Jim Thorpe: The First Great American Athlete

December 1, 2015

Once in a blue moon, you will hear Jim Thorpe's name in a discussion, but it is very rare. He is much heralded, but little is known about or who he is to the younger generation of sports fans. In my grade school days, I remember writing a book report about him. Do kids still write book reports? Why do I need to bring up an athlete 90 to 100 years ago? Because I often listen to debates about whom is the best player of this and that sport. Jim Thorpe was a naturally gifted athlete who excelled at multiple sports. There have been athletes who found success in a couple of different sports, but Thorpe is the first to successfully crossover and compete against the best of his generation.

He was born in the late 1880s in Pottawatomie County in Oklahoma Indian Territory to mixed raced parents. His father, Hiram Thorpe, had an Irish father and Sac and Fox Indian mother. His mother, Charlotte Vieux had a French father and a Potawatomi mother. Jim's childhood turned rough with his mother and brother dying of illnesses. This left him depressed, which contributed to him running away from home numerous times. In 1904, he returned to his father to attend Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. When he turned sixteen, his athletic abilities were noticed by the legendary Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner, one of the most influential coaches of early American football.

The legend began at Carlisle when he walked up to the track field in his street clothes, and high jumped 5 foot 9 inches to beat all the other jumpers. Also, at Carlisle, he competed in football, baseball, lacrosse, and ballroom dancing. Oddly he won the 1912 intercollegiate ballroom dancing championships.

Pop Warner started by being reluctant for Jim to play football because he was such a good track runner but finally relented when he saw him show up for football practice one day and ran a few plays. The team couldn't tackle him on every play. The legend continued in 1911 when he gained nationwide attention for the first time. In a game against the mighty Harvard, he played running back, placekicker and punter, scored all of his team's points, four field goals, and a touchdown for an 18-15 victory. Jim was such a force to be reckoned with and became a collegiate All-American for the 1911 and 1912 seasons.

Football became Thorpe's favorite sport, but he would also compete in track and field, bringing him fame. This would eventually lead him to the 1912 Olympic trials then on to the Olympic Games in Sweden. He competed in the Pentathlon and the Decathlon and won eight individual events and gold medals. He came home to the US to a ticker tape parade on Broadway in New York.

Thorpe's story didn't sidestep controversy and shame, for he got stripped of his medals for being declared a professional athlete for making a meager sum playing pro baseball for one summer. This act by the Olympic commission looked shameful because they didn't even follow their own protocol for protesting athletes and amateur status. Protests and disqualification must be done within thirty days of the games' closing; they did this six months later. On the contrary, Thorpe's family would see the day when his medals were reinstated in 1983.

After the Olympics, Thorpe went on to play both professional baseball and football for numerous teams throughout the rest of the decade and into the 1920s. He also dabbled in basketball for a while, barnstorming with an "All Indian" team for a couple of years. Thorpe's pro baseball career ended in 1922, and he finished his football career at the age of 41.

What makes Jim Thorpe's story so unique and impressive are the obstacles constantly put in his way, and like any significant human endeavor, he did what he loved and excelled with grace. He was a humble and gifted man who became admired by most of the public. Unfortunately, there is an ugly side to his saga with relentless racism because of his heritage. He kept moving forward, trying new things, and never giving in to false celebrity. In today's day and age, his path would be easier in some regards, but the money would be thrown at him in truckloads. Modern-day great athletes have to be coddled and protected by a staff of lawyers and accountants. It is rare to find an athlete so good that he hasn't had an agent and big dough controlling them. Jim Thorpe's story is one of a kind and should never be forgotten.