Greatest Athlete of All Time: Jim Thorpe

By: Luan Zuccarello

Throughout mankind many questions have been asked over and over again with no right or wrong answer. One of our favorite topics of conversation, especially after a few tall frosty ones, deals with- Who is the greatest Athlete of all-time? So grab your favorite beer and join me on this journey to find the Greatest Athlete of All-Time.

Happy Birthday Jim Thorpe – born May 28th 1888 in Indian Territory (this was land the USA set aside for Native Americans). He was both Native American and European American and was raised in the faith of Roman Catholicism. He attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School where he was a 5 sport athlete and was coached by the famous Pop Warner. Thorpe participated in Track and Field, Football, Lacrosse, Baseball, and Ball Room Dancing – winning the 1912 inter-collegiate ballroom dancing championship.

Track and Field

The story goes – Thorpe had just arrived on Carlisle campus and decided to take a walk by the track. The high jumpers were practicing so Thorpe wanted to have some fun and ran up and out jumped all of them while still wearing street clothes! Jim participated in the 1912 Olympics in both the pentathlon and decathlon and if that wasn’t enough qualified for the high jump and long jump finals…. Michael Phelps who??? That’s 17 events in the manner of days – and this was way before Gatorade, HGH, and Protein Bars. He did it on plain H2O, bananas and orange slices. Thorpe won gold in both the pentathlon and decathlon, and finished 1st in 8 out of the 15 events! That is completely unheard of and a feat that will never be accomplished again.

Football

Jim Thorpe gained nationwide attention while playing for Carlisle. In 1911, he played running back, defensive back, place kicker and punter for a team that went 11-1. They even defeated Harvard (dominant football team back in the day) and he scored every point. The following year he led Carlisle to the National Collegiate Championship and along the way defeated Army. Army was led by future President Dwight Eisenhower who said about Jim “He could do anything better than any player I have ever seen”. Did I mention he was All American in both 1911 and 1912? In 1915, Thorpe signed with the Canton Bulldogs (this was after playing pro baseball for 3 years) for $250 a game – an outrageous paycheck for that time. Before his signing the Bulldogs were averaging 1200 fans a game; 8000 showed up for his debut! The man was a Rock Star! The team won championships in 1916, 1917 and 1919. Thorpe ended the 1919 championship game by kicking a 95 yard punt and pinning the opposing team on the 1 yard line. In 1920 the Canton Bull Dogs were one of the teams that joined the APFA – which would become the NFL two years later. Thorpe was elected the first president or commissioner of the APFA and made the All-NFL team in its first year of inception.

Baseball

Jim Thorpe signed with the New York baseball club in 1913 played in the outfield for 3 seasons. He barnstormed across the US and then the world drawing huge crowds. He became an unofficial ambassador of the game. Thorpe played sporadically until 1922 playing in 289 professional games – he was .252 hitter.
Basketball

In 1926 Jim, decided he would try his hand at basketball. He barnstormed with a Native American team for two years, playing against some of the top Pro teams. This part of his life is not well documented and no stats can be found.

I have provided facts not opinion about the man, the myth, the legend who was Jim Thorpe. The greatest athlete should not be based on one’s opinion of who is more agile or quick. The only way you can measure each one of these athletes against each other is on stats and records. Since when does not winning or individual/team achievement mean squat? The athletes put forth so far are just that – athletes. How can you become the greatest at something and have never won anything? Your athletic prowess should shine and be able to elevate you or your team to be #1. In 1950, an AP poll of 400 sportswriters and broadcasters voted Thorpe the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th century. In addition, on May 27, 1999 the United States House of Representatives passed resolution 198 honoring Jim Thorpe as “America’s athlete of the century”. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 and into halls of fame for college football, U.S. Olympic teams, and national track and field competition.

Thorpe’s accomplishments occurred during a period of racism and racial inequality in the United States. When Thorpe won his gold medals, not all Native Americans were even recognized as United States citizens (not until 1924). This man was Bo Jackson before Bo Jackson, he was Jackie Robinson before Jackie Robinson, and he was Michael Phelps before Michael Phelps. I could go on and on but my Fire Water has run out – Case Closed!