Two-time Olympic gold medalist and Pro Football Hall of Fame member James Francis “Jim” Thorpe came into this world on this day in history, May 28, 1888.

Born in a one-room cabin in the geographical area that is now Oklahoma, Thorpe was raised by Hiram and Charlotte Vieux Thorpe on the Sac and Fox reservation, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society. 

Thorpe was given the Native American name “Wa-tho-huck,” meaning “Bright Path” in Sac and Fox language. 

This name would quickly turn prophetic, as Thorpe would establish himself as one of the athletic superstars of the 20th century.

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In 1903, Thorpe moved from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania to attend the Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, said the Oklahoma Historical Society. While at the Carlisle Indian School, Thorpe flourished as an athlete, although his sports career had a rather unorthodox start. 

Coached by future College Football Hall of Fame inductee Glenn S. “Pop” Warner, Thorpe joined the school’s track and football teams, said the Oklahoma Historical Society’s website. 

Thorpe’s entry into track and field began in 1907, the Smithsonian Magazine notes. While walking across campus, Thorpe saw the track team practicing the high jump. 

Thorpe, who was 5’8″ at the time, asked if he could try to jump the bar, which was set at 5’9″, said the Smithsonian Magazine. 

Wearing “overalls and a hickory work shirt,” Thorpe cleared the bar — and set the rest of his life in motion. 

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The next day, Warner asked to see Thorpe, according to the Smithsonian Magazine. Rather than punish Thorpe, as the young student feared, Warner informed him that he had inadvertently broken the school record in the high jump the day before. 

Thorpe quickly became a star, although he dropped out of the school in 1909. He returned to the Carlisle Indian School in 1911, and was named a football first-team All-American selection for 1911 and 1912, said the Smithsonian Institution’s website. 

Jim Thorpe, above, won two gold medals at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. (Getty Images)

In the 1912 Olympic Games, Thorpe competed in the decathlon and pentathlon, winning both, despite his shoes going missing on the second day of the decathlon. Wearing mismatched shoes, Thorpe’s time in the 1500-meter run would go unbroken for 60 years, noted the Smithsonian Magazine. 

King Gustav V of Sweden, the patron of the Games of the V Olympiad, told Thorpe, “You sir, are the greatest athlete in the world.”

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Thorpe replied, “Thanks.” 

Shortly after Thorpe’s victories in Stockholm, controversy erupted. It was found that Thorpe had played semi-professional baseball in 1909 and 1910, putting him in violation of the rules regarding amateurism. 

Undated photo of Jim Thorpe in a baseball uniform. Jim Thorpe was reinstated as the sole winner of the 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon. (AP Photo, File)

Thorpe’s medals were stripped from him in 1913, although he was reinstated as a co-winner of the events in 1982, after he posthumously regained amateur status from the Amateur Athletic Union and the United States Olympic Committee, according to Encyclopedia.com.

In 2022, Thorpe was reinstated as the sole winner of 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon by the International Olympic Committee. 

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“We welcome the fact that, thanks to the great engagement of Bright Path Strong, a solution could be found,” said IOC President Thomas Bath in 2022, according to Brightpathstrong.org. 

“This is a most exceptional and unique situation, which has been addressed by an extraordinary gesture of fair play from the National Olympic Committees concerned,” Bath continued.

A 1923 photo of famed football player Jim Thorpe with Oorang Indians at football practice. (Getty Images)

After the Olympics, Thorpe began playing professional baseball and football. He played professional baseball from 1913 until 1919, appearing for the New York Giants, Boston Braves and the Cincinnati Reds, said the website Baseball Reference. 

During the baseball offseason, Thorpe played professional football. 

In 1915, he was signed to the Canton Bulldogs for $250 per game, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame website. 

The “Jim Thorpe Award” has been awarded each year to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. 

Thorpe was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. 

The Canton Bulldogs “claimed unofficial world championships in 1916, 1917 and 1919,” the Pro Football Hall of Fame notes, with Thorpe both playing and coaching. 

“His mere presence moved pro football a giant step forward in the public’s estimation,” said the site.

Thorpe was named president of the National Football League in 1920, when the league was first organized, said the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

Jim Thorpe, above, playing for the New York Giants. (Getty Images)

“He could run with speed as well as bruising power. He could pass and catch passes with the best, punt long distances and kick field goals either by dropkick or placekick,” said the website. 

“Often he would demonstrate his kicking prowess during halftimes by placekicking field goals from the 50-yard line, then turning and drop-kicking through the opposite goal post. He blocked with authority and, on defense, was a bone-jarring tackler.”

While Thorpe died in 1953, his legacy and story lives on. 

The “Jim Thorpe Award” has been awarded each year to the top defensive back in college football since 1986, according to the Indiana University Athletics website.

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Two of the most powerful Republicans in Texas are aiming to settle some political scores in Tuesday’s GOP primary runoff elections.

And a Republican congressman whose district was the scene of the horrific Uvalde school shooting in 2022 and who’s bucked his party on key issues is fighting for his political life against an opponent backed by far-right members of the House.

The showdown grabbing the most headlines is east of Houston, where Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan is facing off against challenger David Covey, who is supported by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and former President Trump.

Phelan oversaw the effort last year to impeach Paxton over corruption charges. Paxton was acquitted by the state Senate after the House overwhelmingly impeached the controversial attorney general.

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In response, Paxton has targeted more than 30 GOP incumbent state representatives, with Phelan at the top of the list. And Paxton’s most powerful ally, Trump, endorsed Covey.

Three-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is looking for payback over the downing in the state House last year of his education plan that would have opened the spigot for taxpayer funding of private schools. The school voucher measure, which was Abbott’s top legislative item last year, passed the state Senate, but its defeat in the state House was a rare political setback for Abbott.

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Speaker of the House Dade Phelan presides, Aug. 26, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Nine GOP state House lawmakers went down to defeat in the state’s March primary, with eight more forced into runoffs. All were targeted by either Abbott or Paxton, or by both the governor and the attorney general.

“It’s a power play and definitely a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party of Texas, and Gov. Abbott wants to get legislators in there who will support his agenda,” veteran Texas-based Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser told Fox News.

“For Ken Paxton and [Lt. Gov.] Dan Patrick and Donald Trump by proxy, for them, it is definitely trying to take out the person who led the impeachment against Ken Paxton and who stood in the way of Dan Patrick’s agenda in the Senate. All those factors together make a really powerful force for the speaker to overcome.”

Former President Trump speaks during the National Rifle Association Convention on May 18, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Another legislative runoff that may capture some headlines is in suburban Dallas where former Trump campaign adviser and spokesperson Katrina Pierson – with the backing of both Abbot and Paxton – is aiming to unseat state Rep. Justin Holland.

A Republican congressional primary runoff sure to grab national attention is in the southwestern part of the state, where GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales is running for a third two-year term representing a majority Hispanic district that stretches along the U.S.-Mexico border  

With more than 800 miles of U.S.-Mexico border, Texas’s 23rd district has the largest stretch of the border territory of any congressional district. The district is also home to Uvalde, where two years ago 19 children and two adults were murdered in an elementary school shooting.

Gonzales, who has bucked his party on gun safety, immigration and same-sex marriage, is facing off in the runoff against gun rights advocate Brandon Herrera, who’s known for his gun-themed YouTube channel titled “The AK Guy.”

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images/File)

While Gonzales is backed by Abbot and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Herrera is backed by controversial Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and other far-right House members.

Steinhauser noted that Herrer is branding the showdown as “an establishment-versus-far-right populist race” and that Gonzales “knows that he needs to [protect] his right flank”

But he added that “Tony has a pretty big presence in the conservative eco ecosystem. He’s on Fox News a lot, talking about the border.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.