‘The Greatest Athlete in the World’

Jim Thorpe sprinted across the finish line at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, and shocked the world. Not only had the U.S. athlete won first place in the decathlon, a track and field competition consisting of 10 events, he had done so in extraordinary fashion. Nobody would beat his overall point score for another four Olympics.

To top it off, it was the second gold medal Thorpe earned at the Games. He had also won the pentathlon (a now-defunct five-event track and field competition).

After the decathlon, Thorpe stood on the podium as King Gustav V of Sweden placed a gold medal around his neck.

“You, sir,” Gustav said, “are the greatest athlete in the world.”

It was a remarkable sight, made more so by the discrimination Thorpe had to overcome back at home. As a Native American, he was denied citizenship by the U.S. government and attended schools designed to strip Native children and teens of their culture. Yet here he was, being celebrated on the world stage as an American hero.

Jim Thorpe sprinted across the finish line at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. It was a victory that shocked the world. The U.S. athlete had won first place in the decathlon, a track and field competition consisting of 10 events. And he had set records in doing so. In fact, nobody would beat his total point score for another four Olympics.

To top it off, it was the second gold medal Thorpe earned at the Games. He had also won the pentathlon (a now-discontinued five-event track and field competition).

After the decathlon, Thorpe stood on the podium as King Gustav V of Sweden placed a gold medal around his neck.

“You, sir,” Gustav said, “are the greatest athlete in the world.”

It was a remarkable sight. But the discrimination Thorpe had to overcome back at home made it even more surprising. As a Native American, he was denied citizenship by the U.S. government. He was forced to attend schools designed to strip Native children and teens of their culture. Yet here he was, being celebrated on the world stage as an American hero.

A few months later, a controversy erupted that would haunt Thorpe for the rest of his life. The International Olympics Committee (I.O.C.) stripped him of his two gold medals and struck his records from the Games’ official report, after it was discovered that he’d earned a small sum playing minor league baseball. This violated the committee’s strict amateurism rules that were in place at the time, which forbade professional athletes from taking part in the Games.

Thorpe’s medals were finally restored in 1982, nearly 30 years after his death, around the time the I.O.C. began allowing pro athletes in the Games. But to this day, the official report makes no mention of his results and still lists him as a co-champion. Now advocates have renewed a movement to award Thorpe his titles as his own.

“To get him back into the Olympic records,” says Jim Thorpe’s adult grandson John Thorpe, “would right a terrible wrong.”

A few months later, a controversy erupted that would haunt Thorpe for the rest of his life. The International Olympics Committee (I.O.C.) discovered that he’d earned a small sum playing minor league baseball. This violated the committee’s strict amateurism rules that were in place at the time. Those rules banned professional athletes from taking part in the Games. The I.O.C. decided to strip Thorpe of his two gold medals and strike his records from the Games’ official report.

Thorpe’s medals were finally restored in 1982, nearly 30 years after his death. Around that time, the I.O.C. began allowing pro athletes in the Games. But to this day, the official report makes no mention of his results and still lists him as a co-champion. Now advocates have renewed a movement to award Thorpe his titles as his own.

“To get him back into the Olympic records,” says Jim Thorpe’s adult grandson John Thorpe, “would right a terrible wrong.”

Thorpe is still considered one of the greatest athletes of all time. Along with being an Olympian, he was a three-time All-American football player, a pro football player, and a Major League Baseball player. But life for Thorpe, as for other Native Americans, wasn’t easy.

Thorpe—whose Native American name, Wa-tha-sko-huk, meant Bright Path—was born in 1887, a citizen of the Sac and Fox, in what today is Oklahoma. The Sac and Fox were originally from the Great Lakes region. But beginning with the Indian Removal Act in 1830, the U.S. government forced all Native tribes residing east of the Mississippi River to abandon their homes and trek west on long, brutal marches into “Indian Territory.” The land there was promised to Native people (see map, below). But the government repeatedly broke its treaties, and white settlers took over most of the land, forcing Native groups onto smaller and smaller reservations.

As millions of white Americans moved west in the mid- and late 19th century, they clashed with Native people trying to hold on to their lands. Many Native Americans died fighting the U.S. Army, which backed the settlers’ expansion.

U.S. officials struggled with what to do about the country’s dwindling Indigenous populations. Many thought that Native Americans were too “savage” to succeed in the U.S. One solution they came up with: boarding schools.

When he was a teenager, Thorpe began attending the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, the first government-sponsored boarding school for Native children. It was the brainchild of U.S. Army officer Richard Henry Pratt, who believed that Native people could be successful if they assimilated into white society. His motto: “Kill the Indian, save the man.”

Pratt had convinced the U.S. government to invest in boarding schools for Native children, where they would be separated from their families and stripped of their cultures, languages, and religions. In 1879, he founded the first such school at a former military barracks in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. By the time Thorpe arrived in 1904, there were dozens of schools like it across the country.

Students were forced to learn English, recite Christian prayers, and wear conventional clothes and hairstyles. Harsh physical punishment and poor nutrition were common, and diseases raged through crowded dorms. Many students were taken from their families and forced to attend. Others were sent by parents who thought the schools offered their children the only chance of success.

Thorpe had gone to Carlisle at the urging of a teacher at a local Christian school who noticed his athletic talents. Carlisle’s sports teams were well-known, and its athletic director was the legendary football coach Glenn Scobey “Pop” Warner. The night before Thorpe had left for Carlisle, his father told him: “Son, you are an Indian. I want you to show other races what an Indian can do.”

Thorpe is still considered one of the greatest athletes of all time. Along with being an Olympian, he was a three-time All-American football player, a pro football player, and a Major League Baseball player. But life for Thorpe, as for other Native Americans, wasn’t easy.

Thorpe was born in 1887. His Native American name, Wa-tha-sko-huk, meant Bright Path. He was a citizen of the Sac and Fox, in what today is Oklahoma. The Sac and Fox were originally from the Great Lakes region. But beginning with the Indian Removal Act in 1830, the U.S. government forced all Native tribes living east of the Mississippi River to abandon their homes and trek west on long, brutal marches into “Indian Territory.” The land there was promised to Native people (see map, below). But the government repeatedly broke its treaties. White settlers eventually took over most of the land. This forced Native groups onto smaller and smaller reservations.

Millions of white Americans moved west in the mid- and late 19th century. As these white settlers arrived, they clashed with Native people trying to hold on to their lands. Many Native Americans died fighting the U.S. Army, which backed the settlers’ expansion.

U.S. officials struggled with what to do about the country’s dwindling Indigenous populations. Many thought that Native Americans were too “savage” to succeed in the U.S. One solution they came up with: boarding schools.

When he was a teenager, Thorpe began attending the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. It was the first government-sponsored boarding school for Native children. It was the brainchild of U.S. Army officer Richard Henry Pratt. He believed that Native people could be successful if they conformed into white society. His motto: “Kill the Indian, save the man.”

Pratt had convinced the U.S. government to invest in boarding schools for Native children. At these sites, they would be separated from their families and stripped of their cultures, languages, and religions. In 1879, he founded the first such school at a former military barracks in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. By the time Thorpe arrived in 1904, there were dozens of schools like it across the country.

Students were forced to learn English and recite Christian prayers. They also had to wear conventional clothes and hairstyles. Harsh physical punishment and poor nutrition were common. And diseases raged through crowded dorms. Many students were taken from their families and forced to attend. Others were sent by parents who thought the schools offered their children the only chance of success.

A teacher at a local Christian school noticed Thorpe‘s athletic talents and encouraged him to attend Carlisle. Carlisle’s sports teams were well-known. The school‘s athletic director was the legendary football coach Glenn Scobey “Pop” Warner. The night before Thorpe had left for Carlisle, his father told him: “Son, you are an Indian. I want you to show other races what an Indian can do.”

One day at Carlisle, Thorpe was passing by a track and field practice when he asked to try the high jump—and proceeded to break the school record while wearing overalls. When news of this reached Warner, he was blown away. Thorpe soon became a star on the track and field, baseball, and football teams.

The football team played against the top schools in the country, including the Ivy League universities. For the Carlisle players, these competitions were more than just games. They were a chance, as Warner wrote in his autobiography, for them to prove to white society “what they could do when the odds were even.”

A stunning victory over top-ranked Harvard in 1911 thrust Thorpe into the national spotlight. A few months later, he made the U.S. Olympics track and field team and then surprised nearly everyone by becoming the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal. He returned from the Games in Sweden to a ticker tape parade in New York City attended by a million fans.

“I couldn’t realize how one fellow could have so many friends,” Thorpe said.

But there was great irony to his fame: He was being celebrated by a country that wouldn’t grant all Native Americans citizenship until 12 years later, with the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act. This meant that, among other things, Thorpe couldn’t vote, and he had to get government approval to access the income from his family’s land back in Oklahoma.

Thorpe picked up where he left off, though, as halfback on the Carlisle football team. The highlight of the 1912 season was a game against Army. The matchup carried enormous symbolism, occurring just 22 years after the U.S. Army had massacred nearly 300 Lakota Indians at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, the last major confrontation between the military and Native Americans. Warner reminded his players of this historical significance in his pregame speech.

“Your fathers and your grandfathers,” he told his team, “are the ones who fought their fathers. These men playing against you today are soldiers. . . . You are Indians. Tonight, we will know if you are warriors.”

Behind Thorpe’s stellar rushing, Carlisle crushed Army, 27 to 6. But then came the scandal. Reports surfaced that Thorpe had earned $2 per game (about $55 today) playing baseball in the summers of 1909 and 1910. The I.O.C. took away his gold medals for breaking the amateurism rules and gave them to the respective second-place finishers—even though the deadline for challenging an Olympic medal had passed.

“There was a lot of prejudice that took place to strike my grandpa from the record books,” says John Thorpe.

Jim Thorpe went on to play Major League Baseball. Unlike Black people, who were barred from the league until 1947, Native Americans were allowed to play, though they faced discrimination, including racist insults from fans. Thorpe then became the first pro football star and the first president of the league that would become the NFL. But he never forgot the medals that were stripped from him.

One day at Carlisle, Thorpe was passing by a track and field practice when he asked to try the high jump. He broke the school record while wearing overalls. When news of this reached Warner, he was blown away. Thorpe soon became a star on the track and field, baseball, and football teams.

The football team played against the top schools in the country, including the Ivy League universities. For the Carlisle players, these competitions were more than just games. They were a chance, as Warner wrote in his autobiography, for them to prove to white society “what they could do when the odds were even.”

A stunning victory over top-ranked Harvard in 1911 thrust Thorpe into the national spotlight. A few months later, he made the U.S. Olympics track and field team. He surprised everyone when he became the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal. He returned from the Games in Sweden to a ticker tape parade in New York City attended by a million fans.

“I couldn’t realize how one fellow could have so many friends,” Thorpe said.

But there was great irony to his fame: He was being celebrated by a country that denied him citizenship. The U.S. wouldn’t grant all Native Americans citizenship until 12 years later, with the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act. This meant that, among other things, Thorpe couldn’t vote. He also had to get government approval to access the income from his family’s land back in Oklahoma.

Thorpe picked up where he left off, though, as halfback on the Carlisle football team. The highlight of the 1912 season was a game against Army. The matchup carried enormous symbolism. It occurred just 22 years after the U.S. Army had massacred nearly 300 Lakota Indians at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. The battle was the last major confrontation between the military and Native Americans. Warner reminded his players of this historical significance in his pregame speech.

“Your fathers and your grandfathers,” he told his team, “are the ones who fought their fathers. These men playing against you today are soldiers. . . . You are Indians. Tonight, we will know if you are warriors.”

Behind Thorpe’s stellar rushing, Carlisle crushed Army, 27 to 6. But then came the scandal. Reports surfaced that Thorpe had earned $2 per game (about $55 today) playing baseball in the summers of 1909 and 1910. The I.O.C. took away his gold medals for breaking the amateurism rules. The committee then gave the medals to the respective second-place finishers, even though the deadline for challenging an Olympic medal had passed.

“There was a lot of prejudice that took place to strike my grandpa from the record books,” says John Thorpe.

Jim Thorpe went on to play Major League Baseball. Unlike Black people, who were barred from the league until 1947, Native Americans were allowed to play. Still, they faced discrimination, including racist insults from fans. Thorpe then became the first pro football star and the first president of the league that would become the NFL. But he never forgot the medals that were stripped from him.

Thorpe died of a heart attack in 1953, at age 64. An Associated Press poll of sports reporters three years earlier had voted him the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th century—ahead of baseball star Babe Ruth. Today Thorpe is remembered not only for being a great athlete, but for proving that Native Americans “could play as well as any whites,” says Kate Buford, author of Native American Son, a biography of Thorpe.

“He vindicated to Native Americans what they knew they were capable of, if they only had a chance,” she adds.

Now Thorpe is back in the spotlight with the questions over his Olympic medals. In December, Anita DeFrantz, vice president of the I.O.C., asked the committee to award Thorpe his titles as his own and reacknowledge his records. A decision may come soon.

Thorpe died of a heart attack in 1953, at age 64. An Associated Press poll of sports reporters three years earlier had voted him the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th century. His ranking was ahead of baseball star Babe Ruth. Today Thorpe is remembered for more than being a great athlete. His success proved that Native Americans “could play as well as any whites,” says Kate Buford, author of Native American Son, a biography of Thorpe.

“He vindicated to Native Americans what they knew they were capable of, if they only had a chance,” she adds.

Now Thorpe is back in the spotlight with the questions over his Olympic medals. In December, Anita DeFrantz, vice president of the I.O.C., asked the committee to award Thorpe his titles as his own and reacknowledge his records. A decision may come soon.

The dispute over the Olympics isn’t the only recent controversy regarding Thorpe. After his death, his widow sent his remains to two towns in Pennsylvania, a couple of hours from Carlisle, under the condition that they combine and be called Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. Some of his family members have since sought to have him reburied within the Sac and Fox Reservation.

As for Thorpe’s Olympics records, advocates say the protests this summer over racism and police violence have added urgency to their cause (see “The Mascot Debate,” below). For them, it’s about more than just medals.

Says John Thorpe: “It would give a big boost to Native Americans all across North America.”

The dispute over the Olympics isn’t the only recent controversy regarding Thorpe. After his death, his widow sent his remains to two towns in Pennsylvania that were a couple of hours from Carlisle. She gave them one condition: They had to combine and be called Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. Some of his family members have since sought to have him reburied within the Sac and Fox Reservation.

As for Thorpe’s Olympics records, advocates say the protests this summer over racism and police violence have added urgency to their cause (see “The Mascot Debate,” below). For them, it’s about more than just medals.

Says John Thorpe: “It would give a big boost to Native Americans all across North America.”