March 2016 – Page 2 – The Intelligent Collector Magazine

In Basketball, Cinderella Teams Can Be Unexpected – and Good

Tickets stubs for the 1983 NCAA Finals often appear at auction.

By Jim O’Neal

When the 1983 NCAA regular season ended, Houston was an almost unanimous choice for the nation’s top spot. The Cougars sported a record of 27-2 and were 16-0 in the Southwest Conference.

Coach Guy Lewis had an awesome team with the most intimidating front court in college basketball. One forward was certified All-American Clyde “The Glide” Drexler, a 6-6 leader whose body control would have astonished Rubber Man. The other forward was 6-9 Larry “Mr. Mean” Micheaux and at center was 7-foot Akeem Abdul Olajuwon.

They called their act the “Phi Slama Jama,” a fraternity of slam dunk artists nonpareil.

After a “boring win” (Coach Lewis) over Maryland, Houston intimidated Memphis State and then decimated Villanova for their 25th consecutive win. Houston, a surprise visitor to the previous year’s Final Four, was headed back to face the Louisville Cardinals in the semifinals.

The Final Four met in Albuquerque, N.M. – a city with a mile-high elevation – and the sportscasters kept telling everyone the oxygen was so thin that everyone would get very tired.

Houston’s game against Louisville was already being touted as the tournament championship game, since the other two Final Four teams, Georgia and North Carolina State, had lost 19 regular-season games between them.

The semifinal match-up of such improbables caused some to call it the “Cinderella Bowl” while others referred to it as the “jayvee prelim before the varsity game.” Even NC State Coach Jim Valvano conceded the winner would definitely be the underdog in the championship game. But, his star guard Dereck Whittenburg added, “Cinderella just means they don’t expect you here. It doesn’t mean you are not good.”

Prophetic words perhaps as NC State beat Georgia 67-60. Next, Houston staged a remarkable second half against Louisville that propelled them to a 94-81 win. Fans were in awe at the magnitude of their brilliant performance.

That left the Phi Slama Jammers with a 26-game winning streak and a solid 8-point favorite.

The game strategies were obvious. Coach Lewis told his Cougars to run, gun and slam dunk! Coach Valvano said before the game, “If we get the opening tip, we won’t take a shot until next Tuesday.”

The Wolfpack did not wait until Tuesday. They started shooting early, scored the first 6 points and built a 33-25 half-time lead. North Carolina State proceeded to win the game 54-52, ironically climaxing it with a slam dunk.

No one now disputes Dereck Whittenburg’s definition of Cinderella: “You can be unexpected and good!”

Intelligent Collector blogger JIM O’NEAL is an avid collector and history buff. He is President and CEO of Frito-Lay International [retired] and earlier served as Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo Restaurants International [KFC Pizza Hut and Taco Bell].

Gallipoli Battle Established Australian, New Zealand Forces as Ferocious Fighters

The 1981 film *Gallipoli* starred Mel Gibson and was directed by Peter Weir. This Australian daybill went to auction in September 2014.

By Jim O’Neal

Mel Gibson fans remember him for his role in Gallipoli, which won him his second AFI film award in 1981 (his first was for Mad Max). However, the actual history of the Allied invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula in World War I (April 25, 1915-Jan. 9, 1916) is rarely mentioned.

Perhaps that is because in Great Britain it is regarded as an embarrassing military debacle. It is remembered primarily for the fact it almost cost a young Winston Churchill his career while resulting in him losing his job as the First Lord of the Admiralty. He was forced to resign in May 1916 as a consequence of the campaign’s utter failure.

For the triumphant Turks, Gallipoli was a glorious victory. It spurred the nationalist fervor that would lead to the founding of the Turkish Republic eight short years later. Gallipoli was also a personal triumph for Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who became the founder of the modern state of Turkey in 1923.

The Gallipoli campaign was a flawed response to the closure of the Dardanelles strait by the Ottoman Empire that limited Allied shipping to Russia. Churchill endorsed a plan that included a naval attack, followed by an amphibious landing on the peninsula. However, the Turks repelled the invasion and inflicted 250,000 casualties on Allied forces. Critics claim the evacuation of Allied troops from the shambles of the battlefield was the best executed phase of the entire campaign!

One bright spot was the performance on the battlefield by the Australians and New Zealanders. The combined ANZAC forces were so impressive that their reputation as ferocious fighters was permanently established. April 25 – Anzac Day – is solemnly commemorated in both countries and people make pilgrimages to pay their respects for so much bloodshed, even in a lost cause.

RIP.

The Shape of Cities and the Benefits of Buying and Holding

In 1815, John Jacob Astor (right) loaned future president James Monroe $3,400. Monroe stayed in debt to Astor throughout his presidency. This payment document “to the order of the Honbl James Monroe” and signed by Astor went to auction in October 2012.

By Jim O’Neal

Early land surveys were based on a simple principle: A shape that could be easily reduced to smaller parcels was much easier to sell. Merchant, fur trader and investor John Jacob Astor recognized this when he bought his first property in early 1800 on the lower East Side of Manhattan.

His American Fur Company made a fortune in the far west trading beaver pelts and he earned another by gobbling up land in Manhattan, spending $200,000 in a single year. He built a hoard that eventually grew to over 300 lots.

Land bought in 1800 for $50 an acre had a price tag of $1,500 by 1820 and Astor was a patient investor who made an enormous profit.

Underpinning the growth in both Manhattan land values and Astor’s personal wealth was a plan drawn up by the city in 1811 for New York’s future growth. They correctly chose rectilinear and rectangular streets instead of circles, ovals or stars.

By contrast, Washington, D.C., was superbly laid out by Pierre L’Enfant, with its avenues radiating out from the Capitol and White House. This required oval and star shaped lots, but this was a disaster since there was no market for odd-shaped land parcels. Most land developers and speculators lost money.

Critics of Astor were disgusted by his inability to disguise his greed. He shoveled food into his greasy mouth, scooped up peas and ice cream with a knife and wiped his hands on tablecloths. But his greed for land in Manhattan paid off big. When he died in 1848, his estate was valued at $25 million – 2½ times more than the next wealthiest Americans.

“Buy and hold” is a time-tested formula for success in land, coins, art and other rare collectibles. The Intelligent Collector is filled with similar amazing stories of wealth creation through shrewd, knowledgeable acquisitions – combined with patience.

Hope for Peace in the Middle East Has Been an Elusive Goal for a Long Time

Israel in 1967 minted a gold medal commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, which called for the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.

By Jim O’Neal

The Israeli-Palestine issue was back in the news recently as Vice President Joe Biden was visiting. There were also reports that the Obama administration was on the verge of creating another “Peace Talks Structure” to facilitate transition to the next U.S administration and chalk up another legacy achievement.

When Great Britain took control of Palestine after World War I, it promised to create a Jewish state (the Balfour Declaration). However, every wave of Jewish immigration was met with violent resistance from Palestinian Arabs.

Britain reneged on its promise and after World War II, turned the issue over to the United Nations. In 1947, the U.N. partitioned Palestine into two states, one Arab and one Jewish. Shortly afterward, Palestinian fighters attacked and the Israeli “War of Independence” began.

In Egypt, President Nasser first drove the British out of the Suez Canal and then joined with Syria to “push the Israelis into the sea.” By 1967, Israel was surrounded by hostile borders and Egypt, Jordan and Syria considered the destruction of Israel “a child’s game that would take four days.” The United Nations pulled out and the Egyptian Navy blockaded the Strait of Tiran.

However, on June 5, 250 Israeli fighter jets (supplied by the French) made a surprise attack on Egyptian airfields and destroyed half of their total Air Force – 200 fighters, bombers and helicopters. They dominated the skies, pushed the Egyptian Army back and then destroyed most of the Jordanian air power.

The Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan began calling it “The Six-Day War,” echoing the Book of Genesis. God made the world in six days, and Israel asserted itself as a nation in the same time.

The big difference was that God rested on the seventh day, but the Israelis have continued on the defensive every day since, even defeating Egypt and Syria in the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the Palestinians in the 1987-93 First Intifada.

Hope for peace in this tiny place on earth has been an elusive goal for a very long time.

‘Hollywood’ Sign Symbol of a City, Industry and Lifestyle

This 1930s photo shows American tennis champion Henry Ellsworth Vines Jr. under the original “Hollywoodland” sign. This photo went to auction in May 2013.

By Jim O’Neal

Now that the Oscar buzz has abated, the folks who work in Hollywood are back busily creating new forms of entertainment. Most probably don’t realize that the world-famous HOLLYWOOD sign was originally HOLLYWOODLAND and used to promote a large real-estate subdivision overlooking Sunset Boulevard.

It was erected near the top of Mount Lee in 1923 and each white sheet-metal letter was nearly 50 feet high and 40 feet wide and outlined with lightbulbs. It soon became associated with the movie industry and in 1932, actress Peg Entwistle committed suicide by jumping off the letter H.

Alas, 15 years after being built, maintenance on the sign was deferred and it soon fell into disrepair. Then somebody stole all 8,000 of the 20-watt lightbulbs. By 1945, the development company had donated the sign plus some land to the city park and recreation department.

When the letter H blew down four years later, many regarded the sign as an eyesore and thought it should be removed entirely. However, the parks commissioner finally decided to repair just the first nine letters and remove the last four.

Ultimately, the show-biz community raised enough money through donations to keep it viable and since 1973 the sign has been officially designated a Historic-Cultural Monument.

I’m sure there must be others, but Los Angeles always seems to be too busy to spend a lot of time on the past. Houses up to 10,000 square feet are routinely razed (too small) to make way for more appropriate 40,000-square-foot second homes. Two swimming pools, 15-car garages, tennis courts and bowling alleys are considered de rigueur.

F. Scott Fitzgerald was right … the truly rich are different.

Albert Einstein was Much More than a Scientist

This signed Albert Einstein photograph realized $17,500 at an October 2014 auction.

By Jim O’Neal

Mention the name Albert Einstein and instinctively the image of the iconic scientist with the unruly hair, pensive expression and the word “genius” spring to mind. As a theoretical physicist, his work on general relativity is a theory of gravitation that has evolved into a crucial tool in modern astrophysics and is foundational for current “black hole” research.

In popular culture, his mass-energy equivalence formula of energy equals mass multiplied by the speed of light squared (E = mc²) is generally regarded as “the world’s most famous equation.”

Then, of course, there was Einstein the mortal man.

This aspect is understandably less well known despite his empathy for mankind and the practical application of both his intellect and celebrity to help improve the world and its inhabitants. He was an avowed pacifist who considered war a “disease” and even advocated for a global democratic government that had control over the nation-states (e.g. Nazi Germany).

He viewed racism in the United States as a multi-generational problem and joined the NAACP as an activist to help cure “America’s worst disease.”

An earlier incident in 1925 even led to a series of related activities that eventually helped defeat the Germans in World War II. While reading a local German newspaper, he saw a tragic story about a couple that had died from leaking gases used in early refrigerators.

Einstein collaborated with fellow physicist Leo Szilard and they received patent #1,781,541 for an improved, safer refrigerator. Although they later sold it to Electrolux for 3,150 DM ($10,000), Einstein’s basic motive was to simply improve living standards for common people. BTW, he later invented a hearing aid for the same reason.

When Szilard immigrated to London, he ran across a book by H.G. Wells, The World Set Free, which describes an invention (unnamed) that could accelerate the process of radioactive decay, producing bombs which “continue to explode for days on end.” This inspired Szilard to develop the concept of a nuclear chain reaction in 1933 and then he patented the idea of a nuclear reactor with the famous Italian physicist Enrico Fermi. Basically, he had a patent on the first atomic bomb.

But, in 1936 Szilard sold/assigned his chain-reaction patent to the British Admiralty to ensure its secrecy from the Germans or others considered untrustworthy.

He later suspected the Germans had a clandestine nuclear weapon project and on the eve of World War II drafted a letter to FDR to alert him to the potential development “of extremely powerful bombs of a new type.” He got Einstein to endorse it and to urge the United States to begin similar research.

This inevitably led to the Manhattan Project, which preempted the Germans and saved the world in the eyes of most experts.

Although Einstein supported the development of nuclear weapons to defend the Allies, he denounced the use of nuclear weapons as an offensive force. He never renounced his resolve as a pacifist or as an agnostic.

In 1999, Time magazine named Albert Einstein their choice as “Person of the Century.”

I hope we get one for this century … soon.

‘March Madness’ Might Apply to More Than Just College Basketball

The game net from the 1982 NCAA Basketball Championship, which swooshed from Michael Jordan’s game-winning shot for the UNC Tarheels, realized $31,070 in an August 2011 Heritage auction.

By Jim O’Neal

The first reference to the “Final Four” in an NCAA publication was in the 1975 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide. On page 5 in the review section written by Ed Chay of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Chay wrote: “Outspoken Al McGuire of Marquette, whose team was one of the final four in Greensboro, was among several coaches who said it was good for college basketball that UCLA was finally beaten.”

The first time “Final Four” was used capitalized was in the 1978 Basketball Guide.

In 1994, Bill Clinton was the first sitting president to attend the Final Four. Clinton saw his home state Arkansas Razorbacks win the National Championship.

Sitting presidents who did not make it when teams from their home states made the Final Four include FDR (NYU 1945), Ike (Kansas 1953 and 1957), Nixon (UCLA 1968-74), and Gerald Ford (Michigan 1976).

The only player to play for two schools in the Final Four Championship game was Bob Bender in 1976 with Indiana (won) and in 1978 with Duke (lost).

I am waiting for some clever news writer to associate the current presidential primary races with the March Madness sobriquet. If not, you heard it here first.

King Charles’ Baker Reminds Us that Small Things Can Lead to Huge Events

This “Elephant & Castle” 1/2 Crown, showing British King Charles II and minted 15 years after the Great Fire of London, realized $35,250 at a September 2014 auction.

By Jim O’Neal

Thomas Farynor, baker for England’s King Charles II, usually doused the fires in his oven before going to bed. But, on Saturday, Sept. 1, 1666, he forgot and at 2 a.m. was awakened by fire engulfing his house.

Farynor lived on Pudding Lane near Thames Street, a busy thoroughfare lined with warehouses that ran along the river wharves. It was typical of London streets … very narrow and crammed with houses made of timber.

As the flames spread and people awoke and started scrambling to escape, nearby Fish Street Hill exploded into fire as piles of straw were ignited.

Samuel Pepys climbed to the top of the Tower of London to get a better view. At 7 a.m., he described how an east wind suddenly turned into a gale and whipped the fire into a raging conflagration. The Great Fire of London was out of control.

As early as 1664, writer John Evelyn had warned of the danger of such an event due to so many open fires and furnaces in such a “wooden … and inartificial congestion of houses on either side that seemed to lean over and touch each other.” Everyone was too busy to worry about it.

There were fire engines for emergencies, but they were rudimentary and privately owned. There was no official London fire brigade. In the chaos, any pumps that did get into service were hampered by large crowds clogging the streets dragging furniture in a vain attempt to salvage valuables.

The other strategy was fire breaks, which consisted of pulling down buildings with huge iron hooks and quickly clearing the debris to create barren areas. However, the fire was moving so quickly that it blazed through the debris before it could be cleared.

Back on the Tower of London, Pepys observed “an infinite great fire headed right at London Bridge.”

London Bridge spanned the Thames River and was an extraordinary structure … lined with homes and shops separated by a passageway only a few yards wide. The fire attacked the bridge greedily, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as people frantically fled.

By Sunday evening, boats carrying people swarmed across the river where onlookers lined the shore mesmerized by the enormous blaze.

On Monday, a powerful wind drove the fire through London. Houses, churches and buildings were all consumed as the blaze continued to rage. An East India warehouse full of spices blew up and the smoke carried the smell of incense across the city.

Finally, by Wednesday, the wind subsided and 200,000 Londoners looked in astonishment at their great city, now turned to ash … 13,000 houses, 87 churches, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Royal Exchange, Customs House, all city prisons and the Great Post Office were all destroyed.

The mystic Anthony Wood said, “All astrologers did use to say Rome would have an end and the Antichrist come, 1666, but the prophecie fell on London.”

All because a baker forgot to put out his oven.

We all know what Smokey the Bear would say.

George Washington and That Unhappy Affair at Trenton

Emanuel Leutze’s *Washington Crossing the Delaware* resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

By Jim O’Neal

In the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, there is a famous painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze that was painted circa 1850. It is one of the most famous pieces of American art and purports to depict the Dec. 25, 1776, event.

It is also infamous for a number of factual errors.

For example, it shows the crossing with a glowing horizon, when it actually happened in the middle of a dark, sleety night. The American flag is also wrong, since the Stars and Stripes did not exist at the time. Even the ice floes are wrong.

Despite these errors – and many more – it is considered memorable because it captures the determination, desperation and dignity of these men as they rowed into the fight of their lives.

The American Revolution started in early 1776 with skirmishing near Boston, followed by full-scale war. The Continental Army was pushed out of New York and into New Jersey and then Pennsylvania.

By December, half of Washington’s army had been killed, wounded or captured, which left 5,000-6,000 (including the injured).

British General William Howe planned to finish the job when the Delaware River froze and he could capture the Capitol and end the war. Instead, Washington started crossing at midnight and at 8 a.m. divided his troops and attacked in Trenton, catching the British by surprise.

Everywhere, groups of Hessians were surrounded by Continental troops with fixed bayonets and they “struck their colors” (surrendered). Of the 1,500, about 900 were captured, 400 escaped and the rest killed or wounded.

Along with the prisoners, Washington captured six artillery pieces, 1,000 muskets and seven wagonloads of powder and ammunition. These supplies were badly needed and helped against counterattacks at Princeton on Jan. 2 and 3.

Though the triumph at Trenton was followed by greater battles, it was pivotal. Later, British Secretary of State Lord George Germain said, “All our hopes were dashed by that unhappy affair at Trenton.”

Yes, There Was a Time When Smoking was Punishable by Beheading

By Jim O’Neal

“Not a cough in a carload!”

In 1927, Lorillard Tobacco Company advertised their Old Gold brand of cigarettes with this catchy phrase. Testifying under oath before Congress in 1994, Lorillard CEO Andrew Tisch was one of “The 7 Dwarfs” (Big Tobacco CEOs) who claimed they “didn’t believe that nicotine is addictive nor that cigarette smoking causes cancer.”

No one was ever indicted for perjury or having a low IQ.

In 1950, Camel advertised “Every doctor in private practice was asked. More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette!” Camel ads went on to claim “Smoke as many as you want … They never get on your nerves.”

In 1953, Liggett & Myers went one step further: “Just what the doctor ordered!”

William Thalman (who played District Attorney Hamilton Burger on TV’s Perry Mason) died of lung cancer in August 1968, but made an anti-smoking TV spot that started, “Before I die, I want to do what I can to leave a world free of cancer for my six children…” It made quite a stir when it aired posthumously. Others finally joined in despite advertising concerns.

In 1992, “The Marlboro Man” Wayne McLaren, who was dying of lung cancer, appeared at the Philip Morris annual shareholders meeting and asked the company to voluntarily limit their advertising. Chairman Mike Miles brushed him off … quickly.

McLaren died three months later at age 51.

Miles was the first non-smoker to run Philip Morris and is credited with “Marlboro Friday” in 1993, when he reduced the selling price of cigarettes 20 percent in a vain attempt to regain share from generics. The board replaced him early the next year.

However, the renamed Altria Group Inc. is now a $120 billion corporation with strong international sales and pays a dividend of 3.7 percent. They continue selling the most efficient delivery system for nicotine to hundreds of millions of throats and lungs. One of their studies in Eastern Europe asserts it is cheaper to let people die early from lung cancer than provide long-term health care.

In the 17th century, a Russian czar banned smoking and then had three-time violators beheaded. That made it hard to inhale, but people today still continue finding ways to “sneak a smoke.”

P.S. The 1999 film The Insider starring Russell Crowe and Al Pacino is well worth another viewing. It is an entertaining look at the tobacco industry and was nominated for seven Oscars.