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Athlete Bio#
Age
Died (Aged 65)
1887-1953
Hometown
Stroud, OK
Education
Haskell Institute (Lawrence, Kan.) Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Quick Facts
- Son of Hiram Thorpe and Charlotte Vieux
- Had two siblings, Jack and Charlie
- Was given the name “Wa-Tho-Huk,” meaning “Bright Path”
- Predominantly of Sauk and Fox American Indian descent
- Participated in ballroom dancing, baseball, football, hockey, lacrosse and track and field at the Haskell Institute in Kansas
- Played professional baseball for four teams over six years
- Served as the first president of the American Professional Football Association (later the National Football League) while participating as a player
- Three-time APFA champion
- Appeared in more than 60 films as an actor
- Named the Greatest Athlete of the First Half of the Century by the Associated Press
- Father to eight children: Gale, Charlotte, Frances, James Francis Jr., Phillip, William, Richard and John.
Olympic Experience
- 1-time Olympian; 2-time Olympic medalist (2 gold)
- Olympic Games Stockholm 1912, (High Jump - Men, Long Jump - Men), gold (Decathlon - Men, Pentathlon - Men)
Hall Of Fame Bio #
Jim Thorpe is considered one of the greatest American athletes of all time. Thorpe, a Native American of Sauk and Fox descent, played football under coach Pop Warner and went on to play professional football and baseball. He won the decathlon and pentathlon at the Olympic Games Stockholm 1912, but was deprived of his gold medals after an investigation by the Amateur Athletic Union found that he had played semi-professional Baseball in the minor leagues for two years, which disqualified him from Olympic competition. Thorpe was an outfielder for a number of National League teams between 1913-19. He also was one of the early football stars, playing from 1919-26 and served as the first president of the American Professional Football Association (later the National Football League). The Associated Press named Thorpe the Greatest Athlete of the First Half of the Century and the Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted Thorpe as a charter member. The International Olympic Committee restored his decathlon and pentathlon medals posthumously to Thorpe’s family in 1982.
