Bill Walton's Greatest Day in College Basketball This Week at LiveAuctionTalk.com
Rosemary McKittrick is a storyteller. Her weekly art, antiques and collectibles column opens up a window to the past.
Online, December 29, 2010 (Newswire.com) - It was March 26, 1973. Bill Walton was playing for U.C.L.A, in their seventh straight bid for the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship.
Walton scored 44 points in the game, hit 21 of 22 field goals and landed 13 rebounds as U.C.L.A. toppled Memphis State 87-66. In the last two minutes and 51 seconds of the game Walton hit the floor hard hurting his knee and ankle.
He got up and limped off the court as 19,301 spectators cheered. Walton put in one of the greatest performances in college basketball history and the fans were right there with him.
"We couldn't contain Walton. I've never seen a player so dominating," said Memphis coach, Gene Bartow.
The U.C.L.A Bruins with Walton's help captured their 9th N.C.A.A. title in 10 years and 75th straight win. Basketball for U.C.L.A had become a science.
Called the most versatile center of his time, Walton was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on May 10, 1993 and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame that same year.
On Aug. 13, Grey Flannel Auctions featured their 5th Annual Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Auction live from the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Offered in the sale was a circa 1976 Bill Walton Trailblazers, game-used, and autographed home jersey. It sold for $72,000.
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