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Thorpe subsequently lost his Olympic titles in 1913, when it was learned he had played two seasons of minor league baseball prior to competing in the Olympic Games, violating the amateur status rules.
Despite the tremendous outpouring of support for Thorpe, the decision was that he was a professional athlete when he competed in the Olympics and his records would be erased from the books. Olympic officials awarded Thorpe's gold medals to the second-place finisher, Hugo Wieslander of Sweden and Ferdinand Bie of Norway. Neither man would accept the award, because each did not feel they had earned it, saying that Thorpe did.
Over the years, several attempts have been made to reinstate Thorpe's titles, most started by one of his seven surviving children.
In 1913, Thorpe married Iva Miller, whom he met at Carlisle. They had four children, Jim Jr. who died at age two, Gale, Charlotte and Grace. Thorpe was a heavy drinker at times, which was the main reason the couple divorced in 1924.
Thorpe married again in 1926 to Freeda Kirkpatrick and had four sons with her, Carl, William, Richard and John.
After retiring and ending his athletic career in 1929, Thorpe struggled to support his family. The Great Depression in the 1930s made things harder for him. He bounced from state to state, from job to job. When the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics came around, Thorpe, hero of 20 years earlier, could not even afford a ticket.
There was a huge outpouring all over the country when people heard of Thorpe's plight. One who sympathized with him was in attendance in Los Angeles. Charles Curtis, the Vice President of the United States, who was part Indian, invited Thorpe to sit with him in the vice president's special box. When Thorpe's presence was announced to the sold-out Coliseum crowd, there was a long, loud ovation, as everyone cheered for him. "It was the greatest feeling, knowing people had not forgotten me," Thorpe would say.
But his difficulties continued as he took jobs in California digging ditches and other strenuous labor where he was paid four dollars per day.
Thorpe turned to alcohol to feel better, but it only added to his burden and his health began to worsen and he had his first heart attack. To serve his country, he enlisted in the Merchant Marine in 1945. He developed lip cancer and had to have an operation. After that, he suffered his second heart attack soon after his second wife divorced him.
By the early 1950s, Thorpe had no money and his depression worsened. On March 28, 1953, he suffered his third heart attack while eating dinner with his third wife, Patricia Askew, in his trailer home in Lomita, Ca. Artificial respiration briefly revived him, but he lost consciousness shortly afterwards and died at age 65.
In restoring Thorpe's glory and medals, his children pointed out that the law was on Thorpe's side. In 1913, the rules stated that a protest must be filed within 30 days. Despite that, the AAU had not made its case against Thorpe until six months later. Pro or amateur, Thorpe should not have lost his medals.
In 1972, Avery Brundage retired from the IOC. With Thorpe's old foe gone, the AAU voted in 1973 to restore Thorpe's amateur status. The House and the Senate voted to ask the IOC to restore Jim Thorpe's medals and records, along with President Gerald Ford. But it took until 1982, when William Simon, new head of the U.S. Olympic Committee, met with Juan Samaranch of the IOC. The two men worked out a compromise. New medals were made and Jim Thorpe's name was restored to the record books.
In 1984, the Olympic torch was flown to New York City. Meanwhile, relays of runners were waiting to carry it to the games in Los Angeles. Two runners shared the honor of running the first leg of the journey. One was Gina Hemphill, granddaughter of Olympic standout Jesse Owens. The second was Bill Thorpe, Jr., grandson of Jim "Bright Path" Thorpe.
Did you know?
n In 1912, Thorpe won the intercollegiate ballroom dancing championship.
n He earned a varsity letter in 11 sports.
n When Jim punted, the ball soared so high he could beat it downfield, would be there to catch the football.
n Thorpe offered to pay $1,000 to any team that could stop him from gaining 10 yards in four downs. No team ever won Thorpe's money.
n Thorpe played football professionally well past his prime, retiring in 1928 at age 41.
n He is one of two men in history who played for the New York Giants in two different sports. In football, he was the Giants running back and in baseball he was the Giants outfielder.
n Thorpe once hit three home runs into three different states in the same game. During a semi-pro baseball game in a ballpark on the Texas - Oklahoma - Arkansas border, he hit his first homer over the left field wall with the ball landing in Oklahoma; his second homer over the right field wall into Arkansas; and his third homer of the game was an inside the park home run in centerfield, which was in Texas.
n Thorpe's best baseball season was his last, when he batted .327 in 60 games for Boston.
n He has been in five different Halls of Fame.
n The Jim Thorpe Trophy is given to the player who has been voted the NFL's most valuable defensive player.
Until next time,
Ciao,
Joe D'Angelo
P.S. The town of Jim Thorpe, Pa. holds an annual birthday celebration for Thorpe every May 21 and 22. After his passing on March 28, 1953, Thorpe's family wanted to bury him in Oklahoma and build a memorial for him there. Unfortunately, state officials refused permission. Thorpe's widow heard about a small town in Pennsylvania called Mauch Chunk, that was seeking a different name to increase town tourism. She struck a deal with the town and brought Thorpe's remains to the tactfully renamed Jim Thorpe, Pa. There, a monument has been erected in his honor with the sentence, "Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world," that is etched in the stone.
