Group lot of four membership cards belonging to five-time gold medal-winning swimmer Johnny Weissmuller, who is more famously remembered for his film portrayal of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan character. The cards, which measure approximately 3.75 x 2.25, include: a swimming membership card for the Royal Oak Lodge and Golf Club in 1972, issued to “Mr. & Mrs. Johnny Weissmuller,” signed on the reverse in black ballpoint by Weissmuller; a pair of United States Olympians Southern California Chapter honorary life membership cards affirming the good standing of Weissmuller for the years 1975 and 1979; and a metallic gold United States Olympians Midwest Chapter life membership card issued to Weissmuller, noting his Olympic years, “1924-1928,” and events, “Swimming & Water Polo,” the latter of which he earned a bronze medal in water polo at the Paris 1924 Summer Olympics. Also included is an embroidered color patch, 3″ in diameter, showing the emblem of the US Olympians Southern California Chapter. In overall very good to fine condition. Originates from the estate of Weissmuller's stepdaughter, Lisa Weissmuller Gallagher.
Beginning with 1932’s Tarzan the Ape Man, Weissmuller depicted the famed jungle hero in a total of 12 motion pictures. But before he captivated audiences young and old on the silver screen, Weissmuller cemented himself as one of the greatest swimmers in Olympic history. Between the 1924 and 1928 Summer Games in Paris and Amsterdam, the athlete-turned-actor amassed five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. Additionally, he won fifty-two United States national championships, set sixty-seven world records, and retired with an unbeaten amateur record. Dating to his twilight years, these unique membership cards represent Weissmuller’s lifelong regimen of daily swimming.
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