SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Personal effects of the late Bill Walton will be offered at auction this June, spanning a legendary basketball career both as player and commentator, it was announced Thursday.
A portion of the proceeds from the auction, hosted by Hunt Auctions, will benefit UC San Diego's orthopedic department.
"We are pleased to be presenting this offering of Bill's memorabilia to his many fans," said Walton's widow Lori Walton. "Bill's career within the game of basketball spanned over five decades and through that time, he was always so appreciative of the fans and people that supported him from his college days at UCLA through the NBA cities of Portland, San Diego, Los Angeles and Boston."
On the auction block are a treasure trove of basketball artifacts, including two NBA championship rings (for the Portland Trailblazers in 1977 and the Boston Celtics in 1986), his 1972 and 1973 UCLA Bruins NCAA Championship rings, game-worn jersey and sneakers and his 1977-78 NBA Most Valuable Player Award.
"Our family has been blessed with many priceless experiences as a result of Bill's basketball career," Lori Walton said. "It is in the spirit of the support that fans displayed to Bill throughout those many seasons that we are sharing some of his memorabilia with that same group of special people.
"It is our wish that these items bring back cherished memories for the fans and I am so very grateful that the auction will also support a cause dear to Bill and me at the Orthopedic Department of the University of California San Diego."
Walton, a La Mesa native, played at Helix High School before joining legendary coach John Wooden at UCLA, where he led the Bruins to two consecutive 30-0 seasons, a record 88-game win streak, two NCAA championships, and remains one of only two players to receive three NCAA Player of the Year awards. His bright red hair, 6-foot-11-inch height and outspoken political views -- particularly in opposition to the Vietnam War -- garnered Walton even more distinction.
"Bill Walton stands as a titan in the history of the game of basketball," said David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions. "His dominance within the collegiate game ranks among the most elite players in its history, earning a record-tying three NCAA Player of the Year Awards."
Drafted by the Blazers first overall in the 1974 NBA draft, "Big Red" experienced chronic foot injuries in Portland before becoming one of the most dominant players on the court in the late 1970s. He brought the Blazers their only championship before breaking with the team over contract and treatment issues, joining his hometown San Diego Clippers in 1979.
His injuries continued for several years before the team relocated to Los Angeles. Walton then joined the Boston Celtics, with the veteran racking up another championship and winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award under coach Red Auerbach.
"We are honored to present Bill Walton's personal collection, which is one of the most important of its type to have been offered at public auction," Hunt said. "Perhaps more impressively was Bill Walton's dedication to others, which continues to be evident with a portion of the auction proceeds benefiting causes at the University of California San Diego."
Following his lengthy, albeit injury-studded career, Walton became a basketball color commentator, perhaps most notably for West Coast audiences as the Grateful Dead-loving personality calling games for the PAC-12 conference.
Other items up for auction include Grateful Dead paraphernalia, broadcasting-related items and a tipi from his San Diego home.
Walton was long one of San Diego's greatest boosters, taking a progressive political approach to many issues. This changed somewhat during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he began speaking out against what he saw as failed policies, name-checking Mayor Todd Gloria and his efforts on homelessness.
Walton died in San Diego on May 27, 2024. He is survived by his first wife, Susie Guth Walton, with whom he had four children: Adam, Nathan, Luke and Chris, and his second wife, Lori.
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