Chapter 27 Jim Thorpe

1. Chapter 27 Jim Thorpe • Thorpe was born in Indian Territory, but no birth certificate has been found. Thorpe is generally considered to have been born on May 28, 1888, near Prague. • He had an Irish father and a Sac and Fox Indian mother. • Thorpe was raised as a Sac and Fox, and his native name was Wa-Tho-Huk, translated as "path lighted by great flash of lightning" or, more simply, "Bright Path

2. Jim Thorpe Con’t. • Thorpe attended the Sac and Fox Indian Agency School in Stroud where brother helped him get through • When brother died Thorpe ran away on several occasions and was sent to the Haskell Institute, an "Indian" boarding school in Lawrence, Kansas, so that he would not run away again • After his mom died Thorpe became depressed, argued with his father a lot and left home to work on a horse ranch during his teen years. • Thorpe returned as a 16 year old and decided to attend Carlisle Indian Industrial School where he was coached by Pop Warner

3. Jim Thorpe con’t. • He competed in football, baseball, lacrosse and even ballroom dancing, winning the 1912 inter-collegiate ballroom dancing championship • Reportedly, Pop Warner was hesitant to allow Thorpe, his best track and field athlete, to compete in a physical game such as football. Thorpe, however, convinced Warner to let him participate in some plays against the school team's defense; Warner assumed he would be tackled easily and give up the idea. Thorpe "ran around past and through them not once, but twice." He then walked over to Warner and said, "Nobody is going to tackle Jim," while flipping him the ball

4. Jim Thorpe con’t. • Pictures of Jim Thorpe competing

5. Jim Thorpe con’t. • Thorpe was awarded All-American honors in both 1911 and 1912. Football was—and would remain—Thorpe's favorite sport. • He competed only sporadically in track and field. Nevertheless, track and field became the sport in which Thorpe gained his greatest fame • 1912 Olympics- Won 2 gold medals. He Competed in Decathlon and Pentathlon, Long jump and the High Jump • Pentathlon- The events that featured the long jump, the javelin throw, 200-meter dash, the discus throw and the 1500-meter run. Thorpe won first in 4 of the 5 events and placed 3rd in the Javelin throw and won the Gold Medal in the Pentathlon • Thorpe placed 4th in the High Jump and 7th in the Long Jump • Decathlon- Won the Gold Medal and placed in the top four of all ten events. Thorpe's Olympic record of 8,413 points would stand for nearly two decades

6. Jim Thorpe con’t. • Controversy • Amateurs not allowed to participate in olympics • In late January 1913, U.S. newspapers published stories announcing that Thorpe had played professional baseball • Thorpe had played professional baseball in the Eastern Carolina League for Rocky Mount, North Carolina • the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), and especially its secretary James Edward Sullivan, took the case very seriously. Thorpe wrote a letter to Sullivan, in which he admitted playing professional baseball

7. Jim Thorpes Letter • I hope I will be partly excused by the fact that I was simply an Indian schoolboy and did not know all about such things. In fact, I did not know that I was doing wrong, because I was doing what I knew several other college men had done, except that they did not use their own names.... • His letter did not help. The AAU decided to withdraw Thorpe's amateur status retroactively and asked the International Olympic Commission (IOC) to do the same. Later that year, the IOC unanimously decided to strip Thorpe of his Olympic titles, medals, and awards, and declared him a professional.

8. Jim Thorpe’s Baseball Career • Was free agent so he could choose the team he wanted to play for. • Chose the New York Giants Thorpe and the Giants joined the Chicago White Sox for a world tour. • Thorpe was the celebrity of the tour

9. Baseball, Football and Basketball • He first played professional football in 1913, as a member of the Indiana-based Pine Village Pros. By 1915, Thorpe had signed with the Canton Bulldogs They paid him $250 ($5,410 today) a game, a lot of money at the time. • Until 2005, most of Thorpe's biographers were unaware of his basketball career. A ticket discovered in an old book that year revealed his career in basketball. By 1926, he was the main feature of the "World Famous Indians" of LaRue, which sponsored traveling football, baseball, and basketball teams. "Jim Thorpe and His World-Famous Indians" barnstormed for at least two years (1927–28) in parts of New York, Pennsylvania, and Marion, Ohio. Although pictures of Thorpe in his WFI basketball uniform were printed on postcards and published in newspapers, this period of

10. Thorpe’s Later Life • After his athletic career, Thorpe struggled to provide for his family. He found it difficult to work a non-sports job and never held a job for an extended period of time • By the 1950s, Thorpe had no money left. When he was hospitalized for lip cancer in 1950, he was admitted as a charity case • In early 1953, Thorpe suffered his third heart failure, while eating dinner with his wife Patricia in their home in Lomita, California. He was briefly revived by artificial respiration and was able to speak to those around him, but lost consciousness shortly afterward and died on March 28 at the age of 64.

11. 1.) Describe Jim Thorpe’s parents? a.) Dad was Indian mom was Irish b.) Dad was Irish mom was Indian c.) Both parents were Irish d.) Both parents were Indian 2.) In what town is Jim Thorpe thought to have been born by? a.) Prague b.) Guthrie c.) Oklahoma City 3.) At what school did Thorpe play his college Football? a.) University of Oklahoma b.) Canton University c.) Carlisle University 4.) Who was Jim Thorpe’s college football coach? a.) Pop Warner b.) Bud Wilkinson c.) Knute Rockne 5.) Name another sport that Thorpe competed in while in college. 6.) In what two events did Thorpe win gold medals in the 1912 olympics? a.) Long Jump and High Jump b.) Decathlon and Pentathlon c.) 1500 Meters and 50 Meter dashes 7.) Why did Thorpe’s Olympic medals eventually get taken away from him? 8.) Who did Thorpe play most of his professional baseball career with? a.) New York Giants b.) Cincinnati Reds c.) Brooklyn Dodgers 9.) In which team did Thorpe play his professional football for when he gained his most fame? a.) Carlisle Tigers b.) Canton Bulldogs c.) Tulsa Hurricanes 10.) Describe Thorpe’s life after sports. Include his financial situation and how he died. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Chapter 27 Quiz