Tennis player Francisco Segura autograph on Ecuador 1939 airmail Scott C67

Description

Offered here is an autographed piece of cardstock signed by
Francisco Olegario Segura (June 20, 1921 – November 18, 2017), better known as Pancho "Segoo" Segura, who was a leading tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s, both as an amateur and as a professional. In 1950, 1951, and 1952, as a professional, he was the world No. 1 player in the USPLTA rankings. He was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, but moved to the United States in the late 1930s and after acquiring U.S. citizenship in 1991 was a citizen of both countries. Throughout his amateur career he was listed by the USTA as a "foreign" player resident in the U.S. He is the only player to have won the Cleveland/Forest Hills US Pro and International Pro titles on three different surfaces (which he did consecutively from 1950–1952). Segura's most potent shot was considered to be his double-handed forehand. His less-potent backhand was single-handed
.
The signature is over a related stamp:
Ecuador 1939 50c Tennis First Bolivarian Games airmail Scott C67
.
Also included: E
nvelope with return address in Segura's handwriting from Los Angeles CA
to Bowman in Pittsburgh PA.
Ex. James A. Bowman Collection ---
James A. Bowman, a longtime educator at Benjamin Franklin Junior High School in New Castle, Pennsylvania, began collecting autographs on stamps in the late 1930s and continued into the 1950s. A history buff with an impressive, award-winning stamp collection, Bowman incorporated the signatures of some of the world’s greatest names as a way of exciting the imaginations of his seventh grade classroom and, in his own particular way, bringing history to life: ‘I have found that there is a visual means of forming this necessary educational contact, which inspires the best in the lives of pupils; namely, the exhibiting of the autographs of the great people in all fields of endeavor.’ Bowman's collection includes over 700 different autographs of famous persons signed on cards, letters and over postage stamps.
The catalyst for Bowman was a stamp auction in 1938, and the chance to obtain a coil strip of three of the 2c Thomas Edison Commemorative, signed across the face by the famed Menlo Park inventor. He lost the bid, but in his failure Bowman discovered a novel way of enhancing his philatelic pursuits—mailing stamps to notable figures for them to sign. His first successful signed stamp was Alfonso XIII of Spain, and his second, after several attempts, was King Edward VIII.
Although the advent of World War II forced Bowman to secure a license for sending stamps abroad, even this could not slow the steady growth of his collection. And much to Bowman’s eruditionary delight, as his collection grew, so did the fascination of his students: ‘Many of my pupils have been inspired by the signatures of the great people of our times to do better. Some of the pupils have themselves taken up the hobby.’ Filled with an array of world leaders, presidents, inventors, scientists, artists, and athletes, the James A. Bowman Collection is one of the most extraordinary autographed collections ever assembled where every single signature was acquired directly by the collector. Each autographed item from the Bowman Collection will be listed separately and available to collectors through our eBay auctions in the weeks and months ahead.
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