Sports memorabilia collectors can pick up some nifty stuff at the Sun Valley Suns Golf Classic benefit tournament set for Saturday, May 26, at The Valley Club.
Perhaps the hottest item for the evening auction will a Detroit Red Wings jersey signed by National Hockey League legends Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull and Stan Makita. The jersey was donated to the Suns Foundation by former Chicago singer and bass player Peter Cetera.
There are some other cool items for the auction, including a New York Rangers jersey signed by former hockey great Mark Messier and a golf package for four at the new Colorado Golf Club near Denver.
Suns coach Chris Benson, who is a member of the event organizing committee, said that the Foundation is compiling a complete list of auction items that will be available next week. Fishing or sightseeing trips, vacation packages, golf or tennis lessons, landscaping, artwork and auto detailing are also likely items for auction.
Funds raised at the event will go into the nonprofit Suns Foundation coffers, which is used to raise awareness and fund youth athletic programs in the Wood River Valley.
Benson said Wednesday that the roster has been filled for the 18-hole golf tournament. Although the maximum 88 players have already signed up, community members can still participate in the festivities.
"They can still call and get on standby," Benson said. "And they can certainly participate in the dinner and auction if they want to."
Golf play will feature a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Following at 7 p.m. will be a no-host cocktail hour and buffet dinner and auction.
Golf play costs $125 per player, or $500 per foursome. The cost for the dinner and auction is 30. Hole sponsorship is $200.
Benson said golf standby or dinner reservations need to be made by noon Monday, May 21.
Golf format is five-person modified best ball with handicaps. Teams will be allowed to pick their best drive and then play their own balls all the way into the hole—picking the best two scores on handicap. There will be prizes for the top teams, closest to the pin and longest drive.
Current Suns players or Suns alumni will serve as captains for each team.
The auction will be a combination of live and silent bidding. Benson said some items, including the Red Wings jersey will be auctioned off ebay style, with the bidding starting that evening. The auctioneer will be Pete Prekeges.
Benson said he expects to start bidding on the Red Wings jersey at $20,000—a nearly identical jersey auctioned off three years ago in Chicago at a benefit golf tournament hosted by Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios sold for $50 grand.
It was at the same benefit that Cetera acquired the jersey he donated to the Suns Foundation. Benson said Cetera, who owns a home in Ketchum, participated at that event and played on the same team with hockey legend Gordie Howe, who gave him the jersey and signed it.
Later, at the dinner, other sports notables signed the jersey while Cetera was wearing it. In addition to Howe, Hull and Makita, signatories were Chelios, former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon and all three of the Hanson Brothers from the 1977 movie Slap Shot staring Paul Newman. In real life, the Hanson Brothers were minor league hockey players with the names of Dave Hanson, Steve Carlson and Jeff Carlson.
For additional information on the event, call Benson at 720-0172 or committee member Reamy Goodwin at 720-8066. You can also log on to www.sunvalleysuns.com.
For support and sponsorship details, call Phil Hebert at 720-9227 or 726-8511.
Former Chicago singer and bass player Peter Cetera, left, shows off a Detroit Red Wings jersey he donated to the Suns Foundation to be auctioned off as part of the Sun Valley Suns Golf Classic benefit tournament Saturday, May 26, at The Valley Club. Standing beside Cetera is Suns hockey coach Chris Benson, a member of the event?s organizing committee. The jersey is signed by numerous sports notables, including National Hockey League legends Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull and Stan Makita. Photo by Willy Cook
