This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/10/2001.
The chaotic early days of pro basketball are embodied in this rare and haunting warm-up suit worn by Fran Curran of the NBL Toledo Jeeps. Games were played on splintered armory floors and men got paid by passing the hat. The Jeeps were one of many Midwest small-town teams vying for public favor in the NBL, while big-city eastern clubs played in the BAA. Curran, a guard from Notre Dame, played on the Jeeps in 1946-47, their best year, when they played in the league's title game against the Indianapolis Kautskys. The next season, when the BAA absorbed several NBL teams into the new NBA, the Jeeps were left in the cold and folded. His warm-up suit from that year consists of a size 42 blue and maroon jacket with the words "Toledo Jeeps" stitched on the back in white and red, and blue size 36 sweat pants with red-white striping down the side. There are a few scattered holes and light discolorations.