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1961 Cleveland Pipers ABL Charter Membership Plaque Presented to George Steinbrenner
They were George Steinbrenner's pipe dream a dozen years before he ever bought the New York Yankees. The Cleveland Pipers, from The Boss' hometown, were a professional basketball team from the short-lived American Basketball League during the 1950s and early '60s, and Steinbrenner's failed attempts to bring them to the NBA nearly bankrupted him. This plaque, which once hung on the walls of the team offices, reads: "CHARTER MEMBER AMERICAN BASKETBALL LEAGUE THIS WILL CERTIFY THAT A FRANCHISE IN THE AMERICAN BASKETBALL LEAGUE HAS BEEN GRANTED ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION AND BY LAWS OF THIS PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION TO GEORGE STEINBRENNER CLEVELAND PIPERS BASKETBALL CLUB." The six charter member cities are listed (Pittsburgh, Washington, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Honolulu were the others), along with the signature of league commissioner Abe Saperstein and the date, June 3, 1961. Please note: this plaque originally appeared as Lot 782 in Lelands' Fall 2014 auction, where it realized $3,750. It has been consigned by the family of the original purchaser in that sale. The plaque (15x12") displays a few light scratches on the front. The reverse has a few small corner chips and small areas of paper residue from former inventory labels.
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