Jim Thorpe, the Legend Remembered

Description

The son of a Sac and Fox Indian father and aPotawatami Indian mother, Jim Wa-Tho-Huk Thorpe was born inOklahoma in 1888. A natural athlete, he overcame family tragedies and personalhardships to become a star in not one, but three sports, and to win two Olympicgold medals.He first gained recognition at the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, where he gave outstanding performances on the track and field and footballteams. His coach there, Pop Warner, was instrumental in getting Jim to the 1912Olympics in Sweden, where he stunned the crowd and his competitors by winninggold medals in both the decathlon and the pentathlon. Upon presenting Jim withhis medals and trophies, King Gustav of Sweden proclaimed him “thegreatest athlete in the world!”Despite losing his Olympic medals and status due to an innocent mistake, Jimcontinued to excel athletically, playing professionally in both baseball andfootball. He was named to the National Indian Football Hall of Fame, thePennsylvania Hall of Fame, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Today, the NFL’sMost Valuable Player award is called the Jim Thorpe Trophy. In 1984, the U.S.Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in his honor. Jim Thorpe, theLegend Remembered tells the young reader all about Thorpe’s remarkablelife; although he died in 1953, his accomplishments still teach the valuablelesson of perseverance.