Tommy Hawkins was a forward on the Notre Dame basketball team. From 1956-57 through the 1958-59 season, Hawkins posted collegiate career averages of 23.0 points and 16.7 rebounds per game. His best season came in 1957-58, when he averaged 25.2 points and 17.2 rebounds per game, leading Notre Dame to a 24-5 record. Hawkins was the third overall pick in the 1959 NBA Draft by the Minneapolis Lakers, where he had a solid career.

Offered here are two special items from Hawkins’ personal collection. Both of these items are letterman sweaters presented to Hawkins from his high school – Parker High School in Chicago (now named Robeson High School) and Notre Dame. The Parker High School sweater is dark green and made of wool. The front has six buttons with “P” on both sides in dark green raised chenille and off-white patch with “Baseball” embroidered in white on the right chest and “Basketball” embroidered on the left chest. There are two front pockets and three white stripes on the left sleeve and two white stripes on the front shoulders and upper back. The back of this jacket has “Parker” is across the back in a felt and chenille-stitched patch which his now off-white with dark green edges and “H.S.” in dark green on the paraph. An “ENGLEWOOD KNITTING MILLS 100% PURE WOOL” tag is sewn on the inside back collar. On the inside front left tail is a green patch that has “Thomas Hawkins” embroidered in white.

The Notre Dame letter sweater is a similarly made wool product that is all dark blue. There are five buttons down the front and a long V-neck. An interlocking “ND” patch is sewn on in raised gold chenille stitching on the left chest. The front has two pockets. The left sleeve has one white stripe and three gold stripes. Both sweaters display moderate wear with toning on the white of the high school sweater. These items come with a letter of provenance from Layla Hawkins, the widow of Tommy Hawkins, who states in her letter that these sweaters “originated directly from my husband’s collection”.

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