This is the time of year when four major American sports collide. The new NBA and NHL seasons have just opened, the NFL is almost mid-season and the World Series is being played. It’s a good time to remember one of the greatest athletes ever. Basketball, football, baseball, track? He played them all.
Jim Thorpe was a citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, born in Oklahoma on the Reservation. His native name was Wa-Tho-Huk, meaning ‘Bright Path’. As a boy, he was sent to the Carlisle School in Pennsylvania, where he was instructed to leave his Native-American heritage behind in favor of the ways of the dominant culture. The motto of the school was “kill the Indian, save the man.” Subtle, huh?
Jim adapted to the school, discovering a superior athletic ability. He guided Carlisle teams to victory against colleges like Harvard, Penn State and Army. As you might figure, they were known as the Carlisle Indians. In one game, Jim ran back a kickoff for 90 yards and a touchdown. When a penalty negated the score, he ran back the next one for 95 yards and six points that counted.
In the 1912 Olympics, Jim Thorpe won three gold medals in track, including the decathlon and pentathlon. Invited to meet the King of Sweden after the Games, he was told what every commoner who meets royalty is supposed to do; speak when spoken to and only offer to shake hands if they initiate it. When Jim saw Gustav V, he walked up, offered his hand in friendship and said, “Hi, King.” Gustav complemented the American by saying, “you sir, are the greatest athlete in the world.” Jim’s reply, “thanks, King.”
Later, it was discovered that Jim Thorpe spent a summer in North Carolina playing semi-pro baseball, prior to the Olympics. The committee stripped him of all his medals for not being a true amateur. Jim admitted the mistake, saying he just did what other players did to survive, but since he did not use a fake name, the revocation stood. He made only $2 per game for playing.
For years, Jim did what he did best, sports. He wrestled, played in all the major leagues, and tried to make a living, including a few films as an actor, but the money got spent as fast as it was earned. He died at age 65 in poverty. When a town in Pennsylvania offered money to his widow in exchange for burying his body there and changing the name of the town to Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, she took it. Since then, his children have tried to get the corpse exhumed and brought back to Oklahoma, the land of his birth, but with no success. Today, the town has an annual marathon, named for you know who.
It’s quite a bizarre tale for the man named by fans in one poll as the greatest athlete of the 20th century. In 2020, the International Olympic Committee restored his gold medals. Each season, college football gives out the Jim Thorpe award for the best defensive back. His face has been on a stamp and he’s a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A biopic on Jim Thorpe is in the works. Sometimes, it takes a while for everyone else to catch up with true greatness.
Photo: Jim Thorpe, always a player.
