Evening star., 1953-03-29
5uperlative Star
eganCareerd at
Indian School
Could Do Everything
In Football, Track;
Deprived Of Honors
By the Associated Press

Jim Thorpe, who died yester-
day of a heart attack in Los An
geles, was a. legendary figure in
the sports world, a man who hit
the jackpot in superlatives. It
is probable that he was the
greatest all-around athlete who
ever lived.
Runner. kicker, passers he was
"a sensation on the Carlisle (Pa.)
Indian Institute football team
when the century was young.
Thorpe was the most talked
about player of his day. It was
said that he did everything with
the football except blow it up.
His peak years were. 1911 and
1912.
In 1912 he scored 1913 points
himself. And he did that while
playing for a little school against
the strongest Of the big Eastern
colleges.
Then at the 1912 Olympic
Games at Stockholm, the young,
bushy haired Sac and Fox Indian
distinguished himself as the
worlds greatest track and field
performer. He won both the de-
cathlon and the pentathlon, and
King Gustav v of Sweden told
him:
"Sir, you are the greatest ath-
lete in the world"
Scored Record Point Total.
With almost no specialized
training, he had swamped the
pick of the worlds athletes in
the Olympics, setting a point to-
tai never before approached and
destined to stand for 20 years.
Thorpe won every event in the
pentathlon except the javelin
throw. He scored outright vic
tories in four events in the de-
cathlon and finished no worse
than fourth in the other six.
At running, hurdling, high
jumping. the pole vault and the
Weight eventS-right down the
liSf the powerful, agile young
ab0fgine from Oklahoma proved
himself so vastly superior to his
rivals that it scarcely was q con-
test. - &. ~ a..
His marks in most Of the events
were not remarkable by modern
standards. But at the time they
were of such uniform excellence
that no other competitor could
keep Thorpe in sight. Jim, from
contemporary accounts. did not
even stretch himself, never being
a man to take unnecessary exer-
tion.
He returned home a hero, to be
feted and praised and placed on
pedestal never before occupied
by an athlete of this country,
which he had awakened to new
and tremendous pride in its atfp-
letic prowess.
Medals Taken From Him.
And then in 1918 Thorpe's
world blew up and one of the
saddest chapters Of sports history
was written.
Jim, it was revealed, in the
summer Of 1910 had played base
ball for pay with the Rocky
Mount club in the Eastern Caro-
lima league. He had played under
his own name, just to pick up a
little spending money. He adj
mitted it freely and explained he
didn't realize he was breaking
amateur rules. His salary was $50
a month.
This branded him a profess
sional.
They stripped him Of his med
ais and his trophies and ex-.
plunged his records from the
books, but they couldn't discount
his feats or take back the electric
words that had been spoken by
the King as the Indian boy stood
before his box.
Years later, in 1850. a poll
taken by The Associated Press of
sports writer's and radio broad
casters named Thorpe the great
est athlete of the half-cen-
tury. He was far ahead Of Babe
Ruth, the runner-up for that
honor.
The sports experts had picked
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