The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-11-17
AN INDIAN ATHLETE
Thorpe Of the Carlisle School is a
Wonderful Performer


The 1911 football season has
brought into the public eye young
Indian student at the Carlisle school
who promises to become the greatest
athlete the world has ever seen.
James Thorpe a Sac and Fox from
Oklahoma came to Carlisle in 1908
with no knowledge whatever of ath-
letics and since then he has accom-
plished such a marvellous variety Of
athletic feats on floor, gridiron, dia-
mond, track and in the field that the
world OF college trainers has been
astonished by his achievements.
Thorpe's most recent performance
of the spectacular order was his kick
ing in the game against the Harvard
team. 1t was his unerring footwork
that won the game for the red men.
1t is difficult for any one to be-
lieve that an apparently normal
youth could rank among the leading
athletes of the world in more than
one or two, or perhaps three, special
lines of activity, but James Thorpe
| has broken all traditions by APP
| preaching world records in so many
lines of activity that physical train
ers are at a loss to account for his
skilllul feats OF strength and endur-
ance
He is no; only basketball player
at which gai.s he fills the center po-
sition with truly remarkable skill but
he is a baseball pitcher OF great tai
II anH ~ ha IL
| outflelds with as much credit as a
4; professional player.
He can put the sixteen pound shot
43 feet and broad jumps 22 feet ten
inches, having done much better in
practice He can run 100 yards in
| ten seconds, his school record being
| 10 1-5 seconds. When he tries the
high jump his measure is six feet but
he has done better than that The
high hurdles are pie to him in Is As
seconds while the 220 yard hurdles
he negotiates In &c seconds.
This youthful redskin hunts, plays
lacrosse. tennis, indoor baseball,
handball, hockey-all with equal
skill. and he can all almost any pos
ition on a football team with super.
latiye credit. AS football halfback
he is probably seen at his best
whirling. twisting, dashing and plung
ing; for one moment bewildering
his opponents with 1.-THE panther-like
leaps and the next crushing his way
through q mass OF would-be tacklers
with the ferocity Of mad bull. One
great American coach said after see
ing him play at Pittsburg that Il
was worth FIVE times the admission
to a game to see Thorpe tear dowI
the field for one squirt.
Thorpe. who is % years old, is sil
feet tall and averages about us lbs
in weight He gave little promise o
his wonderful talents until his seconC
year at Carlisle, when In n dual NEE
against Syracuse university, In whicl
the aborigines were victorious by
narrow margin.
Thorpe won the high and broat
jumps and was first In the high anC
low hurdles, defeating Thorpe in tn,
shotput and making second place II
the hammer.throw. In the same yea
at the Pennsylvania intercollegiate
meet at Harrisburg, he won the higl
Jump at six feet; broad jump, ham
mer throw and high and low hurdle
A week or two later. in the Middl,
Atlantic District Athletic association
meet, held at Philadelphia. he tool
first place in the FIVE events mention
ed above
During his second year at Carlisle
he was first substitute on the foot
ball eleven and played in several
games The next year he played reg
ularly as left half and began to show
stellar qualities He punted well
kicked field goals and scored the
touchdown tying Penn. After school
In 1909 he took his summer vacation
and did not return In the fall. al
though his term OF enrolment here
had not expired
lie returned TO Carlisle this fall
TO complete his enrolment term and
IL Is thought that his ambition Ia
become one Of the men chosen for the
Olympic games was factor In bring
ing him back as his opportunity Tor
training at Carlisle would be better
than elsewhere
Although busy with track work he
practiced baseball and played anna
teur baseball since leaving Carlisle
refusing numerous offers to play on
prominent league teams