Predominantly of Native Indian descent, James "Jim" Thorpe was born near Prague, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), on May 22, 1888.
In 1904 the sixteen-year-old Thorpe decided to attend Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Three years later be began his athletic career there when he walked past the track and beat all the school's high jumpers with an impromptu 5-ft 9-in leap despite being in street clothes.
At Carlisle, under Coach Pop Warner, Thorpe starred as an All-American football halfback. He helped make the school a football powerhouse, and beat an Army team that had Dwight Eisenhower.
Jim Thorpe achieved the unprecedented feat of winning gold medals in both the pentathlon and the decathlon in the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden.
Someone stole Jim Thorpe's shoes just before he competed in the Olympic decathlon. Wearing mismatched shoes (one from the garbage), he set a record that stood for almost 20 years.
After the decathlon, the King of Sweden called Thorpe the greatest athlete alive.
Officials took back Thorpe's Olympic medals when they learned that he had played semiprofessional baseball in the summers of 1909 and 1910. He was stripped of his amateur status by the Amateur Athletic Union, and he was deprived of his honors. His medals were restored posthumously in 1982.
After Thorpe left Carlisle he excelled at every sport he played, including the traditional Native American sport of lacrosse.
Throrpe played major league baseball as an outfielder starting with the New York Giants from 1913 to 1915, then the Cincinnati Reds to 1917, and the Giants again to 1919; he finished his baseball career with the Boston Braves in 1919.
Thorpe also played professional football, mostly with the Canton Bulldogs and was the most famous player in the nation during its formative years (1917-29).
When Thorpe signed with the Canton Bulldogs in 1915, they paid him $250 ($6,048 today) a game, a huge wage at the time.
Before signing Thorpe, Canton was averaging 1,200 fans a game, but 8,000 showed up for his debut against the Massillon Tigers.
Canton Bulldogs won titles in 1916, 1917, and 1919.
By 1920, when the National Football League was formed, Thorpe's career was approaching an end, though he made an appearance as late as 1929 with the Chicago (now Phoenix) Cardinals.
As first president of the American Professional Football Association, Thorpe helped found the National Football League, which began in 1922.
Thorpe's retirement from sports in 1929 coincided with the start of the Great Depression and in later years he fell on hard times and was often unable to find work. Instead he had a succession of odd jobs such as appearing in carnivals, working as a stuntman in movie westerns, and occasionally lecturing on behalf of Native American education.
In 1950 Thorpe was named the greatest football player and greatest male athlete of the first half of the century by Associated Press polls.
A film biography, Jim Thorpe – All-American, was released in 1951 in which he was portrayed by Burt Lancaster.
Thorpe suffered from alcoholism, and lived his last years in failing health and poverty. He died in Lomita, California from heart failure on March 28, 1953, and he was buried in a Pennsylvania town renamed in his honor.
After his death Thorpe's children fought for the restoration of their father's Olympic awards. In 1973 the Amateur Athletic Union restored his amateur standing for the years 1909 to 1912. Nine years later, the International Olympic Committee reinstated is medals.
Source Compton's Encyclopedia
In 1904 the sixteen-year-old Thorpe decided to attend Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Three years later be began his athletic career there when he walked past the track and beat all the school's high jumpers with an impromptu 5-ft 9-in leap despite being in street clothes.
At Carlisle, under Coach Pop Warner, Thorpe starred as an All-American football halfback. He helped make the school a football powerhouse, and beat an Army team that had Dwight Eisenhower.
Jim Thorpe achieved the unprecedented feat of winning gold medals in both the pentathlon and the decathlon in the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden.
Someone stole Jim Thorpe's shoes just before he competed in the Olympic decathlon. Wearing mismatched shoes (one from the garbage), he set a record that stood for almost 20 years.
After the decathlon, the King of Sweden called Thorpe the greatest athlete alive.
 |
| Thorpe at the 1912 Summer Olympics |
Officials took back Thorpe's Olympic medals when they learned that he had played semiprofessional baseball in the summers of 1909 and 1910. He was stripped of his amateur status by the Amateur Athletic Union, and he was deprived of his honors. His medals were restored posthumously in 1982.
After Thorpe left Carlisle he excelled at every sport he played, including the traditional Native American sport of lacrosse.
Throrpe played major league baseball as an outfielder starting with the New York Giants from 1913 to 1915, then the Cincinnati Reds to 1917, and the Giants again to 1919; he finished his baseball career with the Boston Braves in 1919.
 |
| Jim Thorpe as a member of the New York Giants. |
Thorpe also played professional football, mostly with the Canton Bulldogs and was the most famous player in the nation during its formative years (1917-29).
When Thorpe signed with the Canton Bulldogs in 1915, they paid him $250 ($6,048 today) a game, a huge wage at the time.
Before signing Thorpe, Canton was averaging 1,200 fans a game, but 8,000 showed up for his debut against the Massillon Tigers.
Canton Bulldogs won titles in 1916, 1917, and 1919.
 |
| Thorpe with the Canton Bulldogs, c. 1915 – c. 1920 |
By 1920, when the National Football League was formed, Thorpe's career was approaching an end, though he made an appearance as late as 1929 with the Chicago (now Phoenix) Cardinals.
As first president of the American Professional Football Association, Thorpe helped found the National Football League, which began in 1922.
Thorpe's retirement from sports in 1929 coincided with the start of the Great Depression and in later years he fell on hard times and was often unable to find work. Instead he had a succession of odd jobs such as appearing in carnivals, working as a stuntman in movie westerns, and occasionally lecturing on behalf of Native American education.
In 1950 Thorpe was named the greatest football player and greatest male athlete of the first half of the century by Associated Press polls.
A film biography, Jim Thorpe – All-American, was released in 1951 in which he was portrayed by Burt Lancaster.
Thorpe suffered from alcoholism, and lived his last years in failing health and poverty. He died in Lomita, California from heart failure on March 28, 1953, and he was buried in a Pennsylvania town renamed in his honor.
After his death Thorpe's children fought for the restoration of their father's Olympic awards. In 1973 the Amateur Athletic Union restored his amateur standing for the years 1909 to 1912. Nine years later, the International Olympic Committee reinstated is medals.
Source Compton's Encyclopedia
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