Why Jim Thorpe is the Best Athlete Ever
The JIm Thorpe Official Website provides an excellent, concise biography of this extraordinarily gifted man.
The site’s description of Thorpe’s early years is reminiscent of the humble beginnings of Abraham Lincoln. Thorpe was born on May 28, 1887 in a one-room cabin near Prague, Oklahoma. His father was a farmer. His mother, Mary James, was a Potawatomi Indian. Thorpe probably inherited much of his abilities from his mother because James was a descendant of the Indian chief Black Hawk, a noted warrior and athlete.
In early adulthood, Thorpe ran track and played football at the Carlisle (Pennsylvannia) Industrial Indian School. He made third string All American in 1908, and was first string All American in 1909 and 1910.
Thorpe won the pentathalon and decathalon in the 1912 Olympic Games, setting world records that lasted decades. This is in itself an astounding achievement, since the pentathalon and decathalon each contain multiple events requiring incredible versatility in track and field. During the medals ceremony, King Gustav V of Sweden said that Thorpe was “the greatest athlete in the world.” To which the humble Thorpe famously replied, “Thanks, King.”
That Olympic glory was tarnished in 1913 when it was revealed that Thorpe had played two seasons of semi-pro baseball prior to the Games, a violation of Olympic Committee rules. Thorpe’s plea that he played for love of the game and not for money fell on deaf ears. He was stripped of his medals, and his name was erased from the record books. It was not until 1982 that the medals were returned to Thorpe’s heirs and his records reinstated.
As a professional baseball player, Jim Thorpe played three seasons with the New York Giants. In 1917 he played 77 games with the Cincinnati Reds, and in 1919, his final year, he played with the Boston Braves, the precursor of the Red Sox. He had his best hitting season with the Braves, recording an average of .327.
As a professional football player, Thorpe played with the Canton (Ohio) Bulldogs from 1915 to 1920, and with the Cleveland Indiana in 1921. He played with four other professional football teams, including the New York Giants, through 1929, when he retired at age 41. Thorpe was only one of two athletes to ever play both football (running back) and baseball (outfielder) with the Giants.
Thorpe continued to contribute to the sports world after his retirement. He organized, coached, and played with the Oorang Indians, an all-Native-American professional football team. In addition, Thorpe was a founder and president of the Professional Football Association, precursor of the NFL.
In 1950 Jim Thorpe was named by the Associated Press as “Greatest American Football Player” and “Greatest Overall Male Athlete.” In 1953 the New York Times described him as the “greatest all around athlete of our time.” From 1996 to 2001, Thorpe was named by ABC’s Wide World of Sports as “Athlete of the Century.”
Many decades have passed since Jim Thorpe’s playing days, and his records have been surpassed. At 6’1″ tall and 190 pounds, Thorpe was large for his day, but would have been a small athlete by modern standards. Yet no modern athlete has reached Thorpe’s pinnacles of excellence in as many sports, and without the cloud of suspicion of performance enhancing drugs that hovers over so many of today’s stars.
