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Tennis and Golf Autographs
7 Lots
 Lot 10. Martina Navratilova Competition-Used Tennis Racquet and Autograph. Here is a rare opportunity to own a racquet used in a tournament by one of the greatest players in tennis history and an accompanying autograph. According to tennis historian Bud Collins, Navratilova is "arguably, the greatest player of all time." Billie Jean King called her “the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player who's ever lived." ESPN called her the 19th greatest athlete of the 20th century. John purchased the Yonex RQ-180 racquet at a charity event in the late 1980s. Navratilova began using this type of racquet it 1988. It shows good use. The racquet cover has a large, bold gem mint 10 Navratilova autograph, signed simply as “Martina,” her usual signature. Kevin Keating authenticated the signature. The numbers documenting Navratilova’s success include 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, a record, and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. John has provided a letter of provenance.
Winning Bid $525.
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 Lot 60. Tommy John and Glen Campbell Signed 1976 Los Angeles Open Golf Tournament Plaque. John’s teammates for the Pro-Am event at the Riviera Country Club on Feb. 18 were Campbell, Pat Fitzsimons, the pro on the team; Congressman Dan Rostenkowski and Larry Wheat, associated with the Collegiate All-Star Golf Team Asian Tour. The 14.5” x 15.75” laminated plaque consists of a 6” x 4.5” photo of the quintet, autographs of each and their original scorecard. While the photo is faded, the images remain clear. The autographs are mint 9 authenticated by Kevin Keating.
Minimum Bid $75.
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 Lot 100. Jennifer Capriati and Wendy Turnbull Autographs. Capriati’s autograph is huge (7” across) on a 17” x 23” color poster with her image promoting the 1991 Pathmark Tennis Classic in Mahwah, NJ. Briefly ranked number one in the world, Capriati won the Australian Open singles title in 2001 and 2002 and the French Open in 2001. After 2004, injuries limited her successes. In 2005, “Tennis” magazine ranked her as the 36th greatest player during the preceding 40 years. Turnbull’s full signature is on a colorful Prince racquet cover. Turnbull won nine Grand Slam events during her career. Kevin Keating authenticated the autographs, which grade mint 9 to gem mint 10. They come with a letter signed by Tommy John stating that they are from his collection.
Winning Bid $50.
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 Lot 101. Chris Evert Autograph Photo. Evert’s personalized autograph as “Chris” is on an 8” x 10” photo that shows her with Tommy John, Burt Reynolds and Ricardo Montalban. She thanks Tommy “for watching me this week!” Authentication by Keating and accompanied by a Tommy John signed letter stating that the photo is from his collection. Evert is one of the top tennis players of all time. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including the U.S. Open for a record six times and the French Open seven times, also a record. ESPN selected her as the 50th best athlete of the 20th century. Among women athletes, only Babe Didrikson, Martina Navratilova, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Wilma Rudolph were ranked higher.
Winning Bid $50.
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 Lot 308. 20 High-Quality Photos Signed by Golf Greats – Littler, Miller, Larry Nelson, Etc. All of the photos are different. The signatures are predominantly mint 9s and gem mint 10s. The collection includes three Hall of Fame members: Gene Littler (2 photos), Johnny Miller and Larry Nelson (7). The other signers are Justin Leonard (2), Shaun Micheel, Mark O’Meara (2), Jesper Parkevik, Craig Parry (2) and Carl Pettersson (2). All but Parkevik, Parry and Pettersson have captured at least one of the four major championships. A fabulous group of Hall of Famers and other legends.
Minimum Bid $75.
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 Lot 360. “SI’s” First Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Issue Signed by Wooden and King. In its first year, Sports Illustrated” initiated the practice of honoring a “Sportsman of the Year.” For the first time in 1972, the award was expanded to include a woman as well. John Wooden was selected for leading the UCLA basketball team to its sixth consecutive NCAA basketball championship, and eighth in nine years. Billie Jean King was chosen for winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Their autographs are gem mint 10s on the cover of the Dec. 25, 1972 issue, which is ex-m+. Autographs authenticated by Kevin Keating.
Winning Bid $121.
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 Lot 363. Arthur Ashe Autographed July 14, 1975 “Sports Illustrated.” The headline on the magazine’s front cover tells the story: “Shocker at Wimbledon: Ashe Chops Up Connors.” He was the first African-American to capture the Wimbledon championship. In 1968, he won the U.S. Open and became the first black man to be ranked #1 in tennis. In 1970, he won both the French Open and the Australian Open. These successes place him among the all-time elite of tennis. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985. In 1983, Ashe underwent a second round of bypass surgery. Subsequently, he developed AIDS from a contaminated blood transfusion received during the surgery. In the final year of his life, he worked to call attention to AIDS sufferers, and he established the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health to deal with health care delivery issues. For these efforts and his life in sports, “SI” named him its “Sportsman of the Year” for 1992. He died in early 1993. Ashe’s autograph is mint 9 to gem mint 10 and has been authenticated by Kevin Keating. The magazine has a label at the lower left.
Winning Bid $134.
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