The American athlete and Olympic gold medalist Jim Thorpe started his athletic career at Carlisle in 1907 when he walked past the track and, still in street clothes, beat all the school’s high jumpers with an impromptu 5-ft 9-in jump.
His earliest recorded track and field results come from 1907. He also competed in football, baseball, lacrosse, and ballroom dancing, winning the 1912 intercollegiate ballroom dancing championship.
He was born in Indian Territory near the town of Prague near Oklahoma, and south of Bellemont, Pottawatomie County. His father was Hiram Thorpe and his mother was Charlotte Vieux.
Jim studied at the Sac and Fox Indian Agency school in Stroud, Oklahoma, with his twin brother, Charlie. At the age of 16, he started attending the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, PA.
There his athletic ability was recognized and he was coached by Glenn Scobey “Pop” Warner, one of the most influential coaches of early American football history.
How many Olympic medals did Jim Thorpe have?
Jim Thorpe has won two Olympic track and field golds and he is remembered as one of the greatest sportsmen of the 20th century, and played baseball, American football, and basketball at the highest level.
Upon all these titles, he was known to have died in poverty.
What happened to Jim Thorpe’s Olympic medals?
The IOC gave duplicate medals to Thorpe’s family but listed him as a co-champion in the record books in 1982. On July 15, 2022, the 110th anniversary of Thorpe’s decathlon gold medal, the IOC announced that it would reinstate Thorpe as the sole winner of the 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon.
He lost his gold medals in 1913 when it was discovered that he had played baseball for money before the Olympics. His medals were later reinstated in 1982. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.
Source: nflfaqs.com
