One of the most versatile athletes in American sports history, Jim Thorpe was an Olympic gold medalist who played both professional baseball and football during the early portion of the 20th century. Born in Oklahoma to parents with Native American ancestry, Thorpe attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania where he was a two-time All-American for the Carlisle team coached by Pop Warner. Thorpe would participate in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden where the famed athlete won gold medals in the Pentathlon and Decathlon. Thorpe signed with the New York Giants where he played six seasons of Major League Baseball from 1913 to 1919. Thorpe would then go on to play for the Canton Bulldogs American Football team and win three championships. Thorpe would later play for six teams in the National Football League where he was a First-team All-Pro in 1923. Thorpe would later play with an All-Indian basketball team that traveled the country playing exhibition matches. Thorpe retired from professional sports at the age of 41 and was named to the NFL’s inaugural Hall of Fame class in 1963.

Presented here is a cut signed by the legendary Hall of Famer Jim Thorpe. The signed 5 x 2 ½ -inch cut is attached to a 10 x 8-inch piece of paper that features five pictures of Thorpe cut from newspapers. An envelope labeled “Charles Siple 511 McNair Ave Wilkinsburgh Pennsylvania” appears on the front of the envelope. “JAMES THORPE” is written in parenthesis below the address. A three-cent stamp is affixed to the front of the envelope and features a black postal cancellation mark. A postal stamp labeled “HAWTHORNE CALIF. FEB 17 11:30 AM 1936” in black ink appears on the top of the envelope. The signed cut is labeled “2-16-’36 Carlisle Indian School Jim Thorpe” in cursive writing signed in black ink. The signature and inscription are bold and the 8 x 10-inch paper with the five pictures of Thorpe and the signed cut shows evidence of cornering, edging, and toning. The envelope features toning and is affixed to a faded piece of paper. The cut signed by one of American’s greatest athletes Jim Thorpe comes with an LOA from JSA (BB36811).

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