Vintage UNC 1957 NCAA BASKETBALL National Championship Team Medal Vs KANSAS
Item History & Price
Vintage 1957 NCAA BASKETBALL National Championship Team MedalUNC Vs KANSASWilt Chamberlain 3OT Classic & 1st Tarheel Championship
This 1 3/8" medal needs to be polished as it is slightly tarnished near the basketball player but I will leave that up to the buyer. I left it mainly to prove the authenticity and age. There is a slight imperfection at the top rim (see photos) that I believe was where a metal loop attached to allow it to be on a chain. Other that that, this is an INCR...EDIBLY rare piece of NCAA, UNC, KANSAS & Wilt Chamberlain history.
This is the medal the winners received, making it the first NCAA medal for the UNC Tarheels! VERY rare.
HISTORY:The 1957 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game took place on March 23, 1957, between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Kansas Jayhawks at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The match-up was the final one of the nineteenth edition of the single-elimination tournament now known as the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament — commonly referred to as the NCAA Tournament — organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It was used to crown a national champion for men's basketball in the NCAA's University Division, known since 1973 as NCAA Division I.
After surviving numerous close games during the regular season, conference tournament, and most recently a triple overtime game against Michigan State in the national semifinal, North Carolina came into the National Championship game with an unblemished record of 31–0. Led by coach Frank McGuire and Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year Lennie Rosenbluth, the Tar Heels were ranked first overall in the AP Poll. Kansas came into the National Championship game with two losses, which were credited to poor ball control on the Jayhawks part. The Kansas Jayhawks, led by Sophomore phenom and First–team All-American Wilt Chamberlain, came into the game favored to win against the Tar Heels of North Carolina.
The game received heavy media attention with over ten television stations and seventy news reporters being represented. The North Carolina Tar Heels jumped out to an early 19–7 lead in the first half, before the Jayhawks were able to close the lead before halftime. In the second half, the Jayhawks managed to fully overcome the deficit and take the lead. However, the Tar Heels were able to tie the game in the final minute, sending the game to overtime. The first overtime saw each team score a basket before time ran out, while the second overtime saw zero points scored due to poor offensive execution on both teams parts. The third overtime saw more action take place, with the Tar Heels winning the game 54–53 as Joe Quigg made two free throws in the closing seconds to give the Tar Heels the lead.
The Tar Heels won their first NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship and received a large welcome at Raleigh–Durham International Airport when they arrived back in North Carolina. Due to the success of televising the National Championship game in North Carolina, the broadcasting of collegiate basketball for the Atlantic Coast Conference expanded greatly. Kansas' Wilt Chamberlain received heavy criticism for his inability to win the National Championship and eventually left Kansas after his junior year in order to join the Harlem Globetrotters.
The season started on December 4, 1956, and ended on March 23, 1957. In between, North Carolina and the nation witnessed a perfect season—“McGuire's Miracle.” The University of North Carolina men's basketball team, which was led by Coach Frank McGuire and featured All-American Lennie Rosenbluth, finished the season 32-0. The Tar Heels won games in almost every imaginable way: they soundly defeated teams, such as their 32-point win over Clemson University in Chapel Hill; they won four overtime games, including two triple overtime wins in the Final Four; they won the coveted Dixie Classic, beating Wake Forest for the first of their four wins against the Demon Deacons that year; they won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and tournament championship; and, finally, they outlasted a Wilt Chamberlain-led University of Kansas team in a triple overtime contest played before a decidedly partisan Jayhawk crowd in Kansas City, Missouri, to secure the Tar Heels' first NCAA national championship.
This 1 3/8" medal needs to be polished as it is slightly tarnished near the basketball player but I will leave that up to the buyer. I left it mainly to prove the authenticity and age. There is a slight imperfection at the top rim (see photos) that I believe was where a metal loop attached to allow it to be on a chain. Other that that, this is an INCR...EDIBLY rare piece of NCAA, UNC, KANSAS & Wilt Chamberlain history.
This is the medal the winners received, making it the first NCAA medal for the UNC Tarheels! VERY rare.
HISTORY:The 1957 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game took place on March 23, 1957, between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Kansas Jayhawks at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The match-up was the final one of the nineteenth edition of the single-elimination tournament now known as the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament — commonly referred to as the NCAA Tournament — organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It was used to crown a national champion for men's basketball in the NCAA's University Division, known since 1973 as NCAA Division I.
After surviving numerous close games during the regular season, conference tournament, and most recently a triple overtime game against Michigan State in the national semifinal, North Carolina came into the National Championship game with an unblemished record of 31–0. Led by coach Frank McGuire and Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year Lennie Rosenbluth, the Tar Heels were ranked first overall in the AP Poll. Kansas came into the National Championship game with two losses, which were credited to poor ball control on the Jayhawks part. The Kansas Jayhawks, led by Sophomore phenom and First–team All-American Wilt Chamberlain, came into the game favored to win against the Tar Heels of North Carolina.
The game received heavy media attention with over ten television stations and seventy news reporters being represented. The North Carolina Tar Heels jumped out to an early 19–7 lead in the first half, before the Jayhawks were able to close the lead before halftime. In the second half, the Jayhawks managed to fully overcome the deficit and take the lead. However, the Tar Heels were able to tie the game in the final minute, sending the game to overtime. The first overtime saw each team score a basket before time ran out, while the second overtime saw zero points scored due to poor offensive execution on both teams parts. The third overtime saw more action take place, with the Tar Heels winning the game 54–53 as Joe Quigg made two free throws in the closing seconds to give the Tar Heels the lead.
The Tar Heels won their first NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship and received a large welcome at Raleigh–Durham International Airport when they arrived back in North Carolina. Due to the success of televising the National Championship game in North Carolina, the broadcasting of collegiate basketball for the Atlantic Coast Conference expanded greatly. Kansas' Wilt Chamberlain received heavy criticism for his inability to win the National Championship and eventually left Kansas after his junior year in order to join the Harlem Globetrotters.
The season started on December 4, 1956, and ended on March 23, 1957. In between, North Carolina and the nation witnessed a perfect season—“McGuire's Miracle.” The University of North Carolina men's basketball team, which was led by Coach Frank McGuire and featured All-American Lennie Rosenbluth, finished the season 32-0. The Tar Heels won games in almost every imaginable way: they soundly defeated teams, such as their 32-point win over Clemson University in Chapel Hill; they won four overtime games, including two triple overtime wins in the Final Four; they won the coveted Dixie Classic, beating Wake Forest for the first of their four wins against the Demon Deacons that year; they won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and tournament championship; and, finally, they outlasted a Wilt Chamberlain-led University of Kansas team in a triple overtime contest played before a decidedly partisan Jayhawk crowd in Kansas City, Missouri, to secure the Tar Heels' first NCAA national championship.
