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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.
1950
as Navajo Indian
1949
as Big Convict (uncredited)
1946
as Collins - Ship's Passenger (uncredited)
1945
as Native
1944
as Spike
1941
as Indian (uncredited)
1940
as Indian
1940
as Chief Sanche
1940
as Gray Cloud
1939
as Bus Passenger (uncredited)
1939
as Posse Rider (uncredited)
1938
as Henchman
1938
as Head Linesman
1937
as Jim Thorpe
1936
as Black Eagle
1936
as Indian Fur Trapper
1936
as Chief Red Smoke
1936
as 1st Indian
1936
as Medicine Man
1936
as Man
1936
1935
as Pirate (uncredited)
1935
as Indian Chief
1935
as Indian Chief (uncredited)
1935
as Henchman Jack (uncredited)
1935
as Henchman
1935
as Carlisle Football Player
1935
as Spectator Tossing Coins (uncredited)
1935
as Indian Father (uncredited)
1935
as Charlie Jim
1935
as Convict
1935
1935
as Murdered Indian
1935
as Chief Scarface [Chs. 6, 11]
1934
as Bill Abel, Portos Henchman
1933
as Indian (Uncredited)
1932
as Indian Chief
1932
as Indian (uncredited)
1932
1932
as Jim Thorpe
1932
as Blackfeet Indian Chief
1932
as Black Cloud