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A fantastic little time capsule of ABC Sports / Wide World of Sports memorabilia, acquired together from the Los Angeles-area estate of a longtime ABC employee.This lot includes an ABC Wide World of Sports acrylic notecard holder, two ABC Sports keychains, and a new-in-box dozen of Spalding custom ABC Wide World of Sports golf balls. It’s a particularly fun group for a collector of vintage sports broadcasting memorabilia because the pieces were found together rather than assembled from separate sources.Included in the lot:* 1 ABC Wide World of Sports acrylic notecard holder, approximately 3.75” square, featuring the classic shield/globe Wide World of Sports logo
* 2 ABC Sports logo keychains
* 12 Spalding Custom Golf Balls, new in the original box
* The golf balls remain packaged in four original 3-ball sleeves
* 2 sleeves of Spalding No. 1 balls
* 2 sleeves of Spalding No. 2 balls
* Each ball is printed with the ABC Wide World of Sports logoA Little ABC Sports HistoryABC’s Wide World of Sports debuted in 1961 and became one of the defining programs in American sports television, famously associated with host Jim McKay and the phrase “the thrill of victory … and the agony of defeat.” The program brought an extraordinary variety of sports and international competitions into American homes and became an important part of the identity of ABC Sports.There’s also a great connection between Wide World of Sports and golf: ABC began carrying the Open Championship in 1962 as part of Wide World of Sports, making these custom ABC golf balls an especially fitting piece of network sports memorabilia.Estate ProvenanceThese pieces came from a Los Angeles-area estate with a long ABC connection. Other material found in the same estate included an ABC Sports pin recognizing 30 years of employment/service, along with additional ABC network promotional and marketing material, including hats associated with the marketing of ABC television programming such as NYPD Blue.Those additional finds help establish the context in which this group was found and suggest these were retained as employee/network memorabilia rather than ordinary retail souvenirs.Please note: The 30-year employee pin, hats and other estate material mentioned above are not included in this listing; they are mentioned only to provide the provenance of the pieces being offered.ConditionThe 12 Spalding golf balls are new in their original packaging, with all four 3-ball sleeves present inside the original dozen box. The outer Spalding box shows age and storage wear, including edge/corner wear and marks as photographed.The acrylic ABC Wide World of Sports notecard holder is new in original box. The two ABC Sports keychains are unused but were found loosely kept in a box so may show some surface/storage wear consistent with that. Please review all photographs closely for condition.A terrific crossover collectible for fans of ABC Sports, Wide World of Sports, Jim McKay, vintage television, sports broadcasting, golf, Spalding, network advertising and behind-the-scenes television memorabilia.Everything pictured in the lot is included.
