President Obama’s 2012 signed NCAA basketball bracket, his first completed on ESPN, is about to be auctioned off and could bring an eye-popping $40,000.
On it, Obama correctly had one of the finalists in the game, the Kentucky Wildcats, though he had North Carolina winning. Kentucky won that year, beating Kansas 76-59.
The auctioneer, Maryland-based Alexander Historical Auctions, said it is “One of the greatest presidential sports relics we’ve ever handled!”
The internationally-known firm that regularly auctions historical items, autographs and memorabilia, said the leader board could bring in $30,000-$40,00 in part because very few items signed by Obama have come on the auction block.
The former president is a huge basketball fan and proved very knowledgeable about college teams. His ESPN bracketing, begun before his election, was always a huge hit for the cable network when it began televising his picks with the 2012 board up for sale. A 2015 version has been put into the Smithsonian Institution.
The auction takes place live in Brooklyn and online on April 7. It is part of one of the nation’s biggest-ever African-American focused auctions.
Below is the Alexander Historical Auction catalog description:
BARACK OBAMA SIGNED NCAA BASKETBALL LEADER BOARD, SEEN ON ESPN
An excellent, most unusual piece of presidential and sports memorabilia, a leader board for the 2012 NCAA Basketball Tournament, 63″ x 36″, filled out and signed by President BARACK OBAMA (b. 1961). The board bears the title “Presidential Bracket – 2012 Men’s Tournament” at top, with the NCAA ‘”Final Four” logo at center, and the presidential seal at the bottom edge.
The board lists thirty teams starting for each division, with Obama entering his choices for the winners of the second and third seeds, the “Final Four,” and the championship in black ink. He adds his large and bold signature just to the left of his championship pick. The board originates from a March 13, 2012 appearance on ESPN with sports reporter Andy Katz, in which Obama discusses his process for filling out the bracket, and chooses Kentucky, Ohio State, Missouri, and North Carolina for the “Final Four,” and North Carolina as the overall champion (the actual “Final Four” teams would be Kentucky, Ohio State, Louisville, and Kansas, with Kentucky as the champion). This was Obama’s first televised completion of a bracket board in this manner, a tradition he adhered to every year after 2012. The board is completely encased in protective plastic, and was obtained from ESPN’s annual V Foundation auction.
Fine. One of the greatest presidential sports relics we’ve ever handled!
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
