(14) 1924 Letters to Fiancé Freeda Kirkpatrick Handwritten By Jim Thorpe While Playing For Lawrence Mass. Baseball Team

In the summer of 1924, Jim Thorpe separated from his first wife Iva and began courting Freeda Kirkpatrick from La Rue, Ohio, a young office worker employed by the Oorang Indians football squad. These 14 letters, dating from July 1 through mid August 1924, contain much previously unknown information about Thorpe's challenging and at times lonely life on the road playing semi-professional baseball in the Boston's Twilight League with the Lawrence Massachusetts Baseball Club.



All of the letters were handwritten by Thorpe to Freeda. Each contains personal romantic references to their fledgling relationship, which would flower into marriage the following year. Thorpe details Lawrence's mid summer pennant run and his own success, including a batting average well over .400. Thorpe also speaks of his desire, at age 37, to continue to play professional football for the Oorang Indians.



The letters range from 2 to 7 pages in length and include original Thorpe hand addressed envelopes. Many are signed "Your Lonesome Injun," "Happy Injun," "Blue Injun,"  "Little Boy." The contents of these letters, as well as those in the succeeding lot, will be featured in the upcoming book on Jim Thorpe, authored by Kate Buford, titled "Thorpe", to be published by Alfred A. Knopf in early 2008. LOA from Thorpe family to accompany this lot. Additional LOAs from PSA/DNA and JSA.