The West Philly home owned by Muhammad Ali in the early 1970s and later purchased by the grandparents of NBA star Kobe Bryant will host an estate sale on Sunday.
Bryant's mother put the split-level Overbrook Park home on the market in November and it recently sold. Bryant's grandmother, Mildred Cox, had lived there for more than five decades until she died last year.
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Ali bought the three-bedroom home, at 1835 N. 72nd St., in 1970, three years after the boxer had been stripped of his heavyweight title for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War. He moved to Philly to settle down with his second wife and their children as he started training for his eventual return to the ring.
After Ali moved to Cherry Hill, he sold the Overbrook Park house to Bryant's grandparents in 1973. Kobe Bryant was born five years later, and the Lower Merion High School star spent summers swimming in the pool on the half-acre property.
The estate sale takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m, and it includes furniture, decorations, barware, dinnerware and other household items. Sales By Helen Estate Sales, a Bryn Mawr-based company that works with high-profile clients, is running the event, and owner John Romani said he expects there to be a crowd on Sunday.
"It gets chaotic," Romani said Thursday. "We've been in business for 35 years and we've done thousands of sales. We focus now primarily on sales that are very interesting or over the top."
In an Instagram post, Romani tours the property and shows some of the items on sale Sunday. He notes most things in the house will be for sale, except items that are attached to the home, like light fixtures, windows, appliances and architectural elements.
Romani's website lists asking prices for some items, and he expects about 95% of the property will be sold. Whatever remains will be donated.
Several years ago, Sales By Helen managed the estate sale at the Chestnut Hill home once owned by former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo. The company also managed an event at the former home of a prominent builder in Kennett Square last summer. Romani said about 3,000 people showed up there and he hired an ice cream truck for shoppers.
All kinds of people show up at estate sales, he said
"The top tier is the lookie-loos, they're coming just to be in Ali's house. They want to see the architecture, the house, they want to walk through it," Romani said. "Then there's the people who want to own a piece of something. They love owning a piece of these estates. They just like to have a piece of the history. And then the next tier is the resellers, people who are buying this stuff to flip online or at flea markets."
Most of the items being sold at Sunday's estate belonged to Bryant's grandparents.
"I do not know if any of Ali's stuff is there," Romani said. "Some of this stuff does look like it's from the 1970s, but I'm not sure anything of his is left. Who knows? It's all cool. It's retro and it's vibey."
One of Romani's favorite items is a brass Hollywood Regency wheat table listed for $250. He's sold the similar tables at about two dozen other estate sales.
"A lot of people, they know it was Ali's house and Kobe's grandparents' house, so they're going to try to photo match some stuff," Romani said. "People will buy a table in hopes that they can find a picture of Kobe at his grandmother's house. That would be the icing on the cake. In the antiques business, we call that provenance. The added provenance will certainly help you resell an item."
Romani's business focuses on mansions and larger estates in Center City, especially along Delancey Street and in the area of Rittenhouse Square. They usually handle luxury items and estates worth more than $4 million. Clients often include athletes, celebrities and CEOs.
"If a guy gets traded, moves and leaves everything behind, we take care of the rest," Romani said.
Settlement on the house in Overbrook Park is expected later this month. Online property records do not show the most recent sale price, but the 2023 assessed value by the city is $581,500.
A full tour of the property and the estate can be seen in the video below. Shoppers are welcomed in on a first-come, first-served basis and can purchase items using any major credit card, Venmo or cash. Furniture can be delivered for an additional fee.
