Photo credit: Getty / Streeter Lecka
Some of basketball’s greatest stars have worn the #23 jersey, now we can add former president Barack Obama to the list!
The former president’s game-worn jersey from Punahou High School has hit the auction block through Heritage Auctions. The bids started at $25,000 and are expected to reach as high as $100,000! Heritage Auctions describes the jersey as being worn by an 18-year old Obama, back in his senior year of high school as part of Punahou’s 1979 Hawaii State Champion boy’s varsity basketball team.
According to Heritage, Obama’s jersey was, “fortuitously rescued from being discarded when the new varsity jerseys arrived on campus only because our consignor Peter Noble, three years behind Obama at Punahou, had worn the same number “23” jersey while on the junior varsity team. We can see the multiple years of wear in the softness of the tackle twill identifiers and the “Rawlings [size] 40″ label at lower right front tail, and even a scattering of small stains consistent with blood, perhaps Obama’s. A patched repair at lower front left likewise documents the long, rough-and-tumble history of the historic garment.”
The jersey will be featured as part of Heritage Auction’s Sports Collectibles Session Platinum Night on August 17th in Dallas, with online bidding open between now and then. You can make a bid on the link below!
