James Francis "Jim" Thorpe (Sac and Fox (Sauk): Wa-Tho-Huk, translated as "Bright Path"; May 28, 1888 – March 28, 1953) was an American athlete of Native American and European ancestry. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won Olympic gold medals for the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, played American football (collegiate and professional), and also played professional baseball and basketball. He lost his Olympic titles after it was found he was paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics, thus violating the amateurism rules that were then in place. In 1983, 30 years after his death, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) restored his Olympic medals.Thorpe grew up in the Sac and Fox Nation in Oklahoma. He played as part of several All-American Indian teams throughout his career, and "barnstormed" as a professional basketball player with a team composed entirely of American Indians.From 1920 to 1921, Thorpe was nominally the first president of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which would become the National Football League (NFL) in 1922.He played professional sports until age 41, the end of his sports career coinciding with the start of the Great Depression. Thorpe struggled to earn a living after that, working several odd jobs. Thorpe suffered from alcoholism, and lived his last years in failing health and poverty.In a poll of sports fans conducted by ABC Sports, Thorpe was voted the Greatest Athlete of the Twentieth Century out of 15 other athletes including Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth, Jesse Owens, Wayne Gretzky, Jack Nicklaus, and Michael Jordan.
Haskell Indian Nations University, Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Spouse
Patricia Askew, Freeda V. Kirkpatrick, Iva Miller
Children
Grace Thorpe, John "Jack" Thorpe, Richard Thorpe, Gale Thorpe, Carl Thorpe, William Thorpe, Jim Thorpe Jr., Charlotte Thorpe
Parents
Hiram Thorpe, Charlotte Vieux
Siblings
Charlie Thorpe
Awards
SI's All-time College All-Stars
Star Sign
Gemini
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Fact
1
He died in his trailer home in Lomita, CA. Thorpe was eating dinner with his wife, Patricia, when he suffered a heart attack. Patricia's screams attracted a neighbor, Colby Bradshaw, who administered artificial respiration for nearly half an hour. A county fire rescue squad took over and was momentarily successful. He revived, recognized persons around him and spoke to them. Thorpe was conscious for only a brief time before he suffered a relapse and died.
2
Inducted into the San Pedro [California] Sportswalk to the Waterfront.
3
Inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1972 (inaugural class).
4
Inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1986. The hall of fame is administered by The Jim Thorpe Association.
5
The Jim Thorpe Award has been presented annually by The Jim Thorpe Association to the best defensive back in college football since 1986.
6
After he died in 1953, the town of Mauck Chunk, Pennsylvania, in exchange for the right to bury his body, offered to change its name to Jim Thorpe, PA. A movement has since been started to have his body returned to its native Oklahoma.
7
In addition to his many athletic accomplishments, he also won the 1912 Intercollegiate Ballroom Dancing Championship.
8
According to "Peanuts and Crackerjack", a book of baseball anecdotes, while the early twentieth-century New York Giants teams were fun-loving, nobody dared to try to mess with Jim Thorpe. Thorpe was described as a man with a "gold medal temper" with brute strength to back it up. One teammate described Thorpe fighting a man as a dog would grab a rat.
9
Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 (charter class).
10
Had a twin brother, Charles Thorpe, who died of pneumonia at the age of nine. Jim loved his brother and never ceased to mourn him.
11
Of combined Irish and Native American (Sac and Fox) ancestry.
12
Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, 1983 (charter member).
13
The Olympic medals which were stripped from him during his professional career were returned to his family in the early 1990s.
14
His Native American name was Wathahuck (Bright Path).
15
Halfback for the Canton Bulldogs (1915-1920,1926), Cleveland Indians (1921), Oorang Indians (1922-1923), Rock Island Independent (1924), New York Giants (1925) and Chicago Cardinals (1928).
16
Outfielder for the New York Giants (1913-1915, 1917-1919), Cincinnati Reds (1917) and Boston Braves (1919).
17
Charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
18
Pictured on one of fifteen 32¢ US commemorative postage stamps in the "Celebrate the Century" series, issued 3 February 1998, celebrating the 1910s; honored for his accomplishments in the 1912 Olympics.
19
Pictured on a 20¢ US commemorative postage stamp issued in his honor, 24 May 1984.
20
Named America's greatest athlete of the first half of the twentieth century.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Dark Horse
1932
Blackfeet Indian Chief (uncredited)
Battling with Buffalo Bill
1931
Swift Arrow [Chs. 9-12]
Touchdown!
1931
Football Player (uncredited)
Wagon Master
1950
Navajo Indian
White Heat
1949
Big Convict (uncredited)
Yes Sir, That's My Baby
1949
Assistant Coach (uncredited)
Road to Utopia
1945
Collins - Ship's Passenger (uncredited)
The Vampire's Ghost
1945
Native (uncredited)
Beyond the Pecos
1945
Townsman (uncredited)
Outlaw Trail
1944
Henchman Spike
Outlaws of Santa Fe
1944
Townsman (uncredited)
They Died with Their Boots On
1941
Indian (uncredited)
Meet John Doe
1941
John Doe Applicant (uncredited)
Prairie Spooners
1941
Short
Indian
Mexican Spitfire Out West
1940
Indian (uncredited)
Prairie Schooners
1940
Chief Sanche
Arizona Frontier
1940
Gray Cloud
Henry Goes Arizona
1939
Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Man of Conquest
1939
Cherokee Indian (uncredited)
The Man from Texas
1939
Posse Rider
Frontier Scout
1938
Henchman (uncredited)
Start Cheering
1938
Head Linesman (uncredited)
Cattle Raiders
1938
Trial Spectator (uncredited)
Born to the West
1937
Barfly (uncredited)
52nd Street
1937
Street Thug (uncredited)
Big City
1937
San Quentin
1937
Convict (uncredited)
Pick a Star
1937
Man in Audience at Talent Contest (uncredited)
Green Light
1937
Indian (uncredited)
Trailin' West
1936
Black Eagle
Yellowstone
1936
George (uncredited)
The Phantom Rider
1936
Indian (Ch's 11,13) (uncredited)
Wildcat Trooper
1936
Indian Fur Trapper
Treachery Rides the Range
1936
Chief Red Smoke
Under Two Flags
1936
uncredited
Hill-Tillies
1936
Short
1st Indian
Silly Billies
1936
Medicine Man (uncredited)
Sutter's Gold
1936
Man (uncredited)
Klondike Annie
1936
Minor Role (uncredited)
Captain Blood
1935
Pirate (uncredited)
La Fiesta de Santa Barbara
1935
Short
Indian Chief (uncredited)
The Ivory-Handled Gun
1935
Henchman Jack (uncredited)
Moonlight on the Prairie
1935
Henchman (uncredited)
Fighting Youth
1935
Football Player from Carlisle (uncredited)
The Last Days of Pompeii
1935
Spectator Tossing Coins (uncredited)
Barbary Coast
1935
Indian (uncredited)
It's in the Air
1935
Indian Father (uncredited)
Wanderer of the Wasteland
1935
Charlie Jim
The Farmer Takes a Wife
1935
Indian (uncredited)
The Daring Young Man
1935
Convict (uncredited)
She
1935
Captain of the Guard (uncredited)
The Arizonian
1935
uncredited
Alibi Ike
1935
Major League Baseball Player (uncredited)
Code of the Mounted
1935
Eagle Feather
The Miracle Rider
1935
Indian Warrior (uncredited)
One Run Elmer
1935
Short
Second Baseman (uncredited)
Under Pressure
1935
Mucker (uncredited)
Rustlers of Red Dog
1935
Chief Scarface [Chs. 6, 11]
Behold My Wife!
1934
Indian Chief (uncredited)
The Red Rider
1934
Bill Abel, Portos Henchman
Sweepings
1933
Indian (uncredited)
King Kong
1933
New York Theatergoer (uncredited)
Wild Horse Mesa
1932
Indian Chief
Air Mail
1932
Indian (uncredited)
The Golden West
1932
Medicine Man (uncredited)
Always Kickin'
1932
Short
White Eagle
1932
Indian Chief (uncredited)
Off His Base
1932
Short
Jim Thorpe
Hold 'Em Jail
1932
Football Player (uncredited)
My Pal, the King
1932
Black Cloud (as James Thorpe)
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Jim Thorpe -- All-American
1951
biography - as James Thorpe
Miscellaneous
Title
Year
Status
Character
Jim Thorpe -- All-American
1951
technical advisor
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Circle of Champions the History of Woman's Pro Wrestling
2017
Documentary in memory of pre-production
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Texaco Star Theatre
1951
TV Series
Himself - Athlete
The Baseball Revue of 1917
1917
Documentary
Himself
The Giants-White Sox Tour
1914
Documentary short
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Gomorron
2009
TV Series
Himself
100 Years of Olympic Glory
1996
TV Movie documentary
Himself - with King Gustav in 1912 (uncredited)
Idols of the Game
1995
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself (segment "Inventing the All-American")
AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to James Cagney
1974
TV Special documentary
Actor 'White Heat'
Viewing Sherman Institute for Indians at Riverside
$4 Million
