It is an honor to be from a great state like Oklahoma that is such a host to wonderful talent. The world was able to experience yet another wonderful year of Olympics and what a wealth of athletes 2021 revealed. In the light of Olympic champions, one Oklahoman comes to mind – James Francis Thorpe. Thorpe was born May 28, 1888, south of Bellemont in Pottawatomie County, Indian Territory.
Thorpe was the first Native American to win an Olympic Gold Medal for the United States. In 1912, Thorpe was considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports. Not only was Thorpe an Olympian, he also played professional baseball, basketball, and football. As an Olympian, Thorpe was disciplined in discus, shot put, javelin, jumps, hurdles, pole vaulting, and the hammer and the 56 pound weight.
During the Summer Olympics 1912 in Stockholm, Sweden, Thorpe really showed himself and the world what he was capable of. Thorpe won eight of the fifteen events including the Pentathlon and Decathlon and was awarded the Gold Medal in both events. The most interesting of events was the Decathlon as Thorpe discovered that both of his shoes were stolen only minutes before the event. Thorpe contemplated competing bare footed but that was not allowed. So, he scurried around the dressing rooms and found one shoe under a rack and one shoe in a trashcan.
The shoes did not match in size nor style and one had no laces. However, Thorpe made due with some string and went on to win despite the shoe incident.
Thorpe was a citizen of the Sac and Fox nation, and his birth name was Wa-Tho-Huk translated to “Bright Path.” He had somewhat of a troubled upbringing due to his mother and his older brother passing away while Thorpe was an adolescent. These events seem to bear a heavy influence on Thorpe but certainly did not stop the influence of his God Given name.
Thorpe’s father had a bit of trouble in seeing things the same way as young Thorpe. After some time, he convinced Thorpe to go to Carlisle University where his talent truly began to change the world. At Carlisle, Thorpe competed in football, baseball, lacrosse, and Ballroom dancing. Thorpe won the 1912 intercollegiate ballroom dancing championship.
While at Carlisle, Thorpe played football against future President Dwight D. Eisenhower who played on the West Point army team. West Point lost to Carlisle. Later in life, Eisenhower recalled Thorpe in a speech.
“Here and there, there are some people who are supremely endowed,” Eisenhower said. “Jim Thorpe never practiced in his life, and he could do anything better than any other football player I ever saw.”
Obviously athletics was not the only concentration that Thorpe had, nor was it the only part of being at Carlisle that seemed to stick with Thorpe. Thorpe had a high intellect and the education he received at Carlisle placed him for some of his greatest contributions to humanity.
Starting at the top with his greatest contribution, at least to some, being he was the first president of the American football league from 1920-1921 and subsequently became the first president of the NFL. Thorpe was known by many as a super hero. While many in a position may have set back and reaped the benefits, Thorpe seemed to barrel ahead and gave of himself until the end.
Thorpe was a man who was more than happy to lend a hand, but he never lost his roots of his Sac and Fox nation and the very ground he was born. Thorpe applied himself on and off the field equally achieving champion status at each, Thorpe often said he attributes his efforts to his father.
“Son you are Indian,” Thorpe’s father told him on his deathbed, “I want you to show the other races what an Indian can do.”
To include all the achievements of Thorpe would take quite some time, but a simple glance around the state will reveal a legacy left by what some thought to be a simple Oklahoman. However, Thorpe was a legend in his own time and remains so today.