Jim Thorpe

James Francis Thorpe (May 28, 1888 – March 28, 1953) was a Native American athlete, known for his extraordinary athletics in track, football, and baseball.  Thorpe was born in Oklahoma as a member of the Sac and Fox (Sa ki wa ki) tribe.  He played football, baseball, lacrosse, ran track and competed in six other sports at Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. Those other sports included hockey, handball, tennis, boxing, and ballroom dancing. While at Carlisle, Thorpe's team was one of the best in the country, and beat an Army team that had Dwight Eisenhower. Thorpe won gold medals in the pentathlon (five track and field events in one day) and decathlon (ten events in two days) at the 1912 Summer Olympics. After the decathlon, the King of Sweden called him the greatest athlete alive. His medals were taken away because he had played professional baseball, but were returned in 1982, long after his death. The Carlisle School, while being successfully known for sports and athletes such as Jim Thorpe, its rooted purpose was to assimilate Native Americans to "American culture". Their philosophy was "Kill the Indian, Save the Man."

After the Olympics, Thorpe played professional baseball and football. He played for football teams including the Canton Bulldogs, Rock Island Independents, Chicago Cardinals and New York Giants.  He was commissioner of the NFL for one year.  Thorpe is in the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame.  He also played for baseball teams including the New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston Braves   For several years, Thorpe toured with football, baseball and basketball teams that only had Native American players.  Late in life, Thorpe had problems with alcoholism. Thorpe died in 1953. He was buried in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, which changed its name to Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.

 References 

Category:1888 births
Category:1953 deaths
Category:Native American people
Category:Sportspeople from Oklahoma
Category:American baseball players
Category:New York Giants (NL) players
Category:Pentathletes
Category:National Football League commissioners
Category:20th-century Native American people