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Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Francis Thorpe (Sac and Fox (Sauk): Wa-Tho-Huk, translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887 – March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe became the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won Olympic gold medals in the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, and played American football (collegiate and professional), professional baseball, and basketball. He lost his Olympic titles after it was found he had been 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, and attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he was a two-time All-American for the school's football team. After his Olympic success in 1912, which included a record score in the decathlon, he added a victory in the All-Around Championship of the Amateur Athletic Union. In 1913, Thorpe signed with the New York Giants, and he played six seasons in Major League Baseball between 1913 and 1919. Thorpe joined the Canton Bulldogs American football team in 1915, helping them win three professional championships; he later played for six teams in the National Football League (NFL). 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 became the NFL in 1922. He played professional sports until age 41, the end of his sports career coinciding with the start of the Great Depression. He struggled to earn a living after that, working several odd jobs. He suffered from alcoholism, and lived his last years in failing health and poverty. He was married three times and had eight children, before suffering from heart failure and dying in 1953.

Thorpe has received various accolades for his athletic accomplishments. The Associated Press named him the "greatest athlete" from the first 50 years of the 20th century, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted him as part of its inaugural class in 1963. A Pennsylvania town was named in his honor and a monument site there is the site of his remains, which were the subject of legal action. Thorpe appeared in several films and was portrayed by Burt Lancaster in the 1951 film Jim Thorpe – All-American.

Wagon Master

1950

as Navajo Indian

White Heat

1949

as Big Convict (uncredited)

Road to Utopia

1946

as Collins - Ship's Passenger (uncredited)

The Vampire's Ghost

1945

as Native

Outlaw Trail

1944

as Spike

They Died with Their Boots On

1941

as Indian (uncredited)

Mexican Spitfire Out West

1940

as Indian

Prairie Schooners

1940

as Chief Sanche

Arizona Frontier

1940

as Gray Cloud

Henry Goes Arizona

1939

as Bus Passenger (uncredited)

The Man from Texas

1939

as Posse Rider (uncredited)

Frontier Scout

1938

as Henchman

Start Cheering

1938

as Head Linesman

Big City

1937

as Jim Thorpe

Trailin' West

1936

as Black Eagle

Wildcat Trooper

1936

as Indian Fur Trapper

Treachery Rides the Range

1936

as Chief Red Smoke

Hill-Tillies

1936

as 1st Indian

Silly Billies

1936

as Medicine Man

Sutter's Gold

1936

as Man

Klondike Annie

1936

Captain Blood

1935

as Pirate (uncredited)

La Fiesta de Santa Barbara

1935

as Indian Chief

La Fiesta de Santa Barbara

1935

as Indian Chief (uncredited)

The Ivory-Handled Gun

1935

as Henchman Jack (uncredited)

Moonlight on the Prairie

1935

as Henchman

Fighting Youth

1935

as Carlisle Football Player

The Last Days of Pompeii

1935

as Spectator Tossing Coins (uncredited)

It's in the Air

1935

as Indian Father (uncredited)

Wanderer of the Wasteland

1935

as Charlie Jim

The Daring Young Man

1935

as Convict

The Arizonian

1935

Code of the Mounted

1935

as Murdered Indian

Rustlers of Red Dog

1935

as Chief Scarface [Chs. 6, 11]

The Red Rider

1934

as Bill Abel, Portos Henchman

Sweepings

1933

as Indian (Uncredited)

Wild Horse Mesa

1932

as Indian Chief

Air Mail

1932

as Indian (uncredited)

Always Kickin'

1932

Off His Base

1932

as Jim Thorpe

The Dark Horse

1932

as Blackfeet Indian Chief

My Pal, the King

1932

as Black Cloud