This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/31/2013
The emergence of this tremendously rare letter will not require the collector to utilize any more than his/her hands to count Thorpe examples which have surfaced at auction in the past dozen years, as the tally is now brought to six. The legendary Carlisle Indian School graduate and Canton enshrinee utilizes bold blue ballpoint signature to respond to a dinner invitation with great content regarding the 1951 film “All American” . The single unlined page is boldly signed at the close.
Letter reads in full: Your letter, tendering an invitation to attend the testimonial dinner in honor of Arch Ward, sports editor of the Chicago Tribune, reached me when I arrived here from New York. It is with the most sincere regret I must advise you at will be impossible for me to be there to help honor Arch. He is a grand guy and is well beloved by all sports lovers, the country over. I am under contract to Ed. Don George of this city until the first of June. Then I go to the coast to act as a technical adviser on my life story, the All American, which is to go into production at Warner Bros., this summer. Please tell Arch how much I should like to be there and that I will be thinking of him and wish him every happiness and continued success, both as one of the best sports writers in the country and one of the nicest people I know. This occasion in his honor could not happen to a better man. With all good wishes to all who are participating in this occasion and with my sincere affection to Arch Ward, I am, Jim Thorpe [signed].
An Olympic gold-medal winner in the decathlon at the 1912 Games in Stockholm, Sweden, Thorpe was also one of the greatest players ever to set foot on the gridiron and is a charter member in both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. As noted in his letter, Thorpe's life was brought to the silver screen in the 1951 release Jim Thorpe - All American , which starred Burt Lancaster. Thorpe would pass just two years after the release in 1953 with a legacy in athletics that is unrivaled to this day. Auction-style full letter of authenticity has been issued by JSA (James Spence Authentication).