1968 MEXICO CITY SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES TORCH (TYPE B)

This torch was used in the 1968 Summer Olympics relay that helped carry the flame to Mexico City. There are five different variations, and this is the 'Type B' version. The relay began on August 23, 1968, in Olympia, Greece, and retraced the route taken by Christopher Columbus to discover the New World, traveling through his birthplace in Genoa as well as where he initially set sail from Palos in Spain to the first land he reached in San Salvador. 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 became the first woman to ever light the Olympic cauldron.

Constructed of black aluminum with a wooden handle, it measures approximately 21.5″ in length and 4″ in diameter at the mouth. 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 excellent condition with a smooth shaft that normally gets scratched up over time. The internal flame holder is somewhat loose, but stable. These 'Type B' torches were used in Greece (Olympia to Athens) before the relay continued in Mexico. 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 200m medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos.