By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Former UC, Olympic, and Cincinnati Royals star George Wilson holds one of his many trophies as he stands amid some of his memorabilia which will be auctioned off so he can help pay for his grandchildren's education. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

The letter, written in 1996, is from former University of Cincinnati basketball coach Ed Jucker to George Wilson, who played on Jucker's 1962 national championship team and the 1963 national runner-up team.

"You're the only player I ever coached who could play every position equally as well," wrote Jucker, who died last year. "You knew how to win and how to use your outstanding skills to get the job done."

The letter rested on top of a display case in an Evendale warehouse Wednesday along with assorted trophies, pictures and certificates - artifacts from Wilson's life, all of which will be auctioned at 10 a.m. Saturday by The Michael Angelo Auction Co.

"That means a lot to me," Wilson said of the letter from Jucker. "He was the greatest. He was like a father to all of us."

Wilson, 61, was a Sporting News All-American as a junior at UC in 1963. In addition to playing on one of the Bearcats' two national championship teams, he won a gold medal in the 1964 Olympics and played for seven years in the NBA.

An inveterate collector of memorabilia, he is sharing much of his collection with the public. He'll use the proceeds to help finance his grandchildren's college educations.

"George is the first UC basketball player to take this much to auction," said Michael Testa, who owns the auction company.

Among the memorabilia that will be auctioned:

• The white, high-top canvas gym shoes Wilson wore as a freshman at UC in 1961, the year he was named Most Valuable Player of the freshman team.

• The trophy he was awarded as varsity co-MVP with Ron Bonham in 1964.

• The U.S.A. Olympic suitcase he used in 1964.

• Autographs of all but two members of both the 1961 and 1962 national champions.

• The telegram he received inviting him to a White House luncheon with President Lyndon Johnson after the United States won the gold medal in the 1964 Olympics.

• The torch Wilson carried through Cincinnati during the Olympic relay leading to the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

• Thirty-five Olympic pins from the 1964 Games in Tokyo.

"The Olympic pins are a hot item," Testa said. "There are a lot of things you normally don't see go to auction. George's philosophy is that, 'I'm 61 years old. I've enjoyed everything. Now it's time for somebody else to enjoy it.' "

Wilson delights in showing off his collection. Each item evokes a memory ranging from his days as a star at John Marshall High School in Chicago to the glory days of UC basketball to the Olympics and on through his NBA career.

A 6-foot-8 forward/center, Wilson chose UC from among 200 schools for one reason - because Oscar Robertson played there.

"He was my hero," Wilson said. "They think they recruited me. They didn't have to say nothing."

That was in the early 1960s when black athletes were still not fully accepted, especially in the South. Like Robertson before him, Wilson endured the indignity of not being allowed to eat at certain restaurants or stay at certain hotels because of his race.

"A lot of these kids," Wilson said, "they don't have a clue what we went through. Then they get up and they screw it up. I feel like smacking them. I told a kid one time, 'See that? See those scars on my tongue?' He said, 'I don't see no scars.' I said, 'They're there. They're from biting my tongue in the many incidents I had to go through.' "

Wilson is proud of his basketball accomplishments, but he's equally proud of the fact that he graduated from UC on time. In his mind, his performance in the classroom was as important as his performance on the court, not just for himself, but for the black athletes who would follow him to UC and other schools.

"Our character was such that we knew where we were in history," Wilson said. "We just had to do what we had to do. We didn't get in trouble."

Wilson was known as an intelligent player whose strengths were rebounding and defense. He averaged 15.2 points and 11.2 rebounds on the 1963 team that also featured Bonham, Tom Thacker, Tony Yates and Larry Shingleton as starters.

This is the 40th anniversary of that team's shocking loss to Loyola of Chicago in the national championship game. Had the Bearcats won that game, they would have been the first team to win three straight national titles. But they blew a 15-point second-half lead and lost in overtime.

"Sometimes in life when you have adversity, it makes you stronger. I know for a fact that it made me stronger. I still haven't gotten over that loss 40 years later," Wilson said.

Wilson went on to make the 1964 U.S. Olympic team that also included Bill Bradley, Larry Brown and Walt Hazzard. He says nothing compares to winning that gold medal under legendary coach Hank Iba.

"There's no ranking," Wilson said. "The Olympics is No. 1 for any athlete."

In the NBA, he played with and against some of the league's luminaries - Robertson, Jerry Lucas, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Bob Pettit and Willis Reed.

"Willis Reed is the toughest guy I played against," Wilson said. "He would hurt you, physically hurt you. One night I'm boxing Willis out and he forearmed me in the back of the head.

"About two plays later, we're on the foul line. I looked at him and I said: 'Hey, Willis, let me tell you this right now. I don't make the money you make and I'm not a superstar, but I guarantee if you hit me like that again, I'm going to kick your butt.' He couldn't even play. He was laughing so hard."

The memories flow as Wilson sifts through his memorabilia and recalls the funny stories and accomplishments as well as the disappointments and scars that never fully healed.

"It was a good journey," Wilson said.

---

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com

If you go

What: Auction of former UC star George Wilson's memorabilia.

When: 10 a.m. Saturday.

Where: The Michael Angelo Auction Co., 10725 Reading Road, Evendale.

Directions: I-75 to Woodlawn-Evendale/Glendale-Milford exit. Turn right, continue to Reading Road, turn left. The auction is two blocks up on the left.