Direct from Michael Jordan’s closet, it’s your chance to own a piece of “Dream Team” history. On June 25th, Julien’s will have six items donated by Deloris Jordan, Michael’s mother, via the James R. Jordan Foundation International, up for gavel at JuliensLive.com. The gold medal of the lot is a #9 USA Basketball commemorative jersey, worn and later signed by Michael.
Portrayed earlier this year by Viola Davis in Ben Affleck’s Nike film, Air, the world was given a glimpse of Deloris as the spirited protector of her son’s legacy. Mrs. Jordan has established multiple charities and has served as the President and Founder of the James R. Jordan Foundation for almost two decades. She has also established the Kenya Women and Children's Wellness Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. Honored with the Clinton Global Initiative Award in 2005, she continues to give back to her community through the programs she develops.
In 1996, the Chicago Bulls collaborated with the Jordan family to build a youth center to honor James Raymond Jordan Sr. after his death. The success of the Center inspired Mrs. Jordan to establish the James R. Jordan Foundation to provide more academic support for underprivileged children. She has continued to serve as President and Founder of the foundation for almost two decades.
Established in May 2000, the James R. Jordan Foundation’s mission is to provide a pathway out of poverty by creating networks of support for families and communities, motivating youth, and ensuring high-quality academic opportunities for youth in under-served communities. “My family and I have been blessed to have been a part of the worldwide basketball community and to have spent a lifetime of our work giving back to the sport by helping other families and their children reach their fullest potential,” said Deloris Jordan.
Ordained the “Dream Team” on the February 18th, 1991 cover of “Sports Illustrated,” the 1992 USA Men’s Basketball team contained the greatest basketball talent ever assembled – and the centerpiece was, of course, Michael Jordan. On their march towards gold at the Barcelona Olympics, with an average point differential over 40, the Dream Team more than lived up to the hype. Michael and the Dream Team went undefeated in all eight games at the Olympics and made history by becoming the first team to score more than 100+points in every game.
From The Collection of Michael Jordan is a Champion brand Team USA 1992 Summer Olympics "Dream Team" commemorative jersey, worn and later signed by Michael Jordan. The lower half of the jersey shows noticeable sweat wear as the jersey was worn by Jordan during off-season practices and is estimated to go between $400,000 - $600,000.
Three other pieces up for bidding capture Michael’s time at the University of North Carolina. Playing under the legendary coach Dean Smith, Michael made his greatness known during his freshman season. Averaging 14.3 ppg and shooting over 50% from the field, Jordan was named ACC Freshman of the Year. The Tar Heels made their way through the NCAA tournament and met the mighty Georgetown Hoyas, led by Patrick Ewing, in the Final. With seconds left on the clock, Jordan hit the go-ahead bucket, securing glory for the Tar Heels and foreshadowing the greatness of Michael to come.
Gifted to Jordan as a part of a commemorative pack by Air Jordan and Converse in 2012 in connection with the 30th anniversary of Jordan hitting the game winning shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game is a size 40 commemorative North Carolina training jersey. White, with Carolina blue trim, the #23 jersey is signed by Michael and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from Upper Deck. It’s estimated to go between $80,000-$100,000.
From the same 30th anniversary commemorative pack is a pair of limited-edition Converse brand Pro leather Mid Ltd shoes signed by Michael Jordan. The white shoes, with Carolina Blue Converse logo and insoles, come with the wooden shoebox, numbered “9” of 30. Affixed to the property is an Authentication sticker from Upper Deck. Estimate: $80,000-$100,000
The third piece of sports memorabilia in the lot is a Nike Air Jordan brand Carolina blue training jersey worn and owned by Michael Jordan during his personal workouts. The label is personalized and reads: “Michael Jordan” and could fetch between $40,000-$60,000.
Another deeply personal item from the Jordan family is also up for auction. A diamond and stainless-steel automatic wristwatch, by Longines, owned and worn by Deloris Jordan. The watch, with a circular mother-of-pearl dial and diamond numerals, comes with a fitted Longines display case with papers. The verso is inscribed, "Women Who Make a Difference, September 9, 2009.” Mrs. Jordan was honored and presented with the “Women Who Make a Difference” Award by Longines for her work with The James R. Jordan Foundation International on September 9, 2009. Included in the sale will be a February 2010 issue of Town & Country featuring Mrs. Jordan wearing the watch. The watch is estimated to fetch $10,000-$20,000.
The last item featured in the auction is a Theo Fennell brand diamond and 18k white gold charm bracelet custom-made for Jada Pinkett-Smith that features the names of Jada's inner family circle: Will Smith, Trey Smith, Jaden Smith, and Willow Smith. Owned and worn by Pinkett-Smith, the charm bracelet is expected to go between $6,000-$8,000.
“The auction proceeds of these cherished items from our family and friends will help further the James R. Jordan Foundation International’s critical work in lesser served communities and we wish to express our gratitude to all of the participants in this upcoming auction for their support and efforts of our cause,” said Mrs. Jordan.
Click here for a closer look at these 6 special lots Online
These are some of our favorite sports trophies we've sold over the years.
Next week in our “Sports Legends” auction, Julien’s will be offering a trophy collection unlike anything previously brought to auction: Bill Hartack’s set of five Kentucky Derby trophies won by the legendary jockey.
Elvis Presley was passionate about numerology – the study of numbers to reveal hidden meanings – and he is known to have performed multiple readings for friends and loved ones.
Our recent “Music Icons” auction featured notes from Presley’s reading for his wife Priscilla, which included both her and her sister’s names. In an accompanying letter, Larry Geller, Presley’s spiritual advisor and personal hair stylist, writes: “He looked into the names and converted them into numbers so as to reveal their inner meaning…Elvis delved into the spiritual significance of their names and how it related to his life.”
In 1969, Presley met Cassandra Peterson, then a showgirl, who would become world-famous as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She told him how his movie Viva Las Vegas (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1964) inspired her to become a Vegas performer. In Yours Cruelly, Elvira (Hachette Books, 2021), she writes:
“He explained that what had happened to me was no coincidence. For emphasis, he grabbed an envelope…and scribbled some numbers and letters on the front and back. The numbers correlated to letters that spelled out words like 'love,' 'light,' and 'home.'"
Presley advised her to get singing lessons and leave Las Vegas, which changed the course of her life. The envelope sold for $4,480 in our 2021 sale “Property from the Collection of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.”
On August 6, 1977, ten days prior to his death, Presley discussed numerology with his fiancé and final companion, Ginger Alden, the notes from which were sold for $5,600 in our 2017 “Icons & Idols” auction, and included the words “Heart,” “Gospel,” “Gift,” “America,” “Wo-Man,” “Man,” and “Whole.” In an accompanying letter, Alden wrote:
“Elvis Presley was on a spiritual journey before his death, and he was working through his thoughts on these two sheets of yellow stationery.”
It's through personal items like these that we are able to learn more about the private lives of our favorite stars.
We have one special Elvis lot in our current “Sports Legends” auction taking place next week, a framed photo of the King of Rock ‘N’ Roll sparring with boxing’s all-time greatest, Muhammad Ali. The photo was signed by Ali, who inscribed “Peace + Love ‘01” in 2001.
Click here to see this cool lot in our auction taking place next week.
Julien’s Auctions recently had extraordinary success with the sale of a collection of original, classic horror movie posters, all signed by the people who made them, and collected by one dedicated horror fan. Although the Julien’s team had high expectations for the sale, its profits —which exceeded $190,000— greatly surpassed them.
Given the state of the entertainment industry, the sale’s success makes sense. The horror genre is currently one of the most profitable at the box office, and many of the movies which have struck fire with audiences create a bridge
from the past to the present. The recent trilogy of Halloween sequels, which brought back Jamie Lee Curtis to fight Michael Myers 40 years after she made history in John Carpenter’s film, have made more than $485 million at the box office.
A vintage poster for the original film signed by director John Carpenter (who produced and composed music for the recent films) and members of the film’s cast took in a record $16,250.
An original one sheet poster for Aliens, signed by Sigourney Weaver and the film’s other principal cast members, sold for $19,500. An original one sheet for Dawn of the Dead, signed by director George A. Romero, producer Dario Argento, effects artist and star Tom Savini, and the rest of the film’s cast and crew sold for an astonishing $16,250.
Since major German expressionist films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu half the battle for film distributors was getting audiences into seats by promising, through poster art, that their movies would show them something terrifying they had never seen before. That tradition has never stopped, and the period from the 1960s to the 1980s, heavily represented in this collection, is considered by many to be a golden age of horror movie advertising.
Adding a rare and valuable record album to your collection, like a John Lennon signed pressing of The Beatles Yesterday and Today in the infamous “Butcher” sleeve which sold at Julien’s Auctions for nearly $200,000 is, of course, priceless!
But if you’re looking for some truly weird and wild discs at a more affordable price, you might want to take a closer look at our upcoming NASA Space Memorabilia Auction.
The record in question? Christmas on the Moon / Tu Vois Cette Étoile Qui Éclate (CBS Records Canada Ltd., 1986): a melancholy, synthy single from French-Canadian New Wave rockers, Zolt’s Second Foundation dedicated to the crew of the Challenger, who tragically perished when the shuttle came apart mid-air on January 28, 1986.
Songwriter Michel Blanchard was particularly moved by the death of Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire high school social studies teacher selected from a pool of thousands to become the first “ordinary citizen” sent to space. He approached Charles Foley, the principal of Concord High School (where McAuliffe had been teaching prior to training with NASA for the mission) about recording the school’s student choir to use on the track. Foley agreed, with proceeds from the resulting 7-inch single and tape going towards “PROJECT ARSAT CHRISTA-R1” (the construction of a man-made star in McAuliffe’s honor) as well as a scholarship fund at Concord High School.
The record is quite rare in that no readily available audio of the song exists online and because not many copies of the original pressing tend to come up for sale. Another reason to register for bidding with Julien’s Auctions if you want the chance to score some hard-to-get vinyl.
