Jesse Owens 1936 Olympic Gold Medal Sells for Nearly $1.5 Million
Update (12/9/13): The Jesse Owens 1936 Olympic Gold Medal sold for $1.46 million yesterday. The amount is the highest ever paid for a piece of Olympic memorabilia. The buyer is Ron Burkle, co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Jesse Owens set a pair of Olympic records at the 1936 games. One of his gold medals is expected to break one more when SCP Auctions sells it in December.
It is one of four gold medals won by Owens at the games that year in front of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Owens won gold medals for the USA in the 100 meter, 200 meter, 400-meter relay and long jump. He also broke a pair of Olympic records in the process. It is not known which event this medal comes from.
After the Olympics, Owens gave the medal to actor Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who was able to help the athlete find work in Hollywood.
SCP Auctions, which is based out of California, is selling Jesse Owens gold medal on behalf of the estate of Robinson's late widow, Elaine Plaines-Robinson.
The medal is expected set a record for Olympic memorabilia and top $1 million.
Bidding opens on the SCP Auctions website on Wednesday, November 20, running through Saturday, December 7.
Other high-profile items in the auction include Shane Victorino's series-clinching grand slam ball from Game 6 of the 2013 ALCS, a 1949 Jackie Robinson game-used bat, a 1955 World Series Jackie Robinson game-used bat and the highest graded Jackie Robinson single-signed baseball.
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