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May 24, 2024 · Jim Thorpe (born May 28, 1888, near Prague, Indian Territory [now in Oklahoma], U.S.—died March 28, 1953, Lomita, California) was one of the most accomplished all-around athletes in history who in 1950 was selected by American sportswriters and broadcasters as the greatest American athlete and the greatest gridiron football player of the ...
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Thorpe was born in Indian Territory of the United States (later Oklahoma), but no birth certificate has been found. He was generally considered to have been born on May 22, 1887, near the town of Prague.
James Francis Thorpe, widely acknowledged as the greatest American athlete of the twentieth century, was born on May 28, 1887, near Prague, Indian Territory, in what is now the state of Oklahoma. His impoverished parents, Hiram and Charlotte Thorpe, were members of the Sauk and Fox Indian Nation.
James Francis Thorpe was born in Indian Territory near the town of Prague, Oklahoma, on May 28, 1887. Thorpe grew up in the Sac and Fox Nation, and his Native American name was Wa-Tho-Huk or “Bright path the lightning makes as it goes across the sky.”
- Who Was Jim Thorpe?
- Early Years and Schools
- Olympic Glory and Downfall
- Professional Sports Career
- Post-Athletic Career and Death
- Legacy and Burial Controversy
An All-American in football at the Carlisle Indian School, Jim Thorpe won the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Olympics before his gold medals were revoked on a technicality. Thorpe played professional baseball and football, and sought an acting career after retiring from sports.
Jim Thorpe was born circa May 28, 1887, near current-day Prague, Oklahoma. A child of Sac and Fox and Potawatomi Indian bloodlines, as well as French and Irish roots, he was given the name Wa-Tho-Huk, meaning "Bright Path," but christened Jacobus Franciscus Thorpe. Thorpe learned to hunt and trap prey at an early age, developing his legendary endur...
Named to the U.S. team for the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, Thorpe burst out of the gate by winning four of five events to claim the gold medal in the pentathlon. A week later he overwhelmed the field in the decathlon, winning the high jump, the 110-meter hurdles and the 1,500 meters despite competing in a pair of mismatched shoes. Fini...
In 1913, Thorpe married his college sweetheart, Iva Miller, and signed to play professional baseball with the New York Giants. Troubled by the curveball, Thorpe batted just .252 over a six-year big-league career with the Giants, Cincinnati Reds and Boston Braves, although he managed an impressive .327 average in his final year. Thorpe made a much b...
Having already divorced and remarried, to a former Oorang Kennels employee named Freeda Kirkpatrick, Thorpe encountered increasing difficulties after his athletic career concluded. He sought a career in Hollywood, and while he was credited with appearing in more than 60 films from 1931 to 1950, he mainly scored bit roles as a stereotypical American...
Thorpe was elected a charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963, and in 1982 his name was restored to the Olympic record books as a co-winner of the 1912 track events. Proving he still loomed large in the American consciousness, he was voted the previous century's greatest athlete in a 2000 ABC Sports poll, and finished third in anothe...
Jim Thorpe House. Jim Thorpe, byname of James Francis Thorpe, (born May 28, 1888, near Prague, Indian Territory [now in Oklahoma], U.S.—died March 28, 1953, Lomita, California), one of the most accomplished all-around athletes in history who in 1950 was selected by American sportswriters and broadcasters as the greatest American athlete and ...
PRAGUE. Located in southeastern Lincoln County, Prague is situated at the junction of U.S. Highways 62 and 377 on land that was formerly part of the Sac and Fox Reservation, opened by a land run on September 22, 1891. Prague was settled primarily by Czechs.
