Frank Thomas

Notable Sports Figures
Jim Thorpe
terward. A front-page obituary in the New York Times
called the loss of his Olympic medals a tragedy that
should have long been rectified and said, “His memory
should be kept for what it deserves—that of the greatest
all-round athlete of our time.”
After a Catholic funeral, Thorpe’s body was supposed
to have been buried in Oklahoma. However, his wife, Patricia,
offered it to the economically struggling town of
Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, if the town would change
its name to Jim Thorpe. The people voted to do so, and to
merge the neighboring town of East Mauch Chunk into
the bargain. A large monument to Thorpe was erected,
and his body was transferred to Pennsylvania.
Restoration of Medals
In 1973 the AAU finally restored Thorpe’s amateur
status for 1909-1912. In 1975 the U.S. Olympic Committee
reinstated Thorpe, and in 1982, after a lengthy
campaign by Thorpe’s sons and daughters and many
supporters, the International Committee agreed to restore
Thorpe’s status and return replicas of the medals.
Jim Thorpe-All-American
Thorpe
Although Thorpe sold the rights to his life story to Metro-Goldwyn-
Mayer (MGM) for $1,500 in 1929, the planned movie, to be called Red Son
of Carlisle, was never produced, as the Great Depression settled in on
America. In 1949, as Thorpe’s fame was undergoing a revival, Warner
Brothers studios announced that it had purchased the rights to his life story
from MGM and was planning to make the film. Unfortunately, Thorpe never
realized any further money from the deal, because his original contract gave
him no rights in the event of a resale.
The film, titled Jim Thorpe-All-American, premiered in August 1951,
the month that Thorpe was inducted into the National College Football Hall
of Fame. The film became a box-office hit. Written by Russell Birdwell and
Frank Davis and directed by Michael Curtiz, the film stars, in addition to
Lancaster, Charles Bickford as Pop Warner, Steve Cochran as “Peter Allendine”
(a character based on Albert Exendine), and Phyllis Thaxter as “Margaret
Miller” (a character based on Thorpe’s first wife, Iva Miller).
The story, like most films, does not follow Thorpe’s life in true detail. It
portrays him as striving to be a success for his mother and taking up football
to impress his girl at Carlisle. It plays down racial issues and becomes melodramatic
when Thorpe struggles with a drinking problem and tries to find
work in his later years. However, it ends with Warner bringing Thorpe the
good news that Oklahoma will erect a monument to the great athlete.
Thorpe is considered the greatest American male
athlete in history. He was named “The Legend” on the
all-time NFL team; his statue graces the lobby of the
Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, and his
portrait hangs in the Oklahoma State Capitol. The
NFL’s annual most valuable player award is called the
Jim Thorpe Trophy. In 1996, the Atlanta Committee
for the Olympic Games honored his memory by routing
the Olympic torch relay through his birthplace of
Prague, Oklahoma. In 1999, the U.S. House and Senate
passed resolutions designating Thorpe America’s Athlete
of the Century.
SELECTED WRITINGS BY THORPE:
(With Thomas F. Collison) Jim Thorpe’s History of the
Olympics, Wetzel Publishing, 1932.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Books
Bernotas, Bob. Jim Thorpe: Sac and Fox Athlete. New
York: Chelsea House, 1992.
Brown, Ralph Adams. “James Francis Thorpe.” Dictionary
of American Biography, Supplement 5: 1951-
1955. American Council of Learned Societies, 1977.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Detroit:
Gale Group, 2002.
Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 5: 1951-
1955. “Glenn Scobey Warner.” American Council of
Learned Societies, 1977. Reproduced in Biography
Resource Center. Detroit: Gale Group, 2002.
Wheeler, Robert W. Jim Thorpe: World’s Greatest Athlete.
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1979.
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