Neil Leifer Collection: Most iconic sports photos of all time up for auction
The old adage says "a picture is worth a thousand words." For Neil Leifer, his pictures are worth many thousands of dollars.
From the game-winning touchdown in ‘The Greatest Game Ever Played’ to Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston to Pele being carried off the field after Brazil won the 1970 World Cup, Leifer has established himself as arguably the greatest sports photographer of all time.
Leifer's work has been featured on over 200 covers of Sports Illustrated, Time and People magazines. And in December, his work will be made available for anyone to own.
On Dec. 2 and 3, the auction house Guernsey's will sell over 650 lots (photos or collections of photos) from Leifer's collection at New York City's Bohemian National Hall. Only 30 of the 650 lots up for auction will have pre-set minimum prices, making it possible for everyone to have a piece of history.
Arlan Ettinger, the president of Guernsey's, said that while the results of auctions are "unpredictable," many of the photographs are estimated to be worth $1,000 - $2,000.
"Leifer covered all fields of sport. He has more iconic images than any other photographer. His body of work is truly second to none," said Ettinger.
Ettinger also said that while meeting with Leifer to discus the auction, he noticed prints of photos everywhere on the walls of his office. Famous, familiar images, many of which weren't sports related. Early in his career, Leifer instituted a practice of reaching out to other photographers to swap prints.
"In that way, he built a second collection. Our auction contains Leifer's photographs as the headliner. There’s also his collection of all sorts of other fields: sports, war, fashion and plenty of other categories."
Other photographs in Leifer's collection being auctioned include: The first Super Bowl, Olympic moments from 16 games, all three finish line shots from Secretariat's triple crown and the biggest moments in the careers of Michael Jordan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
PHOTOS: A glimpse at the Leifer's amazing collection
Check out Guernseys.com for more information about the auction.