How's this for timing? No sooner had I finished writing about the fact that Secretariat is the only thoroughbred with a United States postage stamp honoring him, then I get word that Seabiscuit (one of the other "heroic" horses in my thesis) will be sharing those honors come May 11!!
The United States Postal Service issued the 33 cent stamp of Secretariat in 1999, fittingly in the winner's circle at Keeneland Race Course. Remember those days when it cost 33 cents to mail a letter? At the time, he was the only thoroughbred to have a stamp with his likeness on it.
Seabiscuit's stamp will be issued on or before May 11, when the stamp prices change once again. His is being called a 2009 price-change stamp. The artwork for the design is by John Mattos and features a scene from the famous match race with War Admiral, which you will recall, Seabiscuit won by four lengths.
That race, by the way, drew 40,000 spectators to Pimlico and was broadcast to 40 million listeners on the radio, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Secretariat's Belmont in 1973 drew a crowd of over 60,000 to the track and captured 52% of the country's television viewing audience.
It's always to good to know that my assessment of heroic horses is endorsed by none other than the U. S. Postal Service, proving my point that these two horses crossed over from the sports world into mainstream American culture.
Sometimes, life is very good indeed!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
Hi Kat,
Here's how the Seabiscuit stamp came to be:
How the Seabiscuit Stamp Came To Be
By Maggie Van Ostrand
On May 11th, a 44-cent rate-change stamp featuring the great racehorse, Seabiscuit, will be issued by the U.S. Postal Service. This stamp, and a pre-stamped Seabiscuit envelope, is significant for one huge reason: We the people did it! It took us eight long years, but we did it. It’s easy to think that we don’t have power in Washington but, when there are enough of us, we can do anything.
In 2001, when Laura Hillenbrand's best-selling book, Seabiscuit: An American Legend, was published, millions of readers were inspired by the true story of “an undersized, crooked-legged racehorse named Seabiscuit,” who beat all odds back in the Thirties and became an American cultural icon.
Impassioned by the book, I took a guided tour of the Biscuit’s home, Ridgewood Ranch, in Northern California, and saw his still-standing barn, weighing shed, and corral. During an old family film of his greatest races and his life at the Ranch, I spoke with another tourist, a man from New Orleans. Over time and telephone, we became friends and he came up with the idea of trying to get Seabiscuit on a California coin. His idea evolved honoring this great horse on a U.S. stamp.
Fat chance, right? We had no money, no lobbyists, and no Washington connections. We had only passion and a belief that the word “No” meant “Try again.”
We learned about the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee, the primary goal of which is to select subjects of “broad national interest for recommendation to the Postmaster General that are both interesting and educational.” To give you an idea of the odds we were up against, only 25 subjects are selected each year out of thousands of submissions. And only one other horse in history (Secretariat) had ever been so honored.
Undaunted, we started a grassroots movement, beginning with local book clubs, then book clubs nationwide. Their members not only signed our petition to the Committee, they circulated it to all their friends, who sent it to everyone they knew. We put the petition on the internet so it could be printed and mailed by anyone interested. We trolled the streets for signatures, promoted the idea on a sports news TV, haunted Santa Anita for signatures, returned to Willits CA (home of Ridgewood Ranch) for the premiere of the movie, Seabiscuit. We did everything we could think of and then some. Thousands of people pitched in, like an Arkansas soybean farmer, a Louisiana pharmacist, a Kentucky woman who cans hams for Hormel, a Massachusetts landscape designer; racetrack people; book lovers everywhere; and many from right here in our own mountain communities.
Yes, there were times of discouragement, disillusionment, and distress, but we never gave up. If Seabiscuit himself never gave up when faced with insurmountable odds, how could we? If his fierce determination to win got him to the finish line to inspire America in the throes of the Great Depression, we had to match that determination.
We may not be able to see the Biscuit run again at Santa Anita, but we can all share in his heritage of beating the odds and achieving our goal.
When you hold the Seabiscuit stamp in your hand, remember: together, we the people can do anything.
Hi !.
might , probably very interested to know how one can reach 2000 per day of income .
There is no need to invest much at first. You may begin to get income with as small sum of money as 20-100 dollars.
AimTrust is what you haven`t ever dreamt of such a chance to become rich
The company represents an offshore structure with advanced asset management technologies in production and delivery of pipes for oil and gas.
It is based in Panama with structures around the world.
Do you want to become really rich in short time?
That`s your chance That`s what you desire!
I`m happy and lucky, I began to get real money with the help of this company,
and I invite you to do the same. If it gets down to choose a correct companion who uses your funds in a right way - that`s it!.
I take now up to 2G every day, and what I started with was a funny sum of 500 bucks!
It`s easy to start , just click this link http://mikehyqesi.freewebportal.com/witose.html
and go! Let`s take this option together to become rich
Good day, sun shines!
There have were times of troubles when I didn't know about opportunities of getting high yields on investments. I was a dump and downright pessimistic person.
I have never thought that there weren't any need in large starting capital.
Now, I'm happy and lucky , I begin take up real income.
It's all about how to select a proper partner who utilizes your funds in a right way - that is incorporate it in real deals, and shares the profit with me.
You may get interested, if there are such firms? I'm obliged to answer the truth, YES, there are. Please be informed of one of them:
http://theinvestblog.com [url=http://theinvestblog.com]Online Investment Blog[/url]
Post a Comment