4th Annual BHoF Induction Auction (#25)

Lot #252:

3/11/1958 Harlem Globetrotters Broadside Advertisement Featuring Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain (Rare)

Denied the option of entering the NBA prior to completing his studies at the University of Kansas, Wilt Chamberlain opted for a year of play with the Harlem Globetrotters where he earned an astronomical $50,000 for his year of service. This is one of the few surviving artifacts from that brief partnership. Measuring 14” x 22”, this cardboard advertising poster has “IN PERSON! THE SENSATIONAL WILT (THE STILT) CHAMBERLAIN WITH ABE SAPERSTEIN’S FABULOUS HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS” across the front. It is from a March 11, 1958 game at the Toledo Sports Arena. The tremendous color artwork is from the pen and mind of famed “The Sporting News” cartoonist Willard Mullin, best remembered as the creator of the Brooklyn Dodgers mascot “Bum.” It is quite rare and in EX-NM overall condition with light creasing at the bottom and a few thumbtack holes around the edges.