Its difficult to imagine a more compelling artifact from arguably the greatest all-around athlete of the 20thcentury pleading for his Olympic medals to be returned plaintively asking that his greatest triumph onthe world stage might be reinstated as he approached his twilight years. Indeed the great Jim Thorpewould be dead barely more than three years later virtually penniless and destitute. His poignant plea formercy: May I please have your influence and help in this and you will have the knowledge that you havemade an old American Indian a happy man and when I go to the happy hunting ground my blessings willbe upon you Thorpe asked Amateur Athletic Union President Jeremiah T.Mahoney in this letter datedSeptember of 1949. And then Thorpe signed his full name a rarity among the archival material typicallyfound from the football Hall of Famer: James Francis Jim Thorpe. But there was to be no mercy inThorpes lifetime nor for nearly three decades after his death.

Adding to the significance of the letter was the addressee not named in the salutation: Avery Brundage.For nearly a half-century the former New York State Supreme Court Judge Mahoney and Brundage hadjointly presided over amateur athletics in this country with the latter ending up being much more wellknown because of his perch atop the International Olympic Committee from 1952-72. The letter addressedto Mahoney was by definition also a plea to Brundage who at the time headed the United States OlympicCommittee. I sincerely believe that I should be forgiven my mistakes and my ignorance as a simple Indian boy unversed as I was in the ways of the white man and the A.A.U. Thorpe wrote in the second paragraphof this two-page historical treasure. Adding to the sad irony or course was the fact that Brundage hadcompeted against Thorpe in the Decathlon and Pentathlon in those historic 1912 Games.

Thorpes transgression had been playing minor-league baseball in the Eastern Carolina League in 1909and 1910. His real mistake may have been simply playing under his own name while so many othercollegiate athletes wisely performed under pseudonyms. Dont you honestly think I should have mytrophies and my name returned to the honor rolls of the A.A.U.? Thorpe continued in the letter. When mytrophies were taken from me it broke my heart and I truly did not know what it was all about. Ignoranceis no excuse the imperious Brundage once responded during his reign atop the IOC for two decadesas every entreaty from Thorpes family and supporters was summarily rebuffed. And then in 1982 the JimThorpe Foundation with the support of the U.S. Congress appealed to the IOC to reverse itself basedon the evidence that the Thorpe disqualification had violated the Committees own rules stating that suchdecisions would have to come within 30 days following the Games. And just like that the cruel miscarriageof justice was redressed a mere 70 years after it had taken place. Justice delayed being justice deniedindeed. A high resolution image of the letter and a full condition report can be viewed in our online lotlisting.

Letter itself on Jim Thorpe's Thunderbirds All Girl Softball Team letterhead is in very nice condition with only a small tear on each page at the top left corner where they were once held together by a staple. Thorpe has signed in vintage 7-10/10 black ink with the "James Francis Jim Thorpe" going from lighter to darker as you go across the signature. The "J" in "Jim" has been smudged a little. Letter has been beautifully framed and double matted to a size of 23" by 26 1/2". Each page of the letter is held in place on the back by 2 pieces of white linen tape which touch about a 3/4" wide by 1/8" deep strip at the top edge.

Includes a full LOA from PSA/DNA.