David Thompson's 1974 national title ring he won at N.C. State and his old high school jersey from Crest are two of the items he is auctioning off.Photos courtesy of SCP Auctions.
Legendary N.C. State basketball player David Thompson is selling a lot of his personal basketball memorabilia through an auction site (www.SCPAuctions.com), including his 1974 N.C. State national championship ring and his old high school jersey.
The high bid on the championship ring is $9,746. The current high bid on the Crest high school jersey is $3,300. Among the other items in the 48-item “David Thompson Collection” is the net from the 1974 N.C. State-Maryland ACC final, considered one of the greatest games ever played (minimum bid of $750). Not everything is that expensive – a number of plaques Thompson received throughout his career have minimum bids of $200.
In an interview Wednesday, Thompson, 58, said he was selling some (but not all) of the stuff he collected through his Hall of Fame basketball career because that while he “isn’t broke by any means” that he wasn’t particularly nostalgic and that the money wouldn’t hurt, either.
“Everybody needs money,” said Thompson, who makes a living these days with motivational speaking and personal appearances. “Everybody has bills. A lot of the guys from my generation have done this, and I just felt like the time was right.”
Thompson said many of the items he put up for sale (alongside items from NBA hall of famers Oscar Robertson and Sam Jones) were gathering dust in his late parents’ family home outside of Shelby or in his own attic at his house in Charlotte. He said he planned to give some of the money he earns from the auction to charity, including an increase in his annual donation to The “V” Foundation for cancer research.
He is not selling everything. The auction house, which is located in California, asked him about his basketball hall of fame ring. But he refused to sell that as well as some mementoes from his ABA and NBA days.
Thompson said the N.C. State national championship ring was the “hardest” to give up, even though he had only worn it “once or twice” to reunions. His hope is that an N.C. State fan would buy the ring and ultimately donate it to the school’s newly-established athletic hall of fame.
More about Thompson, my interview with him and the auction will be in my Thursday sports column. The online auction itself closes on Saturday.
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6 comments:
He obviously needs the money. No other reason to do it.
How is it not about the money if he wants a State fan to buy the ring and donate it to the Hall of Fame? Why doesn't he just donate it to the Hall of Fame if it isn't about the cash. He's either really greedy or he's hurting for money.
I actually live near him in South Charlotte and see him regularly walking his dog, at tbe grocery store, etc.
He is unassuming, approachable and one the nicest guys you will ever meet.
I have also seen him shooting baskets at the Siskey Y. While he can't jump anymore, he can still rain in three pointers with laserbeam precision.
I hope he makes a fortune from the sales.
Anonymous
DT has spoken to probably over 500,000 people since he has retired. He has helped more people after his career ended than during his career, it is time to help him, this auction is classic, great items. Go WolfPack!!
tin pan alley
typical for pro athletes
Not sure at all that he has to have the money. He lives in a very desirable area of south Charlotte. I've met him at the grocery store and he's incredibly nice.
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