This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 5/11/2001.
Ron Bontemps was a 6-foot-3 center for the Beloit (Illinois) basketball team that wrote a Cinderella story in 1950-51. Under coach Dolph Stanley and with Johhny Orr as the big gun, the
Buccaneers took their high-scoring, run-and-gun game all the way to the NIT, where the story ended with a 71-57 loss to Seton Hall. The rugged Bontemps got another invite to Madison Square Garden to play in the 1951 East/West Senior All-Star Game. Bontemps also played on the 1952 gold-medal U.S. Olympic basketball team and was elected to the Illinois Sports Hall of Fame. This is his uniform from the East/West Game. Across the front of the jersey is the name "West." The player number "12" appears on both the front and back. The letters and numbers are made of black tackle twill. Included with the uniform are satin shorts. Inside the waistband is the "Thorp" label and below is the size tag "32." The uniform shows game use and appears to have no alterations of any kind.