Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe was one of the greatest athletes to ever live. In fact, Sweden’s King Gustav V called Thorpe the “greatest athlete in the world.” Thorpe did not have a life of luxury, but he was able to accomplish many things. James Francis Thorpe was born in 1887 in a one-room cabin in Oklahoma. He was a Potawatomi Indian and a descendent of the great Sauk and Fox Chief Black Hawk. He was born a twin, but his brother died at the age of nine.

Jim participated in the 1912 Olympics for the United States, even though he did not become a U.S. citizen until 1919. At the Olympic Games, Jim won the gold in both the pentathlon and the decathlon events. He came back from Sweden with $50,000 worth of trophies.

A month later, the Amateur Athletic Union filed charges against Thorpe. They said he had played summer baseball with the Rocky Mountain Club for money, which discredited his amateur status. Jim had played for a small amount of money, but he was stripped of his medals and trophies. The same year after the Olympics were over, Jim led his team to the national collegiate football championship. From there, Jim went on to play six years with major league baseball.

Jim was the only American to excel as an amateur and professional in three major sports. Jim Thorpe’s Olympic medals were returned posthumously on October 13, 1982. After his death, a town in Pennsylvania was renamed “Jim Thorpe” in his memory.