Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe (born May 28, 1888, near Prague, Indian Territory [now in Oklahoma], U.S.—died March 28, 1953, Lomita, California) was one of the most accomplished all-around athletes in history who in 1950 was selected by American sportswriters and broadcasters as the greatest American athlete and the greatest gridiron football player of the first half of the 20th century. At the 1912 Games in Stockholm, Thorpe became the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States; he placed first in the pentathlon and decathlon. He was later stripped of his medals over issues concerning his amateur status, though he was later reinstated as the winner of the two events.

Early life and Olympics

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Thorpe was predominantly of American Indian (Sauk and Fox) descent. His Sauk name was Wa-tho-huk, which means “Bright Path.” He attended Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, Kansas, and Carlisle (Pennsylvania) Indian Industrial School. While playing football for Carlisle under coach Pop Warner, he was chosen as halfback on Walter Camp’s All-America teams in 1911 and 1912. He was a marvel of speed, power, kicking, and all-around ability.

As a member of the U.S. Olympic team in Olympic Games in Stockholm, Thorpe could have participated in several events. Eager to show his range of skills, he chose the multiple-event decathlon and pentathlon competitions, which he easily won, outdistancing his closest rivals to win gold medals in both. The tsar of Russia also awarded him a jeweled chalice, while King Gustav of Sweden gave Thorpe a bronze bust. Congratulating Thorpe, the king said, “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world,” to which the plainspoken Thorpe replied, “Thanks, king.”

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However, in January 1913 a Massachusetts newspaper revealed that in 1909 and 1910 Thorpe had played minor-league baseball for pay. This violated the condition that Olympic athletes be amateurs—a condition that has since been all but abandoned—and Thorpe was stripped of his gold medals.

Baseball and football career

From 1913 through 1919, Thorpe was an outfielder for the New York, Cincinnati (Ohio), and Boston baseball teams in the National League. He was more successful as one of the early stars of American professional football from 1919 through 1926. He spent two seasons (1922–23) with the Oorang Indians, whose owner attracted crowds by having Thorpe and his teammates dress up and perform “Indian” tricks before games and at halftime. In 1920–21 he served as the first president of the American Professional Football Association (later the National Football League [NFL]). He also excelled in such diverse sports as basketball, boxing, lacrosse, swimming, and hockey.

Later years and return of Olympic medals

In Thorpe’s later years, even as he was celebrated in magazine and newspaper articles as one of the greatest athletes of all time, alcoholism and inability to adjust to employment outside sports reduced Thorpe to near poverty. He had bit parts in several movies and worked as a doorman and ditchdigger, among other jobs. The 1951 film biography of his life, titled Jim Thorpe—All American and starring Burt Lancaster, transformed his story into uplifting melodrama, with the fallen hero rescued by his old coach Pop Warner. Thorpe died two years later. The cause of death was heart failure.

In 1954 the communities of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, merged to form the borough of Jim Thorpe. From 1955 the Jim Thorpe Trophy was awarded annually to the most valuable player in the NFL. In 1973 the Amateur Athletic Union restored his amateur status, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not recognize his amateur status until 1982. Thorpe was subsequently restored as a “cowinner” of the decathlon and pentathlon of the 1912 Olympic Games (along with the second-place finishers in those events). His Olympic gold medals were returned to his family in 1983. Thorpe was reinstated as the sole winner of the two events in 2022. Two year later he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Pres. Joe Biden.

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The numerous books about Thorpe include Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe (2022) by David Maraniss. The documentary Jim Thorpe: Lit by Lightning aired in 2025.