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Billy Papke (Middleweight Champ) Vintage Fountain Pen Autograph.
Lot 8. Billy Papke (Middleweight Champ) Vintage Fountain Pen Autograph. In one of boxing’s bloodiest battles, Papke scored a TKO over the incumbent middleweight champion, Stanley Ketchel, on Labor Day, Sept. 7, 1908. Two month later, he lost the title to Ketchel in a rematch. Later, he held the French middleweight title. In 1936, at the age of 50, the “Illinois Thunderbolt” took his own life after killing his wife. He was named to the Boxing Hall of Fame in 2001. His signature is a bold 10 very suitable for matting and framing on a 4” x 8” section of paper. It was once part of a full typed letter. Accompanying the autograph is a 1909 postcard mailed from Atlantic City to Papke in Kewanee, IL. Both came from the Papke family estate. Very scarce signature. Authenticated by Kevin Keating.
Winning Bid $100.
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