George Foreman
Olympic Gold 1968
World Heavyweight Champion 1973 - 1974, 1994 - 1995

 

 

Future Olympic gold medalist and heavyweight champion George Foreman has signed this first day cover, from the Bahamas, in red ballpoint ink... With the 1968 Olympic Boxing Finals coming up in October, the yet to be renowned Foreman has added "Boxing" to his signature... The stamps display the 1968 Mexico Olympic emblem and are postal stamped 30th Sept. 1968, San Salvador... A rare example of his pre-Olympic and pre-championship signature!!

measures: 3.75 x 6.5"
condition: fine

sold!!

 

 

The above is not the offered item but is a consistent example of an early George Foreman signature. This
was taken from THE RING (March, 1974), an article on handwriting and signature characteristics of top fighters.
 
 
 
 


FROM THE BOOKS

  
      George's first opponent in the '68 Olympics was a Polish fighter named Lucjan Trela, who stood only 5 ft., 7 in. Punching down, George couldn't get his weight into his punches; punching up, the Pole could, and to this day the three rounds with the Pole stick in George's mind as his toughest fight. But he got the decision, and from there on, the Olympics was a breeze.
    In his final match, George bounced around the ring like a kid after stopping the Russian heavyweight Iones Cepulis in 2:30 of the second round. Then, for the TV cameras, he whipped out a little American flag and waved it around and became famous. Overnight, his victory and the flag-waving gesture made George a hero. Back home in Houston, the police who used to chase him provided him with a motorcycle escort. Going to Washington, he called on President Johnson at the White House. The President, under fire over the Vietnam war, looked tired and frazzled. "He looked like he was on the ropes," George remembered. George then presented LBJ with a small plaque. "This is to thank you for making the Job Corps possible," he said, "giving young Americans like me a chance for hope and dignity." There were tears in the President's eyes as he accepted the tribute.		  
 


John D. McCallum-The Encyclopedia Of World Boxing Champions
 

  
 

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