Jim Thorpe and a Ticket to Serendipity

When Anthony Barone Jr. went to a local book auction with his sister Lee early this month, they came across a book from the 1920's, 'Jesse James and His Greatest Hauls,' a Wild West adventure of daring holdups.

Unimpressed by the condition of the book's cover, Anthony was not interested in purchasing it. But when the bidding crested at $6, Lee looked at her brother. 'What's six bucks?' she said. Anthony and Lee took the book home and ignored it for a week. They contemplated putting it back up for auction the next week, when Anthony decided he would at least flip through it.'I started leafing through the pages, and out dropped this big red ticket,' said Barone, a 44-year-old purchasing manager from Jamestown, N.Y. 'It literally fell into my lap.'

The ticket, six inches long, in good condition and with its stub still attached, was for an exhibition basketball game featuring Jim Thorpe and 'His World Famous Indians' on March 1, 1927. It did not indicate where the game was being played, other than at a Y.M.C.A. gym. Other teams listed on the ticket - 'Clothes Shop,' 'New Process' and 'Bankers' - were mysteries."