Warsaw Man Donates Truex Autograph To Historical Society
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Daniel [email protected]
Chad Curtis was told by friend and retired Warsaw police officer Larry Engle that an autograph of Max Truex was being sold on EBay for $25.
Truex grew up in Warsaw and was a legendary distance runner.
He went to the University of Southern California and was on the 1960 U.S. Olympic team that went to Rome.
He set state and national records as a high schooler and inspired the likes of Curtis.
Curtis, a 1974 Warsaw graduate, ran the 800 for the Tigers and remembers how popular Max Truex was.
“He inspired all kinds of athletes. When I was in high school they had a huge photo of him winning state and setting a national record,” said Curtis. “We couldn’t believe we had an athlete like that from this town.”
Curtis then showed the autograph to Robert Lichtenwalter, also known as “Coach.”
Curtis said since “Coach” discovered Truex, he wanted to show it to him to verify it was real.
The autograph took a long way to get to Warsaw as Curtis purchased it from an autograph dealer out of Estonia.
Curtis said he believes the autograph was available in the eastern European country because Truex’s rival was Vladimir Kuts.
Kuts was a long-distance runner for the former Soviet Union.
Curtis said he purchased the autograph to contribute a piece of Warsaw history and to remember Truex.
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Chad Curtis was told by friend and retired Warsaw police officer Larry Engle that an autograph of Max Truex was being sold on EBay for $25.
Truex grew up in Warsaw and was a legendary distance runner.
He went to the University of Southern California and was on the 1960 U.S. Olympic team that went to Rome.
He set state and national records as a high schooler and inspired the likes of Curtis.
Curtis, a 1974 Warsaw graduate, ran the 800 for the Tigers and remembers how popular Max Truex was.
“He inspired all kinds of athletes. When I was in high school they had a huge photo of him winning state and setting a national record,” said Curtis. “We couldn’t believe we had an athlete like that from this town.”
Curtis then showed the autograph to Robert Lichtenwalter, also known as “Coach.”
Curtis said since “Coach” discovered Truex, he wanted to show it to him to verify it was real.
The autograph took a long way to get to Warsaw as Curtis purchased it from an autograph dealer out of Estonia.
Curtis said he believes the autograph was available in the eastern European country because Truex’s rival was Vladimir Kuts.
Kuts was a long-distance runner for the former Soviet Union.
Curtis said he purchased the autograph to contribute a piece of Warsaw history and to remember Truex.
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