Jim Thorpe: All-American Athlete
The athletic achievements of Jim Thorpe are legendary. Born in a one-room log cabin on the North Canadian River near Belmont in Oklahoma territory, Jim Thorpe rose from these humble beginnings to become one of the most gifted athletes of all time. In 1950, he was voted the "Greatest Male Athlete of the Half Century" by the Associated Press. In 1977, he was selected as the "Greatest Football Player in History" in a poll conducted by Sport Magazine.

 In 1911 and 1912 he was an All-American football player for the Carlisle Indian School located at Carlisle Barracks. In the 1912 summer Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, he won both the pentathlon and decathlon and finished 4th in the broad jump. Following college, he played six seasons of professional baseball (1913-1919) and 15 seasons of professional football (1915-1929).
 


   
 

During the four years he played for the Carlisle Indians, this small school won 43 games, lost 5 and tied 2. Included in the list of defeated powerhouses were Penn State, Syracuse, Army, Navy, Minnesota, Nebraska, Chicago (under Amos Alonzo Stagg), Princeton, Harvard, and Villanova.

Pop Warner, his football and track coach at Carlisle, probably knew him better than anyone else. He said no football player he ever saw had Thorpe's natural ability. "He was quick through the line, had excellent vision, and was fast carrying the football," he pointed out. "Also, he had marvelous concentration power...He was always observing...looking...for new ways."

Jim Thorpe credited his father for teaching him a deep respect for the beauty of nature. "He also taught me to exercise, to build up every part of my body and to keep it strong and clean and healthy." Thorpe recalled his childhood: "Our lives were lived in the open...We were never in the house...I swam a great deal. Indeed, I lived in the water...But of all my activities as a boy, I liked catching wild horses best. At 15 I never again saw a wild one I could not catch, saddle and ride."

Despite his many achievements, Jim Thorpe died with no appreciable wealth on March 28, 1953 at the age of 64. Instead, he left a legacy of excellence. In overcoming obstacles and adversity from his modest beginnings and throughout his adult life, Jim Thorpe continues to inspire young and old. His presence is felt at Carlisle Barracks in the Thorpe Gym where he played, on Indian Field where he performed and in the small Indian cemetery where some of his classmates rest.

The games of Jim Thorpe Sports Days are held in his remembrance. Jim Thorpe was indeed a true All-American.