Badger all time leading scorer and held 14 other individual records. He held the Badger record as its last All-American for 56 years until Alando Tucker was named a First Team All-American in 2007. Rehfeldt was the second overall pick in the 1950 NBA Draft by the Baltimore Bullets. After graduation he also played in the "World Series of Basketball" which was a nationwide tour that pitted the College All-Americans against the Harlem Globetrotters. Don was the leading scorer on that tour with other notable including top 50 all time NBA players Paul Arizin and Bob Cousy. He also played on the 1951-52 with the Milwaukee Hawks.
Pep Saul (D. 2019) Saul won four consecutive NBA championships with the Rochester Royals in 1951 and with the Minneapolis Lakers from 1952 to 1954. He, Steve Kerr and Patrick McCaw are the only three players in NBA history who won three championships with two different teams in consecutive seasons, with him and Kerr winning four times in a row. Saul was known as "Pep Saul" during his career
Jim (Red) Owens (D. 1988 at the age of 63 played from 1949-52 for the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, Anderson Packers, Bullets, and Milwaukee Hawks.
Jim Pollard (D. 1993) was a smooth shooter whose game was graced with finesse and class, possessed a deadly jump shot that was nearly perfect from the corner. Nicknamed "The Kangaroo Kid" because of his extraordinary leaping ability, it was reported that he could touch the top of the backboard and dunk from the foul line, predating today's athletic players. The 6-foot-5 Pollard starred for Hall of Fame coach Everett Dean at Stanford University in a career interupted by military service. After World War II, Pollard was named AAU All-America twice before joining the Minneapolis Lakers. An integral member of six championship Lakers teams in three different professional leagues, Pollard, a 13.1 point per game scorer, teamed with Hall of Famers George Mikan, and Vern Mikkelsen to form one of the NBA's best-ever frontcourts. In 1952, Pollard was named the best player of the era by the Basketball Association of America. Member of the Basketball HOF.
Item: 12838
|