I feel very sad about this ...

[cto]

Dave Bing's grandchildren get $34,555 by selling his memorabilia -- while he is still alive. I wonder how he feels about it. I know Dave fairly well... and knowing how fond he is of his Syracuse experience and his "Syracuse family," I suspect this sale will not be one of his happier memories. I thought of asking him about it at Pearl's funeral (we randomly sat next to each other there), but I quickly decided it would not be appropriate.

http://www.syracuse.com/orangebaske...n.html?ath=0a301576ae9fdc6be9a1cd98d696dfff#0

 

[Toga]

Short of receiving his OK - this is really tacky and disrespectful.

 

[EastCoast2]

How old are these grandchildren? 20s? 30s?

 

[Millhouse]

Dave Bing's grandchildren get $34,555 by selling his memorabilia -- while he is still alive. I wonder how he feels about it. I know Dave fairly well... and knowing how fond he is of his Syracuse experience and his "Syracuse family," I suspect this sale will not be one of his happier memories. I thought of asking him about it at Pearl's funeral (we randomly sat next to each other there), but I quickly decided it would not be appropriate.

http://www.syracuse.com/orangebaske...n.html?ath=0a301576ae9fdc6be9a1cd98d696dfff#0

i guess it depends on their situation. if they're really down and out (lots of people are in Detroit), it's gotta be hard to sit on that stuff when you need to pay bills

 

[orange79]

I thought there was an article and he pretty much diffused the situation, however it really does have to hurt. And he seems like the classy kind of guy that would say the right thing, even if it were tearing him up inside.

http://www.syracuse.com/orangebaske...e_university_basketball_star_up_for_sale.html

Bing said he recently moved into a new home in the Detroit area and as part of his downsizing gave the items to his grandchildren. He said he is not upset they decided to put the memorabilia up for auction.

"I don't think they value it the same way (as he does),'' Bing said. "I'm not going to fight them over it. It's not that big of a deal. All that stuff was so long ago. When I downsized, that's when you realize how much stuff you have. I'm not that sentimental, to be honest with you.''

No matter what he says, it has to eat at him, at least a bit.

 

[MSOrange]

Hard to tell without being closer to the family. They may cherish the memories of Dave as a father and grandfather more than as a basketball player since he retired almost 40 years ago. So the memorabilia may not be as meaningful to them. It probably bothers him a bit, but this probably happens to a lot of parents whose kids may not find things as meaningful as they did.

 

[skurey]

The stuff you own ends up owning you

 

[orangefog]

Hard to tell without being closer to the family. They may cherish the memories of Dave as a father and grandfather more than as a basketball player since he retired almost 40 years ago. So the memorabilia may not be as meaningful to them. It probably bothers him a bit, but this probably happens to a lot of parents whose kids may not find things as meaningful as they did.

It has to hurt. These items are the physical representation all of his accomplishments. To reach such heights takes pride, and he has to be proud of his accomplishments, no matter how humble the man. These are the kinds of items that his grand kids should be bringing to show and tell and showing off to their friends. They should be proudly displayed and upon his passing, hopefully long long from now, they should be cherished and induce his memory and act as a reminder of what a great example he set for them all.

 

[jgeorge322]

http://www.syracuse.com/orangebaske...e_university_basketball_star_up_for_sale.html

Bing said he recently moved into a new home in the Detroit area and as part of his downsizing gave the items to his grandchildren. He said he is not upset they decided to put the memorabilia up for auction.

"I don't think they value it the same way (as he does),'' Bing said. "I'm not going to fight them over it. It's not that big of a deal. All that stuff was so long ago. When I downsized, that's when you realize how much stuff you have. I'm not that sentimental, to be honest with you.''

No matter what he says, it has to eat at him, at least a bit.

dave seems too classy to trash his grandkids publicly. my feelings is he did not intend for them to sell his stuff and therefore, I cant really believe that the sale had his blessing. I kind of wished Syracuse.com would stop publicizing it.

 

[pfister1]

I wonder what the stuff was? The 2003 National Championship ring isn't actually memorabilia directly related to him. He wasn't a player, coach or direct participant in that team. So the grandchildren may have an entirely different perspective on that than say this NBA Rookie of the Year award which they might find more meaningful and be less willing to part with.

 

[br801]

http://www.syracuse.com/orangebaske...e_university_basketball_star_up_for_sale.html

Bing said he recently moved into a new home in the Detroit area and as part of his downsizing gave the items to his grandchildren. He said he is not upset they decided to put the memorabilia up for auction.

"I don't think they value it the same way (as he does),'' Bing said. "I'm not going to fight them over it. It's not that big of a deal. All that stuff was so long ago. When I downsized, that's when you realize how much stuff you have. I'm not that sentimental, to be honest with you.''

No matter what he says, it has to eat at him, at least a bit.

Reading that article, it sounds like he has retained the items that mean the most to him, and that's all that really matters, IMO.

 

[RoofBeam]

Second Noble Truth.

 

[RF2044]

I wonder what the stuff was? The 2003 National Championship ring isn't actually memorabilia directly related to him. He wasn't a player, coach or direct participant in that team. So the grandchildren may have an entirely different perspective on that than say this NBA Rookie of the Year award which they might find more meaningful and be less willing to part with.

That's kind of what I was thinking, too--still pretty tacky, but not a personal memento for Bing.

But then I saw the list of stuff that was auctioned, and it went well beyond just the NC ring. Lots of memorabilia from his NBA career, too.

Sad.

 

[MSOrange]

It has to hurt. These items are the physical representation all of his accomplishments. To reach such heights takes pride, and he has to be proud of his accomplishments, no matter how humble the man. These are the kinds of items that his grand kids should be bringing to show and tell and showing off to their friends. They should be proudly displayed and upon his passing, hopefully long long from now, they should be cherished and induce his memory and act as a reminder of what a great example he set for them all.

I totally agree. I would have never sold it but I'm pretty interested in sports memorabilia. Guess those items mean different things to people. It's kind of the opposite of the Don Drysdale situation where Ann Meyers sold most of his memorabilia and his kids were interested in keeping it.

 

[DeGrozz]

That's kind of what I was thinking, too--still pretty tacky, but not a personal memento for Bing.

But then I saw the list of stuff that was auctioned, and it went well beyond just the NC ring. Lots of memorabilia from his NBA career, too.

Sad.

I think people are making too big of a deal about this -- what went up for auction was probably less than a tenth of what he has.

- The All-Star rings are from when he played in exhibition games as a retired player
- The national championship ring is for a team he never played on or coached
- There are high school basketball trophies
- There are a bunch of alumni association awards
- There are charity game trophies
- etc, etc

The guy was a seven time all-star, a top 50 player of all-time, had multiple first team all-NBA honors, and was mayor of a major American city. He probably has more trophies, plaques, certificates, jerseys, and rings than we could dream of. If I were him, I would have kept what was important to me, given the rest to my (grand)kids and said 'keep what you want and sell the rest'.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

I know this is kind of off topic, but if anyone knows of a good place to get some cool autographed Cuse memorabilia let me know. I'd be interested.

 

[RF2044]

I think people are making too big of a deal about this -- what went up for auction was probably less than a tenth of what he has.

- The All-Star rings are from when he played in exhibition games as a retired player
- The national championship ring is for a team he never played on or coached
- There are high school basketball trophies
- There are a bunch of alumni association awards
- There are charity game trophies
- etc, etc

The guy was a seven time all-star, a top 50 player of all-time, had multiple first team all-NBA honors, and was mayor of a major American city. He probably has more trophies, plaques, certificates, jerseys, and rings than we could dream of. If I were him, I would have kept what was important to me, given the rest to my (grand)kids and said 'keep what you want and sell the rest'.

They weren't all worthless trinkets / baubles--you either overlooked or left out several OTHER items, including:

• 1966 collegiate all american award / trophy from when he was at Syracuse

• the 1966-67 NBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR TROPHY!!

I agree [and posted above] that most of the stuff was no big deal, but some of this stuff was highly germane to his career. Honorary awards aren't anything to get worked up about, but stuff that he achieved--and there were a few of those items mixed in--seems qualitatively different. Here's the full listing presented by the PS this morning:

http://www.syracuse.com/orangebaske...storic_memorabilia_sold_for_at_auction.html#0

 

[reedny]

Anyway you slice it, this is a family disaster. Credit to Bing for taking the high road.

 

[cuseguy]

Anyway you slice it, this is a family disaster. Credit to Bing for taking the high road.

JB should buy all the memorabilia and give it back to Bing.

 

[pfister1]

Geez after looking at the pictures of that stuff, he may be proud that the grandkids were able to turn that stack of crap into $35,000.

The trophy that purports to be the NBA Rookie of the Year Trophy appears to be smaller than the participation trophies my kid's little league give out every year.

 

[realorange]

If you want to find out what your family is like, do something like Dave did or watch what happens when a parent dies with assets to be distributed.

You will see a side of people that you never dreamed could exist.

 

[br801]

Anyway you slice it, this is a family disaster. Credit to Bing for taking the high road.

I'd say your definition of "family disaster" is pretty broad.

 

[cto]

I know this is kind of off topic, but if anyone knows of a good place to get some cool autographed Cuse memorabilia let me know. I'd be interested.

Such stuff (lots of it!) is always available at silent auctions at such events as the Hardwood Club Dinner, the Boeheims' Basket Ball, and many other events sponsored by the SU Athletics Department. I suspect Brandon Steiner also has a lot of it for sale. https://www.steinersports.com

 

[DeGrozz]

They weren't all worthless trinkets / baubles--you either overlooked or left out several OTHER items, including:

• 1966 collegiate all american award / trophy from when he was at Syracuse

• the 1966-67 NBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR TROPHY!!

I agree [and posted above] that most of the stuff was no big deal, but some of this stuff was highly germane to his career. Honorary awards aren't anything to get worked up about, but stuff that he achieved--and there were a few of those items mixed in--seems qualitatively different. Here's the full listing presented by the PS this morning:

http://www.syracuse.com/orangebaske...storic_memorabilia_sold_for_at_auction.html#0

To your points -- Bing was on multiple All-American lists and I didn't see the AP All American or USBWA trophies up for grabs. The award up for auction is 'The Sporting News' plaque.

And if you read the details on the auction site, those "rookie of the year trophies" are from the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association and the E&J Sporting Club (whatever that is). I don't think they were issued by the NBA -- they look like cheap trophies that a high school would give out.

Again, I think this memorabilia is probably a lot of junk and nothing that is too sentimental for any player of his caliber.

 

[Shenexon]

Dave Bing's grandchildren get $34,555 by selling his memorabilia -- while he is still alive. I wonder how he feels about it. I know Dave fairly well... and knowing how fond he is of his Syracuse experience and his "Syracuse family," I suspect this sale will not be one of his happier memories. I thought of asking him about it at Pearl's funeral (we randomly sat next to each other there), but I quickly decided it would not be appropriate.

http://www.syracuse.com/orangebaske...n.html?ath=0a301576ae9fdc6be9a1cd98d696dfff#0

Any chance SU bought any of it to add to their collections?