Eddie Gottlieb was one of the formative figures of American basketball, a Kiev-born immigrant who either played, coached, or otherwise worked in basketball for the better part of 60 years. Gottlieb was the first coach of the Philadelphia Warriors, and a legendary member of the dominant Philadelphia Sphas. Gottlieb was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1972. Included in this lot are 12 basketball related documents, correspondences, and photographs from the life and career of Eddie Gottlieb. The items in this lot include an undated Philadelphia 76ers ticket, a pamphlet titled “It Takes a Thoroughbred to be a Real Basketball Player”, a Western Union telegram, a federal tax admission form of Gottlieb’s from 1940, a carbon copy of a Negro National League ledger from 1940, letter from Luther J. Avery to Gottlieb, an Official Agreement for Outright or Conditional Assignment sending John Ford Smith from the Philadelphia Stars to the Jersey City Base Ball Club, a copy of a letter dated to September 8th, 1962, a typed letter dated to August 23rd, 1961, a black and white 8 x 10 inch photograph featuring Gottlieb, and a 5 x 4 inch photograph negative of the Philadelphia basketball team. The final item in this lot is a typed letter signed by Abe Saperstein addressed to Gottlieb and typed on official Abe Saperstein Sports Enterprises stationary. Saperstein has signed the letter in blue marker as “Abe”. This lot is a fantastic treasure trove of artifacts from one of the most important men in NBA history!

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