MAY 2012 PREMIER INTERNET AUCTION

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/20/2012

Lawrence Taylor epitomized what a football player should be. He moved like lightning and hit like thunder. He showcased superhuman abilities and defensive prowess that few if anyone had ever before seen on a football field. “LT” simply defied logic and was an absolute force of nature against opposing teams whose offensive coordinators would spend weeks to prepare against him, thinking of ways to at least slow him down if not contain him. During his 13-year career, the 10-time Pro Bowler changed the way the game was played to say the least, revolutionizing the outside linebacker position in the 3-4 defensive alignment. Taylor’s presence alone changed the dynamics on how teams ran their offense. Before the snap of the football, all eyes would be on number 56, everyone wanting to know where LT was lining up.

Lawrence Taylor led the Giants defense to Super Bowl XXV, making his second appearance in the big game. Held at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on January 27, 1991, at the height of the Gulf War, the game was played under much patriotic fervor. The proceedings included a rousing pre-game rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Whitney Houston. The opposing Buffalo Bills and their explosive no-huddle offense were making their first Super Bowl appearance after finishing the regular season with a 13-3 record, and leading the league in total points scored with 428. In advancing to their second Super Bowl, the Giants also posted a 13-3 regular season record, but with a ball-control offensive and a defensive that allowed a league low 211 points. The game is best remembered for Bills placekicker Scott Norwood's last-second field goal attempt which went wide right of the uprights, leading to a one-point (20-19) Giants victory.

Presented here is arguably the most significant Superbowl player ring ever offered publicly. Lawrence Taylor’s own 1990 Super Bowl XXV ring features two football shaped diamonds on the face surrounded by worn blue enameling framed by seventeen smaller diamonds. "GIANTS", "WORLD CHAMPIONS", "19" and "90" appear in raised relief letters and numbers around in the face's perimeter. Design elements include the name “TAYLOR” on the left shank above a Giants helmet and his number “56”. Engraved on the interior band is the full name “LAWRENCE TAYLOR”; the Balfour "10K" hallmark has apparently worn off. The size 12 ring shows considerable wear that, in some eyes, only enhances it aura. A phenomenally important memento from one of the greatest football players of all-time.

This ring is accompanied by two letters of provenance, one signed by Lawrence Taylor acknowledging he gave the ring as a gift to his son Lawrence Taylor, Jr. and a second signed by Lawrence Taylor, Jr. stating that the ring is in fact the authentic 1990 New York Giants Super Bowl XXV ring he received from his father.