Contents Of John Stroger's Storage Unit Sold To Highest Bidder
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Apr 25, 2012 3:00PM
Well this would've made for a very special episode of Storage Wars. For a whopping $450, two men purchased the contents of deceased former Cook County Board president John Stroger's storage unit which included sports memorabilia and personal mementos.
Auction hunters Chris Amer and Warnell Dickson had only a few moments to glance at the items before bidding, so they got pretty lucky with this haul.
With a winning bid of $450, Amer and Dickson bought a treasure trove of memorabilia- autographed photos from sports stars, photos of Stroger as a young man in his native Arkansas, souvenirs that may have been gathered overseas, a gavel and other official-looking items, and commemorative fan rings from the Bulls Championships during the 90s. They've now hired a company to authenticate and auction off the items.
According to the Tribune, the rings may have been a gift given to ticket holders after the Bulls' 1997 and 1998 championships. The Bulls created about 6,000 of the replica rings embedded in lucite.
Amer said there were a couple items for Stroger's son Todd Stroger, who served as Cook County Board president from 2006 to 2010. They found an uncashed money order that was "for his campaign."
Amer said he contacted Todd Stroger, and he wants some of the stuff back. The buyers told Fox Chicago that "it was Todd Stroger who apparently failed to pay rent on the locker, which resulted in the contents being sold."
"I feel bad because his son should have been able to protect this, you know what I mean. Something your father struggled for, and he was the first to do it. It should have been protected," Dickson told ABC7.