1968 MEXICO CITY SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES TORCH (TYPE A)

This torch was used in the 1968 Summer Olympics relay that brought the flame to Mexico City. There were five different variations, and this the 'Type A' version was among the more common. The relay began on August 23, 1968, in Olympia, Greece, retracing the route taken by Christopher Columbus to the New World. In all, the flame traveled 13,620 km over 25 days through the hands of 2,778 torchbearers before arriving at Olympic Stadium, where Norma Enriqueta Basilio de Sotelo of Mexico was the first woman to ever light the Olympic cauldron.

Constructed of silver aluminum with a wooden handle, it measures 20.75″ in length and 4″ at its widest point. The upper metal ring features a pattern of six doves and the metallic label at the bottom reads “Mexico” twice. The very bottom of the handle/knob has another label with the "68" Mexico City Games logo and "COMITE ORGANIZADOR DE LOS JUEGOS DE LA XIX OLYMPIADA" (Organizing Committee of the Games of the XIX Olympiad), along with torch designer "M. Villazon." It shows appropriate use from the relay and remains in NM condition with all original elements intact. An iconic memento from the Games that delivered perhaps the most important Civil Rights demonstration in sports history: the famous Black Power Salute by African-American sprint medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos.