William Monroe
10/28/14
Mr. Ward
Jim Thorpe and his remains
Jim Thorpe
was noted as the “best athlete in the world” by the king of Sweden during the
1912 Olympics. This is because Mr. Thorpe
was successful at over twenty different sports. Mr. Thorpe was a sac and fox Indian. There has
been controversy over Jim Thorpe because of who he was, his athletic abilities,
and because of where he was buried.
Jim Thorpe was
an incredible man, not only was he an athlete but he was also a family man and
full of kindness. Jim was born on March 28, 1888. Jim was always exercising as a
young boy. Jim would go out on these huge long hunts with his father when he
was only eight years old. Jim was also wrangling horses out on the prairie by
the time that he had turned ten years old. Many people wrote about Jim and
called him a “failure at school”, this is less than accurate because he was a
B+ student. The reason that some writers and historians could have come to this
conclusion is because when he was young and off at school his father became ill
and Jim asked the school if he could leave and go visit his father. The school
quickly said no to Jim’s idea of leaving school. Then Jim took matters into his
own hands and took what was known as “French Leave” and then set out on his
journey to see his extremely ill father. This journey consisted of hundreds of
miles of walking and hiking to get home, but even at a young age Jim knew the
value of family and did what he knew it was going to have to take to see his
father. Jim’s fathers name was Hiram Thorpe, and his mother’s name was Charlottevieux
Thorpe. Jim stayed with his family until his father could survive no more. Jim
had his career as being a star in sports, and once Jim’s Olympic days were over
he decided to start a family. Jim married a woman named patsy Thorpe and they
had multiple children together. The children said that their father (Jim
Thorpe) always instilled the idea in them that exercise is key. The children
also said that their father consistently said to them “Let’s go outside and
play ball!” Jim was traumatized when one of his sons died at the age of three
from the terrible disease of polio. Jim was very close to his son and had a
hard time getting over the loss of his son. When Jim was fifty-seven, he decided
to join the navy and he went overseas to fight for the United States during
world war two. It was nearly unheard of for a fifty-seven year old man to
enlist in any branch of the armed forces but Jim was so fit and agile that it
was no problem for him. Jim was also a great actor and stared in seventy-six
different movies throughout his career. Jim was also very athletic.
The Man named
Jim Thorpe was an incredible athlete. The difference between Jim and all of the
other great athletes out there is that Jim didn’t train like crazy to get into
the Olympics, he just did what he loved and that was to play sports. Jim played
football at a school titled “Carlisle” and he played just about every sport
that they had to offer. Jim was such a leader in sports that he was the captain
of the football team, the basketball team, the track team, and the list just
goes on and on. Jim was breaking records and creating a name for himself in
college. When Jim played for Carlisle he became the first college football
player to ever have more than three thousand rushing yards in a career. Jim was
also a fantastic kicker in football, his personal best for the longest drop
kick field goal was eighty seven yards. He could also punt the football over
one hundred yards. The officials that were taking the measurements couldn’t measure
to Jims full potential because Jim could kick the ball farther than the
football field was long. Jim was such a good football player that he could play
any position. President Eisenhower played football against Jim Thorpe when he
played college ball and he said “he could do anything” when he was referring to
Jim Thorpe. President Eisenhower also said “he was the whole team” when talking
about Jim. One day someone told Jim that he should try out for the Olympics, so
Jim said okay. Then Jim tried out for the Olympics and he tried some things
that he had never even done in his life. One thing that Jim tried and was good
at was the javelin. Jim didn’t do anything close to the proper technique and on
his first throw beat all of the competition except one for second place. After Jim
had learned the proper technique he could throw the javelin further than anyone
else there at the Olympics. The crazy thing about Jim is that he didn’t train
for the Olympics like all of the others did, he just showed up and did what he
loved, and still beat out most of the competition. After qualifying for the Olympics, Jim went on
to compete in the Olympics of 1912 in Stockholm Sweden. This is the place that Jim
gained the title of “the greatest athlete in the world” from the king of Sweden.
At these Olympics, Jim acquired two gold medals. These gold medals were taken
from Jim to be given to the athletes in second place. This is because the Olympics
were for amateurs only and Jim was considered a professional because he was
given a few dollars a game to play baseball over the summer. After Jim’s death, historians that loved him
were in search for the 1912 Olympic rule book to try and dispute the taking of
Jim’s medals. The historians searched for days on end and couldn’t find the
rules, then finally one day the book was found and the historians, after
reading the rule book, came to the conclusion that the medals were unrightfully
taken from Jim Thorpe. Jim died on March 28, 1953. There was also a dispute
over where Jim should have been buried.
Two towns
were combined to create the city called “Jim Thorpe, PA”. These two towns were
called “Mauch chunk” and “East Mauch Chunk”. The birth of Jim Thorpe, PA was
because of Jim’s wife named patsy Thorpe. Patsy made the decision of Jim being
buried here without the consult of family, and potentially against Jims will. The
only problem is that Jim didn’t not have a living will that addressed where he
wanted to be buried. Jim’s children said that Jim had told them that he wanted
to be buried in his native land of the sac and fox Indians. There has been law
suit after lawsuit addressing where Jim should be buried. All of the sac and
fox Indians say that until you are buried in native land then your body isn’t properly
laid to rest and their soul is not at peace. The town fights for Jim by
starting a slogan of “Keep Jim Thorpe in Jim Thorpe”. Jim Thorpe’s Grandson is
about the only family member of Jims that is okay with him being in PA. Jim’s
grandson said “the town has done nothing but honor and respect and love my
grandpa”. This is a true statement and all of the citizens of Jim Thorpe say
that the town “wouldn’t be the same” if Jim was taken away and brought back to
tribal land. A “medicine man” was said to have made contact with Jim’s spirit
and Jim said “I am at peace and I want no more pain created in my name”. Even though this medicine man channeled Jim,
all of the native sac and fox members still want Jim back in his native land. Sac
and fox members say “all of this time we’ve wanted his body back because of the
way that it was taken away from us.” Because of the way that the body was taken
away, all of the natives feel that Jim’s body was, in a way, stolen from them. To
this day Jim is still buried in Jim Thorpe, PA.
Jim Thorpe is
obviously a great man, athlete, and was cared about because of all of the
points listed above. Everyone who ever met Jim loved him and respected him. Not
only did they love him for his athletic abilities, but they also loved him for
his personal virtues. Love and respect is one thing that no one can buy, it is
something you must earn and Jim did exactly that. Regardless of where Jim’s
body was buried he was still an incredible person.
united states postal service stamp of Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe receiving his gold medals from the king of Sweden at the 1912 Olympics
Jim Thorpe, doing what he loved the most, playing football with his children
Jim Thorpe dressed in his Carlisle uniform
Jim Thorpe with some of his fellow Sac and Fox tribe members
Works cited
Smithsonian. "Jim Thorpe: World's Greatest
Athlete." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
"Jim Thorpe Sleeps on - for Now - in Town Where
Everyone Knows His Name." TheGuardian. N.p., 02 Aug. 2013. Web. 20
Oct. 2014.
<http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsport%2F2013%2Faug%2F02%2Fjim-thorpe-pennsylvania-football-hall-fame>.
"Pa. Town Where Jim Thorpe Is Buried Fights to Keep His
Body." Fox News. FOX News Network, 05 Sept. 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/05/pa-town-where-jim-thorpe-is-buried-fights-to-keep-his-body/>.
"Jim Thorpe Rest In Peace - Burial." Jim
Thorpe Rest In Peace - Burial. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.jimthorperestinpeace.com/Burial.HTM>.
Angelo, Jason St. "Jim Thorpe's Body Subject Of Dispute
Between Pennsylvania Town, Family Of Olympic Icon." The Huffington
Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 Sept. 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/05/jim-thorpe-town-body-family_n_3875897.html>.
"Jim Thorpe - Awards And Accomplishments." -
Named, Oklahoma, Football, and Hall. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
<http://sports.jrank.org/pages/4845/Thorpe-Jim-Awards-Accomplishments.html>.
"Today in History: Jim Thorpe - TPS-Barat Primary
Source Nexus." TPSBarat Primary Source Nexus. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct.
2014. <http://primarysourcenexus.org/2013/05/today-in-history-jim-thorpe/>.
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