(LOT 260)
Incredibly Rare January 1, 1926 Red Grange Game Barnstorming Program
Only 5 days after his final collegiate football game with Illinois' Fighting Illini, Red Grange made his NFL debut with the Chicago Bears on November 26, 1925. Scoring 36 points in his final year at Illinois, Grange then tacked on an additional 18 points in five games with the Bears. In 1926, the Bears and Grange, still a rookie, set off on a barnstorming tour through Florida playing local pick-up teams. On January 1, 1926, the Chicago Bears faced Jim Thorpe's Tampa Cardinals at Tampa's Plant Field. The offered multi-page 7-3/4" x 11" program is a wonderfully rare and an unthinkably well-preserved program the cover proclaims the "Grange Game", spotlighting the highly anticipated arrival of the rookie sensation. The Bears triumphed over the Cardinals 17-3 and Grange rushed for a 70-yard score. A hint of wrinkling at the binding with no separation. Expected aging and soiling; lower right corner crease; pencil notation clarifications on the interior; small ink blotch on the reverse. Amazingly well preserved despite the harsh Florida humidity and heat. Visually pleasing in EX-MT condition.

MIN BID $500
_