Incredible Jim Rathmann Melbourne Florida Owned License Plate Indianapolis 500

Description

Here is an opportunity for a rare collectible you likely won't ever see again.  I obtained this from a collector of Indianapolis 500 car racing memorabilia.  This is an aluminum license plate that once belonged to Jim Rathmann of Indianapolis 500 fame.  I don't know the exact details of this plate but Rathmann also owned a Chevy Dealership in Melbourne, Florida.  This plate shows obvious signs of dirt and wear and has a light bend to the bottom right corner (I have not attempted to straighten this as I think this simply adds to the character and the buyer can always choose to straighten it themselves if desired).
Below taken from Wikepedia
Jim Rathmann
(July 16, 1928 – November 23, 2011), born
Royal Richard Rathmann
, was an
American
race car driver who won the
Indianapolis 500
in 1960.
He drove in the
AAA
and
USAC
Championship Car
series in the 1949–1950 and 1952–1963 seasons with 42 starts, including the
Indianapolis 500
in each of those seasons. Rathmann also participated in the two runnings of the
Race of Two Worlds
at
Monza
,
Italy
, winning the 1958 event. He had 6 victories in addition to his Indy 500 win. He also drove in 3 races in the NASCAR series from 1949 to 1951.
Rathmann and his older brother notably swapped names while teenagers. As a 16-year-old going by the name of "Dick Rathmann," he wanted to start racing. In order to enter races, he borrowed his
older brother's
I.D. and assumed the identity of "Jim Rathmann."
[1]
The name change stuck for life in public circles.
On August 15, 2007, Rathmann was inducted into the
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
.
[2]
The ceremony took place in
Detroit
.
[3]
He died in 2011 after a seizure.
[4]
Rathmann owned a
Chevrolet
-
Cadillac
dealership in
Melbourne, Florida
, where he befriended astronauts
Alan Shepard
,
Gus Grissom
, and
Gordon Cooper
. Rathmann convinced GM President
Ed Cole
to set up a program which supplied each astronaut with a pair of new cars each year. Most chose a family car for their wives and a Corvette for themselves.
[7]
Alan Bean
recalls Corvettes lined up in the parking lot outside the astronaut offices at the
Johnson Space Center
in Houston, and friendly races between Shepard and Grissom along the Florida beach roads.
[8]
After retiring from the car business, Rathmann lived with his wife, Mary Kay, in
Indialantic
, Florida.
[9]