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Lot #9570
Roger Bannister Typed Letter Signed

The first man to run a mile in under four minutes

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Estimate: $200+
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Description

The first man to run a mile in under four minutes

Wonderful TLS, one page, 6.75 x 8.75, St. Mary's Hospital Medical School letterhead, May 20, 1954. Letter to Mr. Browne, in full: "Thank you very much for your kind letter of congratulations. Christopher Chataway, Christopher Brasher and I were all deeply touched by the generosity and enthusiasm of the welcome we received from our many friends, both known and unknown, all over the country. We are very grateful to you for your continued support over the years, whether we have lost or won. For the sake of British Sport we hope we can continue our present success in the Empire and European Games." Bannister adds the salutation in his own hand. In very good to fine condition, with trimmed edges, light creasing, and an area of thinner paper above the salutation. Two weeks before this letter was written, Bannister, then a 25-year-old full-time medical student at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School, became the first athlete to break the sub-4-minute mile when he finished with a time of 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds during a meet between British AAA and Oxford University at Oxford's Iffley Road Track on May 6, 1954.

Auction Info

  • Auction Title: Sports Auction
  • Dates: #528 - Ended June 21, 2018





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