William "Kayo" Lam 1936 East-West Bowl signed index card. National rushing leader

[AstroJake09]

Hi all,

Here's an index card signed by college football's national rushing leader for the years 1934 and 1935, William "Kayo" Lam of the University of Colorado. Below is a short bio about him,

"After moving south from Glenrock, Wyo., William "Kayo" Lam starred in football, track, cross country and wrestling in the 1930's. He arrived in Boulder as a 5-foot, 9-inch, 140-pound freshman, but by the time he was a senior he weighed in at 160 after having led the nation in rushing with 906 yards as a junior in 1934. He topped that figure with 1,043 in 1935, leading the country in all-around yardage with 2,225. He was the first CU athlete to play in a postseason all-star game (the East-West Shrine). He was a two-time All-Rocky Mountain Conference selection in football and also won the conference's 155-pound weight title in wrestling as a junior. After serving in World War II, he returned to Boulder where he would work the next 36 years at the University, from assistant dean of men and assistant football coach to assistant athletic director and business manager. He was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1978. Lam passed away on April 23, 1993 at the age of 81.

Other interesting facts are, Byron White was his backup and that in 1934 he led the University of Colorado in their first game and first season that they were called the "Buffaloes."

To date, I have only seen two examples of Lam's signature. The first being on an awards program from the 1970s along with other athletes and the second beng this index card. The neat thing about the signature here is that it is a period piece dated to the 1936 East-West Shrine game.

Lam is seemingly lost in the pages of history. However he was one of the greatest players of his era and one of the greatest athletes the University of Colorado has had.

Stay safe and Happy New Year!

[AstroJake09]

I am curious as to the type of pen this was signed with? The seller told me it was a fountain pen signature but I’m not 100%. I know that the ballpoint pen was invented in 1888.

[cfhofer]

Was digging through a stack of index cards and came across this one. Looks to be of the same pen.