Game Used Universe officials are understandably enthused about a remarkable Jim Brown game-worn helmet attributed to his senior season at Syracuse in 1957, the season in which he scored 21 of the Orangemen’s 27 points in the Cotton Bowl and concluded the regular season with an extraordinary game in which he scored six touchdowns and kicked seven extra points. The helmet headlines Game Used Universe’s Nov. 12 auction.
The helmet was boxed and put away in the attic of a Syracuse home for 45 years before it was obtained by the consignors eight years ago. The consignors, well-known football historians, then shared it with the College Football Hall of Fame, where it was proudly displayed. GUU officials noted that no other game-worn Jim Brown helmet, college or pro, has ever surfaced or been made available before.
The helmet was originally given to the father of a young Syracuse family by a close friend of legendary Syracuse Head Coach Ben Schwartzwalder shortly after the 1956-57 season. With that kind of lineage, it’s hardly surprising that the artifact, the No. 1 lot in the Game Used Universe 475-lot sale, carries a $25,000 minimum bid.
