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Jim Thorpe in 1913. Photo by Underwood –

Top 10 Unbelievable Facts About Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe was a Native American born on 28^th May 1888 in Prague, Oklahoma. He was born into the tribe of the Sac and Fox. Hiram Thorpe, his father was of the Sac and Fox tribe while Charlotte, his mother belonged to the Potawatomi tribe.

Jim Thorpe went by the native name of Wa-Tho-Huk, which had the meaning of 鈥淏right Path鈥�. He was considered one of the most versatile athletes in the modern world.  

Here are the top unbelievable facts about Jim Thorpe

1. Jim Thorpe had an interesting childhood

Jim Thorpe participated in Olympics in 1912. Photo unattributed –

Jim Thorpe grew up with his sibling, that is, Charlie, his twin brother, in Oklahoma, on a farm where he learned various things. This included riding a horse, knowing how to hunt, and setting a trap.

Above all, Jim Thorpe enjoyed playing while in the outdoors. Jim Thorpe鈥檚 body structure was strong, athletic; however, he was not very tall. He attended the local Indian boarding school when he and his twin brother, Charlie turned six years old.

Jim Thorpe did not like school as much as Charlie enjoyed attending school. Unfortunately, Charlie, Jim Thorp鈥檚 twin brother fall ill and passed on when they turned nine years old.

2. Jim Thorpe was the best on the track team

Jim Thorpe is in the middle with Pete Calac and Joe Guyon. Photo unattributed –

Jim losing his twin brother prompted him to run away from school, making him run twenty-three miles to get to his home to see his parents. This was a sad state for Jim, but his dad was determined that he gets an education.

It was the urge for the father to see Jim continue with an education that led him to transfer Jim to another school far away in Lawrence, Kansas.In the new school, Jim stood out among other pupils at the school鈥檚 track team. Jim Thorpe also had the urge to play football in the school, but they said he was too small.

He went ahead and attended the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania when he turned sixteen years of age. While there, he aspired to study electricity and also play on the track team at the same time.

3.  Jim Thorpe pressed on no matter what

Jim Thorpe during his 1917 stint with the Cincinnati Reds. Photo by Charles M. Conlon –

Jim Thorpe was not granted the opportunity to join the track team immediately but he however looked for chances to show the team and those who could give him the opportunity that he can do it. He happened to ask the varsity athletes if he could try to do the high jump when he met them practicing once. 

The athletes seemed to believe in him because he was putting on his work clothes when he asked for an opportunity to do the high jump. Another scare was that the varsity players has put the bar way too high that anyone could be able to jump over.

Jim Thorpe, however, proved them wrong when he was able to run up the bar and jump right over it. It was a great achievement for all who were present there and more so the varsity students.

4. Thorpe’s great achievements were enormous

Jim Thorpe Posing for a photo. Photo unattributed –

This great achievement gave Jim an opportunity at the track team as he was called to go into the office of Pop Warner, the famous coach of Carlisle. When he arrived at the office, Pop told Jim that he had broken the track team school record. He then asked Jim if he could join the track team.

Soon after that Jim was winning the track team events at the major college events they were invited to and this included events that did sprints, high jump, and hurdles. It was not just the high jump sport that Jim Thorpe was interested in, but he was also interested in playing football as well.

However, when it came to playing football, the coach, Pop Warner thought, Jim Thorpe was too small for the sport. Despite this, Pop gave Jim a chance to practice for football, and amazingly, he ran through the defense on his very first trial. Nor sooner than later, Jim was the star of the football team.

5. He played in different positions 

Jim Thorpe during the 1912 Olympics. Photo unattributed –

Jim Thorpe in the 1912 Olympics. Photo unattributed – Wikimedia Commons. There, he played in several positions including punter, placekicker, defense, and running back. He then started earning awards by first being named All- American in 1911 and 1912. He also happened to lead the football team to the national championship level.

In the same year, 1912, Thorpe tried to play in the United States Olympic team. It was there, that he participated in the pentathlon and decathlon. The pentathlon was made up of five events which were: long jump, javelin throw, 1500-meter race, discus throw, and 200-meter dash. On the other hand, the decathlon included ten track and field events.

6.  Jim won several medals

Professional baseball player Jim Thorpe as a member of the New York Giants. Photo unattributed – .

Jim Thorpe won several medals. A great one to remember was that he was an Olympic Gold medalist in the decathlon during the 1912 summer Olympics in Stockholm.   He also won a classic pentathlon in the same summer Olympics in 1912. 

7. It was not only in sport but also events that Jim Thorpe thrived in

Athlete Jim Thorpe as a member of the Portland Beavers baseball team in 1922. Photo by unattributed –

Jim Thorpe was thriving in both sports and was able to garner a gold medal in both events, get the win by a high margin. These wins led Jim to make sport his profession, and hence he became part of some professional teams.

Some of those he played for was baseball for the New York Giants, the Boston Braves, and the Cincinnati Reds.

8. Jim Thorpe’s sport was also professional 

Picture from early in the career of Thorpe at the new Crosley Field in Cincinnati in 1913.
Photo by Malcolm MacLean –

He also took part in professional basketball and football sports. In the football scene, he played for a couple of several teams which include: the football New York Giants, the Canton Bulldogs, and the Chicago Cardinals. Among these teams, the Canton Bulldogs happened to win three championships while he was playing under the team.

Jim Thorpe thrived in the professional sports team he played under and among his best highlights is that he became the American Professional Football Association’s first president. This association changed its name later and went by the name of the National Football league (NFL).

9. This is how Jim Thorpe passed on

Jim Thorpe Home. Photo by Steven C. Price –

Jim passed on in 1953 with a heart attack. He had been married three times in his lifetime and from the three marriages, he had eight children. Several facts can be remembered from Jim Thorpe’s life. Among them include: when he was awarded the gold medal, the King of Sweden said, 鈥淵ou, Sir, are the greatest athlete in the world鈥�.

10. These are some of the fond memories of Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe WFI Pc front detail. Photo by Revmoran –

He is remembered to have heard the best season as a baseball player which was his last when he had a batting average. There is also a movie that was unleashed in 1952 called Jim Thorpe 鈥� where all American Burt Lancaster, a movie star plays the lead role. Last but not least, Jim Thorpe, was voted the greatest American football player of the first half of the 20^th century.