SYDNEY C. WOODERSON - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 02/02/1937 - HFSID 142582
Sale Price $245.00
Reg. $300.00
SYDNEY C. WOODERSON
Only six months before he set a new record for the mile run, he
signed this handwritten letter agreeing to present the prizes at a sports
dinner
Autograph Letter signed: "S. C. Wooderson", 1 page, 5x7
affixed to a 7¾x9¾ sheet. London, 1937 February 2. On personal letterhead
to "Dear Mr. Green". In full: "I shall be pleased to present
the prizes at your sports meeting on May 14th. Will you drop me a line just
before the date to confirm. Yours sincerely." Newspaper photo affixed in
upper left. Sydney C. Wooderson (1914-2006), called "the Mighty Atom,"
won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in 1934 but suffered a serious
ankle injury just before the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He set a new record for
the mile run on August 28, 1937: 4 minutes, 6.4 second. This record stood for
five years. Wooderson, disqualified by poor eyesight from military service
in World War II, was a firefighter during the London Blitz. After the war
- and a serious bout of rheumatic fever which doctors thought would prevent him
from running again - Wooderson tried to recapture his world record in 1946,
and almost succeeded. At age 31 he ran the mile in 4 minutes, 4 seconds. He
went on to win the National Cross-Country Championship in 1948. He was scheduled
to carry the Olympic Torch into Wembley Stadium for the 1948 Summer Olympics,
but planners nixed him at the last minute because the bespectacled Wooderson did
not look athletic enough! Professionally, Wooderson was a solicitor for the City
of London. Normal mailing fold. Slight surface creases. Corners slightly worn.
Backing sheet toned and stained. Otherwise, fine condition.
Following offer submission users will be contacted at their account email address within 48 hours. Our response will be to accept your offer, decline your offer or send you a final counteroffer. All offers can be viewed from within the "Offer Review" area of your HistoryForSale account. Please review the Make Offer Terms prior to making an offer.
If you have not received an offer acceptance or counter-offer email within 24-hours please check your spam/junk email folder.