Comic illustration of Jim Thorpe playing football

Illustrations by Chris Danger

Article Options

Presentation View
Teaching Resources

Jim Thorpe

He may have been the greatest athlete of all time.

The crowd in Stockholm, Sweden, cheered. Jim Thorpe was about to accept a gold medal at the 1912 Summer Olympics. The king of Sweden is said to have told Thorpe, “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world.” 

Thorpe had crushed his opponents in the decathlon and pentathlon. These track-and-field competitions were two of the most challenging Olympic events. 

Thorpe was unlike any athlete in history. In addition to being an Olympic champion, he also played professional football and baseball.

But as a Native American, Thorpe faced discrimination. And his name would be erased from the Olympic record books for decades. Still, Thorpe pushed himself to excel at everything he tried.

“There was no stopping him,” explains his grandson John Thorpe.

A Star Is Born

Branger/Roger Viollet via Getty Images

Jim Thorpe, 1912

Thorpe was born in 1887 in what is now Oklahoma. He was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation. Starting at age 7, Thorpe attended boarding schools run by the U.S. government. At these schools, Native children were forced to give up their cultures, traditions, and languages. 

As a teen, Thorpe attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. There, he became a star athlete. 

In 1912, he made the U.S. Olympic track-and-field team. Thorpe became the first Native American to win a gold medal. In fact, he won two!

No Stopping Him

Though Thorpe was an American celebrity, he wasn’t officially an American citizen. Like most Native people, he wasn’t granted U.S. citizenship until 1924. 

That wasn’t the only injustice Thorpe faced. In 1913, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) took away his gold medals. Newspapers had reported that he had earned about $25 per week playing baseball a few years earlier. That broke Olympic rules, which didn’t allow pro athletes to compete. 

Many people had known that Thorpe played pro baseball. But no one had told him he could get in trouble for it. 

Thorpe didn’t let losing his medals stop him. He went on to play Major League Baseball for six seasons. He also became pro football’s first superstar. 

Righting a Wrong

Thorpe died in 1953. For years, his supporters fought to have his medals returned. In 1983, the IOC restored his gold medals. But he was listed as co-champion with the second-place finishers. Finally, this past July, the IOC declared Thorpe the sole winner of both events. 

“He was finally recognized in the way he should have been,” says John Thorpe.

A Bright Path

Thorpe’s Native American name, Wa-Tho-Huk, means “Bright Path.” Here are some moments when he shined as an athlete. 

1907 

In his first attempt at the high jump, he sets the Carlisle school record—even though he’s wearing overalls.

1912

Thorpe sets an Olympic record in the decathlon. The 10-event competition took place over three days.

1919

Thorpe has the highest batting average of his Major League Baseball career.

  1. What does Jim Thorpe’s grandson mean when he says “there was no stopping” Thorpe?
  2. What is the section “A Star Is Born” mainly about? 
  3. Why did the International Olympic Committee (IOC) take away Thorpe’s gold medals in 1913?
Skills Sheets (2)
Skills Sheets (2)
Games (1)
Slideshows (1)
TEACHER SUPPORT (1)
Text-to-Speech