International Institute for Sport History |
ROCKY #3
FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN
&
BOXING ENDOWMENT
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ROCKY #3
The International Institute for Sport History has an agreement to purchase the famous statue of ROCKY #3 for the IISOH museum collection. Cast by artist A. Thomas Schomberg the statue was made famous by Sylvester Stallone's movie ROCKY III. The IISOH plans to display this statue in front of a Museum to be constructed in central Pennsylvania. |
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The BOXING COLLECTION & ENDOWMENT
This fundraising campaign also supports the BOXING ENDOWMENT which will fund the acquisition of many reproductions made from molds of the original Greek and Roman statuary. The famous "Seated Boxer" illustrated below, is in the collection of the National Museum of Rome. It is a rare find, one of the few existing original bronze statues that have survived from the ancient Greek era to this day. The IISOH plans to acquire copies of this famous statue, and others. We must pay for copies to be made and then carefully shipped to central Pennsylvania.
Greek, late 4th–2nd century BCE. Bronze.
Museo Nazionale Romano - Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, inv. 1055.
Naming Opportunity - ROCKY #3 Statue
There is a naming opportunity for a donor who wants to be acknowledged specifically for the ROCKY #3 statue (for example: The JOHN & MARY DOE FAMILY ENDOWMENT FOR ROCKY #3). A donation of at least one million Dollars ($1,000,000) makes this possible.Naming Opportunity - BOXING ENDOWMENT
A magnanimous donation of at least two million Dollars ($2,000,000) can be acknowledged with a lifetime LEGACY by naming the overall BOXING ENDOWMENT, subject to the final approval of the Board of Directors.The IISOH seeks massive public support.
We ask for a single donation - twenty-five Dollars ($25.00).
THEN we ask that you invite two friends to make a similar donation.
Larger donations have incentives as gifts plus a lifetime acknowledgement.
Spread the word.
Be part of the legacy!
Bring ROCKY #3 to Pennsylvania.
DONATE ONLINE NOW
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This is a Naming Opportunity!!
This is an opportunity to name the BOXING ENDOWMENT.With a generous donation of two million Dollars a donor can name the BOXING ENDOWMENT in perpetuity. The endowment would be named by the benefactor subject to the approval of the IISOH Board of Directors.
For more details about the entire endowment program,
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Federal Tax ID# 41-2041155
The Story Behind the ROCKY Statue ROCKY #1 Monumental Bronze statue by A. Thomas Schomberg Owner: City of Philadelphia, PA., USA The origins of the IISOH will be shared elsewhere on this site soon, so a few years will be skipped. The issue of ROCKY came about during the planning of the Museum statuary collection. At first Abrams was researching the statuary of ancient Greece and Rome to create an acquisitions list for the Museum. Such famous statuary as the Discus Thrower (Discobolos/Discobolus), the Wrestlers (Pankratiasts), and the Boxer were carefully studied. Plans were made to acquire exact replicas since originals were not available on the marketplace. Most ancient Greek statuary was made in bronze and most disappeared in antiquity. But the Romans loved this artwork and many artists made marble copies. Today these marbles are in different museums around the world. For example the Discus Thrower has several copies that were made and these are found in London (British Museum) and Rome (Vatican Museums and the National Museum of Rome). The first IISOH agreement was made with the British Museum in London where the "Townley" Discus Thrower is located. In this fascinating exchange it was learned that the mold for the statue had disappeared. The problem was due to the fact that no copies had been made in over 80 years so nobody at the museum knew where the molds had been stored. The molds of the original marble would be needed to make plaster copies. Higher quality resin statues could also be made. The plaster versions were commonly created in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for many American universities. At that time classical studies were an important part of a university education. Many collections of statue copies were developed and today very few of these still exist. During this research period someone from Syracuse University contacted the IISOH to offer their copies of which very few remained. All were damaged with missing limbs or graffiti scratched into the plaster. The IISOH declined. As the research continued the search for modern statuary began. Many bronze statues exist within the USA of baseball or football stars. But the statue in Philadelphia of ROCKY drew our attention foremost. Research began and inquiries were made to the Philadelphia city government to seek permission to make a mold of the statue so the IISOH could have a copy. Within days of these inquiries Abrams received a telephone call from Cynthia Schomberg, wife of the artist. "Why do you want to make a mold of the statue?" was the question asked. When told that we wanted a copy for our museum...well...I was shocked with what I learned next. Actually - excited and thrilled would be more accurate. I learned that two more copies were available, that the molds were in storage, but not yet cast. That night an agreement was made for the IISOH to have first rights for both statues - ROCKY #2 and ROCKY #3. It was then agreed that the IISOH could use one of the statues as a fundraiser. By selling one statue for a higher amount then the IISOH could purchase both statues, put money into a BOXING ENDOWMENT and keep one statue while giving the second to the buyer. Fundraising began in 2003 and continued for two years. The statue was originally listed on ebay for a price of five million Dollars. The listing was repeated a number of times and drew much attention worldwide in the media. However no bids were made and eventually the price was lowered to three million Dollars. At this point there was some interest expressed with one potential buyer who planned to buy the statue for their mansion outside the USA. These negotiations never materialized beyond a few conversations. In 2005 we lowered the bidding price to one million Dollars in expectations of starting a bidding war, but this also ended one night with a single bid on ebay for the one million Dollars minimum. At first Abrams was served the bill from ebay, which was sticker shock, to say the least. As we tried to collect from the buyer it was learned that the bidder was a college student from Canada. He used his roommate's ebay account to place the bid as a joke. The legal ramifications of wire fraud were then raised, criminal prosecution was considered, but in the end no action was taken when ebay agreed to cancel all the fees that were involved. The IISOH decided not to pursue any criminal or civil charges because it would serve no good purpose for any party. That was the final effort to sell the statue as a fundraiser.  Rocky #2, Breitbard Collection, San Diego Hall of Champions, deaccessioned and sold at auction November 14, 2017 to a private buyer The Hall of Fame had lower attendance after his death and much higher bills so it closed in the summer of 2017. Many items in the collection were sold at auctions in November 2017 - just as this IISOH campaign was being planned. This is how ROCKY #2 ended up in California in private hands. On December 25 Sylvester Stallone announced via his Instagram account that he was the buyer of ROCKY #2. He posted a photograph of himself and friend, Arnold Schwartzenegger, standing in front of the statue at his home. If you look on the internet you can find a few more photos as well as a video of the statue being delivered by truck.  In February, 2022, Stallone sold his home to British personality Adele (Adele Laurie Blue Adkins) for 58 million Dollars. The price was much lower than his original asking price of 110 million Dollars. Importantly, Adele inisted that the purchase had to include the ROCKY statues. Note the plural - one statue outside the home overlooked the swimming pool (see photos in links) but the famous ROCKY statue #2 was inside the house in a memorabilia room devoted to ROCKY films (photo below).  Stallone Sells LA Mansion to Adele.... Adele Purschased Sylvestor Stallone's LA compound for 58 Million Under One Condition. ROCKY #3 is an important piece of art and the IISOH is very determined to have this standing in front of our museum. As we embark on a major campaign for this acquisition through the BOXING ENDOWMENT, we have several other campaigns that run concurrently to establish the OPERATIONS ENDOWMENT and funding for the SPORT IN ART POSTER SERIES. We hope that your passion for sport, boxing, ROCKY and all that it entails will enable you to support the IISOH with a cash donation now and in the future with books and memorabilia for the Library and Museum collections. Links to some excellent websites on this subject:
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LARGER DONATIONS:Cash donations IN ANY AMOUNT are welcome!
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The IISOH is a Pennsylvania Non-profit,
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