Noble explained in a letter that in the early 1980s he came across the jersey, which was “intended for the garbage,” but instead he kept it.
“What had been for decades a personal memento of my own childhood has been transformedinto a monumental artifact ofAmerican history, and as such I have decided [it] deserves a stage much larger than my closet,” wrote Noble, who is now 55 and lives in Seattle.
Heritage Auctions; Inset: Streeter Lecka/Getty
He wrote that he had “kept the jersey all these years as a memento of very special times and glory days” — until Obama was elected in 2008, and Noble “happened to notice (I believe in aSports Illustratedarticle) that he also happened to wear #23.”
“He [Obama] wore it 2 years before the time I would have worn a #23 Punahou varsity jersey for 2 years,” Noble wrote.
Former President Barack Obama (center) playing for Punahou School.Heritage Auctions
Ahead of the sale, Nobletold the AP thathe would be donating some of the earnings to the school “because I owe so much to Punahou,” and he joked that he wished he’d gotten his hands on another jersey as well.
“I wish I had grabbed No. 5 because it was Darryl Gabriel and Darryl Gabriel was my favorite player,” he said, noting he remembered that Obama was on the basketball team when Gabriel led them to the state championship.
Whilethe AP reportsthat the auctioned jersey’s details match the one Obama was pictured wearing in the 1970s, a spokesman for Punahou School, Robert Gelber,told the outlet thatthey could not vouch for its authenticity.
Obama frequently released his March Madness brackets during his tenure in the Oval Office and was knownto participate in pick-up gameswith some formidable opponents — includingLeBron James, who toldEllen DeGenereson her talk show back in 2012 that the former president was “very, very good” on the basketball court.
EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty
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“What type of characteristics should UCLA look for in their next coach?” asked Pasch, in the wake of Steve Alford’s firing as the head of the Los Angeles school’s Bruins basketball team.
Walton — an alumnus of UCLA —responded bluntly, “Barack Obama,” pointing out that there was a family connection that might’ve made it a real possibility as opposed to a pipe dream.
“His brother-in-law [Craig Robinson] coached,” Walton said. “I’m sticking withBarack Obamauntil he says no.” The position eventually went to Mick Cronin.
source: people.com
