Barry Switzer, former coach of football in Oklahoma, heard News last December, it was hoped, is not it. Billy Sims, the former Sooners Stern, has sold his 1978 Heisman trophy.
“My reaction, like a car collection is that you never thought on the sale of the Heisman,” says Switzerland. “It is like a congress of Medal of Honor. Not, and you are going to sell. She won the extraordinary heroism.”
Good to excellent college football players in the country, the Heisman trophy is considered the most prestigious awards in different sports.
What, then, a man for such a post, apparently not a part of his life for auction?
After days of Oklahoma and Detroit Lions end Sims, now 45, blew million by many companies and risk of bad investment. It went bankrupt in 1990. He spent one month in prison after the year 1998 did not pay $ 32900 to support a child born in a subsidiary of Norman, Okla., has played during his days. The spiral desperate to put the sale of Heisman.
The message from the sale of Heisman certainly interested in the assistant U.S. attorney Phil Pinnell, hoped to claim that the $ 14025 owed Sims return to the care of the girl child. (In one case, Sims also has $ 21000 in another child born in Oklahoma City.)
If Pinnell learned of the auction, he sent on March neck federal take the loot. But it empty-handed. Scott Goodman, President of Sports World, souvenir pieces of the implementation of undertakings of the sale by telephone, Marshall said the neck, it does not exceed the trophy in time.
Switzerland was dismayed, because he knew he had sold his Sims College and NFL trophies to Bob White, Sims “substitute father in 1995, when was financially umreiften Sims. How is it that someone d ‘other than his own White Heisman, Switzerland requested.
In April 1995, Sims signed an agreement, said he could trophies Reclaim the White payment of the initial purchase price of $ 50,000, plus 8.5% interest rate. Instead of borrowing for Sims Heisman signings grams car or phenomena. The last time it adopted the trophy White’s office, he has done, it will not return.
“Bob has tried to prevent it,” says Switzerland. “It was Billy’s best interest to keep in mind. He wanted to protect all trophies Billy’s. He wanted Billy to the future. He wanted to go to them, Billy’s for children. But if someone has financial difficulties, it is difficult to rationalize it.
Blanc and Switzerland, were very close to Sims the past 30 years, Sims has spoken in months. If Switzerland is the message of the auction on December 7, he immediately called White. “It is painful to come forward and the University of Oklahoma,” said White of Switzerland. “You see what we can do.”
To stop the sale, White complaint filed against Sims and Goodman in the county of Palm Beach, Florida, where the phone was bidding to take place. Included in the Court of documents are signed a purchase contract and copies of written tests to Sims.
However, one day before the auction, Goodman calls for the sale. Federal agents and the test was not what he expects, when he trophy on the market. White is now complain Goodman, for Heisman, and a court in Texas Goodman give the trophy to white by next appointment.
According to minutes of a testimony of White’s Fall against Goodman, Goodman, said he bought the trophy Sims in June to 88,000 dollars. If Goodman Sims met in Dallas, Sims took the trophy in the back of his truck. The Deal Goodman was stolen and then returned to his homeland at that time in New York. Goodman said during filings, the trophy that he kept under his bed.
Goodman was in Florida and adopted the September trophy with him. He sold the Heisman November strangers at a price to a customer, he went to call. The client has not paid for the trophy in its entirety, if the customer has to send a $ 50000 Goodman and gave him a 1966 GTO Convertible, Goodman estimates is worth $ 25000
Since the transaction was not completed, “said Goodman during filing, which always has the trophy in Florida. He said, the trophy was in December of the auction for commercial purposes. At the time, Oklahoma was created for national titles at stake, he won.
In recent years, at least three other winners trophies were sold in New York Downtown Athletic Club, which manages the Heisman. Purchase price for other reports Heismans have been sold for $ 328110, according to Larry Kelley’s 1936 trophy, $ 230000. Simpson’s 1968 award and $ 184000 for Charles White’s Heisman 1979.
For the last three years, the Downtown Athletic Club was necessary winners sign a treaty in which they say they agree never to sell their loot.
Sims may not recognize that the attention of the auction would be useful to renew the back of the child support which he is liable. Pinnell, aggressively pursued in the wake of Sims and Sims was ordered appear in the Federal Court on 21 March in Tulsa.