This spectacular trophy that is nearly four feet tall was awarded to the winner of the annual College All Stars Cage Classic that was held from 1940-48 at the legendary Chicago Stadium a facility that played host to everything and everybody from Presidents rock stars Hollywood entertainers NBA teams collegiate stars and even an NFL game a fascinating historical record dating to the facility's opening in 1929.

The trophy boasts a 2-inch high silver-finished metal band at the base that has the engraved scores from the contest starting in 1940 when the College All-Stars edged the Harlem Globetrotters 44-42 in overtime; this was at a time when the collegiate game was arguably more prominent on the national stage than the professional game with the official formation of the National Basketball Association still a half-dozen years away. The multi-purpose Chicago Stadium was considered a marvel of its day with seating capacity to rival that of Madison Square Garden and indeed attendance figures of more than 20000 were reported for these annual All Star Classics. With the top college stars of the era tangling usually with pro teams of the time the All Stars prevailed in the first four contests beating the Globetrotters that first year then Oshkosh then next two years and finally Fort Wayne in 1944. The All-Stars would win two of the next three against Fort Wayne win in 1947 against Indianapolis and then drop the final contest of the series to the Minneapolis Lakers 62-40 with the Lakes aided no doubt by a game-high 18 points from NBA Hall of Famer George Mikan himself no stranger to the Chicago facility from his All-America tenure at DePaul and with the Chicago American Gears in the National Basketball League. With the Lakers' winning score engraved on the trophy the massive artifact would stay in the club's possession for its entire time in Minneapolis and to the move to Los Angeles prior to the 1960-61 season. Perhaps two decades later the trophy would be rescued from ignominious storage by the Lakers' assistant coach Bill Bertka who kept it in his personal collection to this day.

With a 16-inch in diameter wood base that extends to 6 inches the remaining 40 inches is a ornate metal trophy with a silver finish that has held up well in the ensuing 65 years. The base has the engraving "Chicago Stadium Corp. College All Star Cage Classic at the front with am 8-inch figural figural of the prototypical Olympic athlete with wreath at the center surrounded by four pillars that support a loving cup style element 9 inches high and 12 inches in diameter with the intricate decorative throughout. Atop that sits an 18-inch statuette of a basketball player suitably capping an athletic trophy as compelling as the storied history in represents. As noted the massive trophy is in superlative condition jostled only by the expected tarnishing of the silver finish in places and some chipping to the black paint on the wood base.

Comes with a Letter of Provenance from Bill Bertka who was assistant coach and a former NBA executive with the New Orleans Jazz. He was an assistant coach for the Lakers under Bill Sharman Pat Riley and Phil Jackson among others.

Chicago Stadium was a mecca for boxing having watched the exploits of a veritable Who's Who of the sports greats including Max Baer Carmen Basilio Primo Carnera Ezzard Charles Jack Dempsey Gene Fullmer Kid Gavilan Rocky Graziano Jake LaMotta Sonny Liston Joe Louis Rocky Marciano Archie Moore Floyd Patterson Sugar Ray Robinson Joe Walcott and later Muhammad Ali won the Golden Gloves light heavyweight title there as Cassius Clay during the Golden Gloves 1960 tournament. It hosted political conventions a bevy of rock stars and legendary Hollywood entertainers and even the "Greatest Show on Earth" Easter sunrise services the Bulls before Michael Jordan and the Bulls with Michael Jordan The Chicago Opera roller derby and the rodeo. The Stadium was also used for bicycle races college basketball games professional wrestling indoor soccer and track and field events.