Simpson's Heisman Only $230K
O.J. Simpson's Heisman Trophy fetched $230,000 Tuesday night at auction to benefit the estates of the former football star's slain ex-wife and her friend.
Other Simpson items sold for up to $10,000 to bidders making offers by phone, in person and over the Internet.
Among the items were a life-sized metal statue of Simpson that went for $3,250, a glass University of Southern California Hall of Fame award for $1,800, and a player of the year trophy give by ABC Wide World of Sports in 1973 for $1,700.
The auction earned $382,075, Butterfield & Butterfield auction house said.
The proceeds would barely "put a scratch" in the $33.5 million judgment owed to the estate of Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and the family of Ronald Goldman, said Gary Caris, a lawyer for the Goldmans.
A small amount of money has been collected in a private settlement. Caris said he could not reveal how much because of a confidentiality agreement.
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| O.J.'s Heisman made a great catch at $230,000. (AP) |
The judgment stemmed from a civil wrongful death suit in which a jury found Simpson liable for the killings of his ex-wife and Goldman. Simpson was acquitted of murder in an earlier criminal trial.
The winning Heisman Trophy bidder is an East Coast collector who wanted to remain anonymous, said George Noceti, a vice president at Butterfield & Butterfield. The winning bid was made by telephone.
Earlier estimates had the Heisman Trophy, awarded annually to the top college football player, selling for as much as $4 million.
Marty cohen of Cleveland came close to buying the Heisman Trophy, but his $220,000 bid was overtaken.
"I was going to go to a quarter of a million and then I got rational," said Cohen, who is in the real estate business and collects sports memorabilia as a hobby.
"I got real sweaty at the end. ... I was going to put it in my house. But then you consider, that's the cost of a real house," Cohen said.
Another bidder, Bob Enyart of Denver, told reporters afterward that he spent $16,000 and plans to burn everything, including a $10,000 Hall of Fame plaque and two No. 32 jerseys. The Web site operator, who said he raised the money from site visitors, plans to destroy the items on the steps of the Los Angeles County courthouse.
In the audience for the much-touted auction was Nicole Simpson's father, Louis Brown. "It could have gone better, but it could have also gone a hell of a lot worse," he said.
Simpson's possessions were seized and stored in a sheriff's warehouse while lawyers battled over whacould be sold and when. A baby grand piano used by Simpson's mother was seized and then returned when a judge ruled it was her property.
His home also went into foreclosure and was sold at auction. It subsequently was demolished by the buyer who wanted to build a different style house on the property.
Simpson continues to live in Los Angeles with his two children and is fighting a custody battle with his former in-laws, Louis and Juditha Brown. They want the children to live with them.
The civil trial verdict is still on appeal, but that did not prevent the auction from going forward.
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