From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Francis Thorpe (Sac and Fox (Sauk): Wa-Tho-Huk, translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887 – March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe became the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won Olympic gold medals in the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, and played American football (collegiate and professional), professional baseball, and basketball. He lost his Olympic titles after it was found he had been paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics, thus violating the amateurism rules that were then in place. In 1983, 30 years after his death, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) restored his Olympic medals.
Thorpe grew up in the Sac and Fox Nation in Oklahoma, and attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he was a two-time All-American for the school's football team. After his Olympic success in 1912, which included a record score in the decathlon, he added a victory in the All-Around Championship of the Amateur Athletic Union. In 1913, Thorpe signed with the New York Giants, and he played six seasons in Major League Baseball between 1913 and 1919. Thorpe joined the Canton Bulldogs American football team in 1915, helping them win three professional championships; he later played for six teams in the National Football League (NFL). He played as part of several all-American Indian teams throughout his career, and barnstormed as a professional basketball player with a team composed entirely of American Indians.
From 1920 to 1921, Thorpe was nominally the first president of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which became the NFL in 1922. He played professional sports until age 41, the end of his sports career coinciding with the start of the Great Depression. He struggled to earn a living after that, working several odd jobs. He suffered from alcoholism, and lived his last years in failing health and poverty. He was married three times and had eight children, before suffering from heart failure and dying in 1953.
Thorpe has received various accolades for his athletic accomplishments. The Associated Press named him the "greatest athlete" from the first 50 years of the 20th century, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted him as part of its inaugural class in 1963. A Pennsylvania town was named in his honor and a monument site there is the site of his remains, which were the subject of legal action. Thorpe appeared in several films and was portrayed by Burt Lancaster in the 1951 film Jim Thorpe – All-American.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0861680
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q221482
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Filmography (Movies)
Jim Thorpe: Lit by Lightning
Character:Self
Release Date:07/07/2025
Red Fever
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:01/05/2024
Wagon Master
Character:Navajo Indian
Release Date:22/04/1950
White Heat
Character:Big Convict (uncredited)
Release Date:02/09/1949
Road to Utopia
Character:Collins - Ship's Passenger (uncredited)
Release Date:27/02/1946
The Vampire's Ghost
Character:Native
Release Date:13/04/1945
Outlaw Trail
Character:Spike
Release Date:29/04/1944
They Died with Their Boots On
Character:Indian (uncredited)
Release Date:20/11/1941
Meet John Doe
Character:Extra (uncredited)
Release Date:14/03/1941
Mexican Spitfire Out West
Character:Indian
Release Date:29/10/1940
Prairie Schooners
Character:Chief Sanche
Release Date:29/09/1940
Arizona Frontier
Character:Gray Cloud
Release Date:19/08/1940
Henry Goes Arizona
Character:Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Release Date:08/12/1939
The Man from Texas
Character:Posse Rider (uncredited)
Release Date:19/04/1939
Frontier Scout
Character:Henchman
Release Date:16/09/1938
Start Cheering
Character:Head Linesman
Release Date:03/03/1938
Big City
Character:Jim Thorpe
Release Date:03/09/1937
Trailin' West
Character:Black Eagle
Release Date:04/09/1936
Wildcat Trooper
Character:Indian Fur Trapper
Release Date:01/07/1936
Treachery Rides the Range
Character:Chief Red Smoke
Release Date:02/05/1936
Hill-Tillies
Character:1st Indian
Release Date:24/04/1936
Silly Billies
Character:Medicine Man
Release Date:20/03/1936
Sutter's Gold
Character:Man
Release Date:01/03/1936
Klondike Annie
Character:
Release Date:21/02/1936
Captain Blood
Character:Pirate (uncredited)
Release Date:26/12/1935
La Fiesta de Santa Barbara
Character:Indian Chief
Release Date:07/12/1935
La Fiesta de Santa Barbara
Character:Indian Chief (uncredited)
Release Date:07/12/1935
The Ivory-Handled Gun
Character:Henchman Jack (uncredited)
Release Date:11/11/1935
Moonlight on the Prairie
Character:Henchman
Release Date:02/11/1935
Fighting Youth
Character:Carlisle Football Player
Release Date:01/11/1935
The Last Days of Pompeii
Character:Spectator Tossing Coins (uncredited)
Release Date:18/10/1935
Barbary Coast
Character:Janitor (uncredited)
Release Date:13/10/1935
It's in the Air
Character:Indian Father (uncredited)
Release Date:10/10/1935
Wanderer of the Wasteland
Character:Charlie Jim
Release Date:09/09/1935
The Daring Young Man
Character:Convict
Release Date:17/07/1935
She
Character:Captain of the Guards (uncredited)
Release Date:12/07/1935
The Arizonian
Character:
Release Date:27/06/1935
Code of the Mounted
Character:Murdered Indian
Release Date:07/06/1935
One Run Elmer
Character:Second baseman (uncredited)
Release Date:22/02/1935
Rustlers of Red Dog
Character:Chief Scarface [Chs. 6, 11]
Release Date:01/01/1935
Behold My Wife!
Character:Indian Chief (uncredited)
Release Date:06/12/1934
The Red Rider
Character:Bill Abel, Portos Henchman
Release Date:16/07/1934
Sweepings
Character:Indian (Uncredited)
Release Date:14/04/1933
King Kong
Character:Native Dancer (uncredited)
Release Date:15/03/1933
Wild Horse Mesa
Character:Indian Chief
Release Date:25/11/1932
Air Mail
Character:Indian (uncredited)
Release Date:03/11/1932
Always Kickin'
Character:
Release Date:09/10/1932
Off His Base
Character:Jim Thorpe
Release Date:18/09/1932
The Dark Horse
Character:Blackfeet Indian Chief
Release Date:16/06/1932
My Pal, the King
Character:Black Cloud
Release Date:03/04/1932
Battling with Buffalo Bill
Character:Swift Arrow
Release Date:22/11/1931
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