Want a ‘Hoop Dreams’ souvenir? Shuttered suburban Catholic school at center of documentary is auctioning everything

Act fast. The last days of the auction — which includes everything from basketball hoops to science equipment —are Wednesday and Thursday.

SHARE Want a ‘Hoop Dreams’ souvenir? Shuttered suburban Catholic school at center of documentary is auctioning everything
A hoop from the now-closed St. Joseph High School that’s being auctioned. The school was the backdrop for the documentary “Hoop Dreams.”

A hoop from the now-closed St. Joseph High School that’s being auctioned. The school was the backdrop for the documentary “Hoop Dreams.”

Winternitz

The documentary film “Hoop Dreams” made a big splash when it was released in 1994.

And now fans can buy a keepsake — but the window to do so is closing.

Sporting equipment — and pretty much everything else from the suburban Catholic school that served as the film’s backdrop — is being sold in an online auction.

St. Joseph High School in Westchester closed permanently at the end of the school year and items ranging from basketball hoops to science lab equipment are on the block.

The online auction went live June 30 and the sale of most school-related assets is closing Wednesday. The sale of most sports-related assets closes Thursday.

All bidding prices start at $1.

The documentary followed the basketball dreams of William Gates and Arthur Agee as they sought to overcome life challenges and make a name for themselves on the court.

Basketballs, nets, scoreboards, and banners — including one that went up to retire the number of former NBA great Isiah Thomas, who graduated from St. Joseph in 1979 — are on the block.

“There’s a lot of nostalgic and memorabilia items and quite a few alumni are actively participating, looking to pick up memories,” said Charles Winternitz, president of the fourth-generation, Chicago-based auction house that bears his family name.

“We have over 500 people bidding at the auction,” he said.

Side note: Winternitz is also auctioning items from the now-closed Southport Lanes bowling alley that for decades hosted drinking and rollers at its location not far from Wrigley Field.

The iconic sign that hung over the front door is up to about $3,000, he said.

The Latest
Another federal judge in Chicago who also has dismissed gun cases based on the same Supreme Court ruling says the high court’s decision in what’s known as the Bruen case will “inevitably lead to more gun violence, more dead citizens and more devastated communities.”
Women make up just 10% of those in careers such as green infrastructure and clean and renewable energy, a leader from Openlands writes. Apprenticeships and other training opportunities are some of the ways to get more women into this growing job sector.
Chatterbox doesn’t seem aware that it’s courteous to ask questions, seek others’ opinions.
The way inflation is measured masks certain costs that add to the prices that consumers pay every day. Not surprisingly, higher costs mean lower consumer confidence, no matter what Americans are told about an improving economy.
With Easter around the corner, chocolate makers and food businesses are feeling the impact of soaring global cocoa prices and it’s also hitting consumers.