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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

“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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