I loved Dr. J back in the day!!!!

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/After-being-sued-for-200K-Julius-Erving-puts-h?urn=nba-wp9766

After being sued for $200K, Julius Erving puts his trophy case up for auction
By Kelly Dwyer
Times are tough for business owners both big and small in 2011, and Basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving is no exception. The former Philadelphia 76ers legend is being sued for nearly a quarter of a million dollars after an investment in a golf club went belly-up.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the breakdown:

Erving's company was given a $1 million line of credit in April 2009, which was due the following April, according to the lawsuit obtained by the AJC. Erving used a Gwinnett County home as collateral to secure the loan, the lawsuit states.

In August 2010, the line of credit was reduced to $750,000 and the maturity date extended to July 24, the bank stated in the suit. But, an outstanding balance of $205,277.84 has not been paid, despite a demand letter for payment sent Sept. 29.

Erving, better known by his nickname Dr. J, moved to the Atlanta area in 2008, about two years after purchasing the Heritage Golf Club, near the Gwinnett-DeKalb county line. The AJC reported in April 2010 that the golf club was in foreclosure.

That's just all sorts of unfortunate. Erving has taken in plenty of post-playing work since retiring from the NBA in 1987, including stints as an analyst on NBC and a gig with the Orlando Magic as an advisor. It's not clear what his role in the failed golf club was, but he's certainly on the hook here.

In what the AJC is calling an "unrelated" event, a litany of Dr. J's personal memorabilia has gone up for auction, through the SCP Auctions company. It's a pretty significant list of swag, available here:

Some of the marquis items from the collection include Dr. J's 1974 and 1976 New York Nets ABA World Championship ring; 1983 Philadelphia 76ers World Championship ring; 1996 NBA's 50 Greatest Players ring; MVP trophies from 1975-76 (ABA) and 1980-81 (NBA); 1977 and 1983 NBA All-Star game MVP trophies; 1979, 1981 and 1985 Eastern Conference All-Star game-worn uniforms, 1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers game-worn road uniform; and his final game-worn jersey from Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference playoffs.

That's not just some of his memorabilia -- that's all his memorabilia. Championship rings? MVP trophies? His jersey from his final game as a Sixer? It's a cool stash, but it's also more than a little depressing

_________________
Proud to be UNVERIFIED.

That is pretty rough for him to have to sell that stuff. Should be able to raise the cash with
that haul though. Dr. J was just on his way out when I became a huge NBA fan in my youth.
Still knew a lot about him from reading and watching my NBA Superstars video until it was literally
ruined.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Theeee Doctor!

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/throwback/201111/dr-j-memorabilia-fetches-35m-biggest-online-sports-auction-ever

Julius Erving is one of the best basketball players in history. When it came to earnings, however, Dr. J's career ended just before salaries began to soar higher than his breathtaking one-handed dunks.

Erving's biggest payday by far came in the wee hours Sunday morning when an online auction closed and 144 of his possessions had sold for $3,552,627.

His 1974 ABA New York Nets championship ring fetched $460,741, the highest total ever for a sports ring. Five more of Erving's rings each exceeded $195,000. Three MVP trophies each exceeded $165,000.

What SCP Auctions had described as "the largest and most significant player basketball collection ever sold" indeed set a record for the most money brought in for one man's basketball memorabilia.

"It was mindboggling," SCP president David Kohler said. "Normally rings go for $25,000 or so. Before the sale I didn't think they'd bring $50,000. We were blown away. I spoke to Julius and he's ecstatic."

Nearly everything went higher than expected. Dr. J asked a minimum bid of only $2,000 for his high school class ring, yet it sold for $35,801.

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The cash should come in handy for Erving, 61, who was sued last month for an outstanding debt of $205,277.84 to a bank in Georgia. The Heritage Golf Club near Atlanta he bought in 2008 and a $2.3 million home he owns in Utah face foreclosure.


All in all, collectors spent more than $6.5 million at the auction – a new high in the dozen-or-so years of organized online bidding.

Among the non-Erving pieces that sold for eye-popping amounts:

• Lou Gehrig’s 1938-39 bat used to hit his last home run, which originated from the estate of actor Bing Russell, yielded $403,664. The only bats that have sold for more were the one Babe Ruth used to hit the first homer at Yankee Stadium and Shoeless Joe Jackson's "Black Betsy." Here is a story about the history of the bat on ThePostGame.com.

• A historic 1887 photograph and dinner program signed by baseball Hall-of-Famer Mike "King" Kelly (see below) went for $214,936, by far the highest price for a photo signed by a single player. Kohler said the only baseball photo to be sold for more was a team shot signed by the entire 1927 New York Yankees. Here is a story about Kelly and the autographed program on ThePostGame.com.

• Muhammad Ali's fight-worn trunks from the Ali vs. Frazier "Fight of the Century" sold for $173,102.

• Hall of Fame catcher Mickey Cochrane’s 1934 American League MVP trophy fetched $125,332 and a Ted Williams Boston Red Sox game-worn road jersey sold for $77,820.

All impressive numbers, all prized by new owners, but this auction started and ended with the Dr. J collection. He said a portion of the proceeds would go to the Salvation Army.

"It is my hope that the buyers of these items will derive much pleasure from their ownership," Erving said in a statement. "I also hope these treasures initiate much discussion inside and outside of basketball circles that help to preserve my legacy."


Here's a list of the highest auction prices for items sold by Erving:

• 1974 ABA New Jersey Nets championship ring: $460,741

• 1983 76ers championship ring: $244,240

• 1978 All-Star ring: $238,853

• 1983 All-Star ring: $218.977

• 1984 All-Star ring: $218,977

• 1976 New York Nets ABA championship ring: $195,396

• 1980-81 NBA MVP trophy: $177,632

• 1975-76 ABA MVP trophy: $173,102

• 1977 NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable trophy: $168,728

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Proud to be UNVERIFIED.