Jim Thorpe has been given the title of the greatest athlete of the 20th century.While being such a well known and prosperous athlete he faced many controversies throughout his career and even past his lifetime.
He was born to Hiram Thorpe and Mary James. His mother, Mary, was a Pottawatomie Indian and his father was a white farmer. His mother, and Jim by default, are descendants of the great Sauk and Fox chief Black Hawk. He lived on a reservation in Oklahoma until he went to the Carlisle Indian Industrial Indian school in Pennsylvania. And this is where Thorpe's athletic career began.
Jim Thorpe was a prolific track runner and football player. His athletic career really started when he was recruited to go to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. When he first arrived Thorpe was persuaded to run track by Coach Warner. Jim ran track and was phenomenal at it. He played on the football team and in his first year was nominated to third team All-American and in the two following years he was nominated to first team All-American. These years at Carlisle set Thorpe up to achieve greatness and it was around this time when Thorpe represented America in the Olympics.
When Thorpe was 24 he qualified to compete on behalf of America at the Olympics. He was a participant in the 1920 Stockholm games in Sweden. Thorpe dominated his events while he was there winning 4 medals overall. King Gustav V of Sweden was known to tell Thorpe that he was the greatest athlete in the world. After these Olympic Games is where the controversies truly began.
Olympic controversies immediately overwhelmed Thorpe. They said that Thorpe didn't meet the requirements of amateurism that were required during that time period. This is due to the fact that Thorpe had spent some of his summers at Carlisle playing semi-professional baseball in North Carolina and getting payed to play. Thorpe remarks that it was merely food money. But the IOC (International Olympic Committee) didn't care. Money was money. So they came to the conclusion that Thorpe would have all of his medals confiscated and his world record times would be removed from the record books. Many people say that this was majorly fueled due to racism. People say that he was a symbol injustice towards the Native Americans. This is very much a possibility because of the relationship between the US and the Indian Nations at this point in time. But in my opinion I do not believe that there is enough evidence in order to make this accusation.
After the incident with the IOC Thorpe continued on to play professional sports. He played professional football and was a founder of the AFPL (American Football Professional League) which was the precursor to the modern day NFL. Thorpe also spent a large portion of his professional football career coaching, organizing, and playing for the Oorang Indians. This was a reservation team comprised of all American Indians. This team was extremely talented and were known to whoop-up on the professional teams. He also played for the Cleveland Indians for a while. The irony of this is that Thorpe was the only American Indian on the team.
After Thorpe's professional career came to a close he settled down in California. He began to become involved in Native American politics and give lectures on the American Indian style of life. He also played roles in many movies as an Indian. It was in California that Thorpe passed away. He was a husband to 3 women, at separate times, and a father to 14 children. His youngest son would later become the chief of the Sauk and Fox tribe that Thorpe was born into. But the most controversial thing about his death was the placement of his remains. When Thorpe died his current wife bought his remains from the state of California. She then proceed to sell them to a small town in Pennsylvania. After the purchase the town would become known as Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. The controversy is in the Sauk and Fox tribe want the remains to have their final resting place in Oklahoma on the reservation. This is due to the fact that it is tribal tradition that Thorpe have a traditional Native American burial so that his soul can truly rest. Thorpe's children sued the town of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania and the case went to the supreme court. The ruling was in direct referral to the Respect for Indian Graves Act. It was said that the rightful ownership of the remains went to the state. And that when Thorpe's wife bought his remains from the state of California it was then her property and her business. When she sold them to Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania it was then there property and they had rights to the remains so it is there decision on what to do with the remains. In response to this ruling there has been a website made to support the movement to get his remains sent back to the reservation in Oklahoma.
In the end Thorpe's life was full of controversies. And even after death some still stand and continue to cause topics for discussion.
Resources:
Yahoo.com
Jim Thorpe Biography
Tribute to Jim Thorpe
Pictures:
Jim Thorpe Portrait
Jim Thorpe Stamp
Jim Thorpe Grave
Resources:
Yahoo.com
Jim Thorpe Biography
Tribute to Jim Thorpe
Pictures:
Jim Thorpe Portrait
Jim Thorpe Stamp
Jim Thorpe Grave
