New Participating Member

[runred41]

Hi...I wanted to take this time to introduce myself to other members. Although I registered September 2017 I never made time to introduce myself nor get involved although I check in from time to time to see what has been going on. Having broken my leg a few weeks ago while coaching at a cross country meet I’ve got lots of down time while I’m recovering from surgery so I thought I’d use the down time to introduce myself and try to get more involved in what I can tell is a fantastic group of not only collectors but even a greater group of people! I’ve enjoyed spending many hours of my down time reading the forums posted from the past. I began collecting cards in 2nd grade back in 1972 and collected until 1981 when I went off to college and stopped due to not having any extra funds to do so. I always kept my collection at my folks house and would look at them from time to time and all the time kept thinking I’d get back into it yet I knew I was so far behind it just seemed overwhelming to do so. Fast forward to 2002 and I was seriously looking for a reason and a starting place to jump back in to collecting when I came across a Jim Thorpe game used jersey card and a light came on! Having grown up close to his birthplace here in Oklahoma and being a track/cross country coach all my adult life(35 years now) I was well aware of Jim Thorpe and all he had accomplished. Being one who likes to try to do things most others do not I decided to start a Jim Thorpe collection as I figured very few people really concentrated on him. In diving into collecting Thorpe I got to be in contact with 2 others who have amassed really nice Thorpe collections but I do know there are very few who do collect Thorpe extensively. I have seen some smaller yet quality collections on some of the forums on this site. Since a couple of others who I know collect Thorpe cards I sold almost all of my 485 Thorpe material cards 8-9 years ago and starting concentrating on vintage ephemera concerning Thorpe. At 485 I realized I had a sickness I think! So, out of the ordinary Thorpe items, game tickets, game programs, original photos, postcards, etc...are what I primarily concentrate on now. I’ve also ventured into 1912 U.S. Olympic trials, 1912 Olympic items and post Olympic track items that he was involved in but didnt necessarily belong to him yet he would have received a ‘like item’ from the same meet or celebration. My goal is to accumulate items from all aspects of his life from beginning to end and tell his life’s story with any kind of ‘memorabilia’ that I can find and be fortunate enough to buy. At age 55 now I will continue to work on it exclusively as the only thing I collect. With over 1,000 Thorpe related items it just seems time to start sharing what I’ve been able to accumulate with other collectors. Hope to get to know some of you over the years! Thank you for your time! Mike