1979 Julius Erving Philadelphia 76ers Game Worn Jersey MEARS A10

Auction: Fall Classic 2022

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1979 Julius Erving Philadelphia 76ers Game Worn Jersey MEARS A10

"Julius Erving did more to popularize basketball than anyone else who played the game. I remember going to the schoolyard as a kid the day after one of his games was on TV. Everybody there would be saying, 'Did you see the Doctor?' And we'd all start trying to do those moves," said Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. Yes, Julius Erving changed basketball. Erving played professionally from 1971-1987, an era during which professional basketball had become a pervasive presence on television. The enduring image of Hall of Famer Julius Erving is of "Doctor J" being airborne, floating, twisting or extending towards the hoop. Erving's "flying" style helped to change the game of basketball, as before Doctor J most dunking was done by big men playing close to the basket. In contrast, Erving often started his magical moves away from the basket and ended the move with an amazing dunk. Erving is the only player to have been an MVP in both the ABA and the NBA. Presented is a circa 1979 Julius Erving game worn Philadelphia 76ers road jersey. Erving grew up on Long Island, New York, and he played collegiately at the University of Massachusetts. He began his professional career with the American Basketball Association, a rival league to the National basketball Association. Erving, a 6'7" small forward, played his first two professional seasons (1971-72 and 72-73) with the Virginia Squires. In 1972-73, he led the ABA in scoring at 31.9 PPG. Then Erving played with the ABA New York Nets from 1973-74 through 1975-76. As a Net, he led the ABA in scoring in both 1973-'74 (27.4 PPG) and in 1975-76 (29.3 PPG), and in both of those seasons the Nets won the ABA Championship. During his stint in the ABA, Erving was a 3-time league champion, a 4-time MVP, and a 3-time scoring leader. The ABA and the NBA merged after the 1975-76 season, and because of contract difficulties with the Nets, Erving was sold to the Philadelphia 76ers. Doctor J played 11 years with Philadelphia, averaging 22.0 PPG, and his fame rose even higher because he was now performing his acrobatic moves in the NBA. In 1982-83, Erving helped the 76ers to the NBA Championship as Philadelphia stormed through the playoffs, losing only once in 13 games. The colorful Erving jersey is in excellent condition. Wilson size 42 and Pearson tags are sewn to the tail. On the front is Sixers, in white letters trimmed with blue and the numeral 6, in white trimmed in blue. On the back of the jersey is Erving, sewn on in white block lettering and the numeral 6, in a white numeral with blue trim. The numeral sixes are an atypical, notched style, although MEARS has authenticated one previous Erving jersey accompanied by a pair of 1979 year tags on trunks which also exhibited the notched style sixes. MEARS has also located an online image dated to circa 1979 with Erving wearing a "notched six" jersey. The offered jersey shows very nice use, with light to moderate wear. The jersey has been graded 10 by MEARS and has also been photo-matched by Photo-Matching & Grading, Inc., which grades the jersey as 10, Certification #BK-A2695. Provenance for the jersey is the Philadelphia 76ers Equipment Manager. Included with the jersey are both the jersey's Photo-Match documentation and the MEARS Letter of Opinion. Julius Erving was famed for his electrifying moves and emphatic dunks, and any collector's assemblage is sure to be a slam dunk with a game worn jersey from the flying Doctor J.