This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/31/2005.
The two players in this group were the best in the 1930s and 1940s, and also served as player/coaches in the pros. After one year of high school, Bobby McDermott turned pro and starred in the ABL and NBL for 17 years. He led the Brooklyn Visitations to the ABL title in 1935, played for the Original Celtics, helped the Pistons to consecutive NBL Championships (1944, 1945), and three World Pro Tournament titles in five years. McDermott teamed with fellow Hall of Famer George Mikan as player/coach of the 1947 NBL Champion Chicago Gears. William "Pop" Gates was a power in the barnstorming days of pro basketball, leading the New York Rens and Washington Bears to World Professional Tournament Championships in 1939 and 1943. Pop earned All-Pro in the Tournament in eight of the 12 years he competed. Gates played for the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and was then Player/Coach of the Dayton Rens, both in the NBL. In 1949, Gates captured the ABL Championship as Player/Coach of the Scranton Miners. He concluded his career as Player/Coach for five years with the Harlem Globetrotters in 1955. Both are Silver Relief medallions. McDermott is in very good condition; scratches on chin and tip of nose. Gates is in excellent condition; slight scratches on tip of nose and lower lip.