Here is an auction item that sports memorabilia collectors will enjoy. Joe Namath guarantees it.
“Broadway Joe” was known for his flamboyant wardrobe during his 12 seasons as quarterback for the NFL’s New York Jets. Fur coats were not unusual attire for him, and a mink coat that Namath owned during the 1970s will be sold by Heritage Auctions in its Summer Platinum Night Sports Auction, which will be held Aug. 27-28.
The Heritage Auctions sale includes a mint 1952 Topps baseball card of Mickey Mantle that has a current bid of $6.1 million. The current leading bid for the Namath mink coat is $5,250.
Joe Namath was one of the first athletes to transcend sport and become a fashion icon and what's more emblematic of his style than a mink coat? Broadway Joe sported this tiger striped mink in the 70's then gifted it to his lawyer who provides the LOPhttps://t.co/dnzSzkxYlr pic.twitter.com/6kqAmvcibf
— Heritage Auctions Sports (@Heritage_Sport) August 4, 2022
Included in the auction lot with the tiger-striped mink coat, which is embroidered with the initials “JWN” -- Joe Willie Namath -- on its interior, is an autographed football and a signed edition of an October 1969 edition of Esquire magazine, Sports Illustrated reported.
The items came from Namath’s attorney, James C. Walsh, according to AL.com. They have been verified as authentic by Beckett Authentication Services.
Namath, 79, was named the MVP of Super Bowl III when he guaranteed a victory against highly favored Baltimore -- and then delivered when the Jets stunned the Colts 16-7 at Miami’s Orange Bowl. Toward the end of his career, Namath was noted for wearing mink coats and sunglasses on the sidelines, the magazine reported.
“Joe Namath beat to his own drum, and in 1973 after a game in December, an injured Broadway Joe took to the sidelines with a fur coat and sunglasses, solidifying himself as the league’s top fashionista,” Heritage Auctions wrote in the coat’s auction listing. “Namath became known for wearing fur coats to games, and to the designer-studded streets and nightclubs of Manhattan, arguably becoming the first player to transcend sport to become a fashion icon.”
Namath, who was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985, was known for his swagger. He hawked plenty of items in television advertisements, including shaving cream, pantyhose and Nike shoes. Currently, Broadway Joe has become Geriatric Joe, appearing on ads touting Medicare coverage.
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