This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/4/2019
It's been over 100 years since Jim Thorpe dashed through the 192 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, but he is still considered one of the greatest athletes of all time. Greatest-evers are always hard to quantify, but there is no doubt that Thorpe is up there. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, he became the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States. Although he lost his Olympic titles after it was found he had been paid for playing two seasons of semi-professionaly baseball, Thorpe continued on, playing both professional football and baseball, and even barnstorming as a professional basketball player with a team composed entirely of American Indians. Offered here is an ULTRA-RARE Type I International News Photograph of Thorpe in his Canton Bullldogs football gear, c. 1915-1920, signed by Thorpe in black steel tip - "To Pat & Billy Hume, from Jim Thorpe, 1948". This photograph was notably colorized & used in the 1955 Topps All-American card release. The original photograph exhibits scattered handling wear, with some surface rubbing, impressions, and light areas of paper loss, but the rarity of this one-of-a-kind Type I photograph cannot be overstated. Appropriate International News Photograph stamping and notations are present on the reverse. Accompanied by a full Letter of Authenticity from James Spence Authentication (JSA).