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James Francis "Jim" Thorpe (Sac and Fox (Sauk): Wa-Tho-Huk, translated as "Bright Path"; May 28, 1888 – March 28, 1953) was an American athlete of mixed Native American and Caucasian ancestry. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won Olympic gold medals for the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, played collegiate and professional American football, and also played professional baseball and basketball. He lost his Olympic titles after it was found he was paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics, thus violating the amateurism rules. 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. He attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School, where he attracted the attention of Pop Warner. In 1911 he played as running back, defensive back, placekicker and punter, for Carlisle, scoring 25 touchdowns and leading the team to a collegiate championship, and was awarded All-American honors in both 1911 and 1912. Thorpe with the New York Giants baseball team in 1913, he would also play for the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Braves (now Atlanta Braves), and in the minor leagues before leaving the sport in 1922. He continued playing football during this time, playing professionally for the Canton Bulldogs, which he led to several titles. He played professional sports until age 41, the end of his sports career coinciding with the start of the Great Depression. Thorpe struggled to earn a living after that, working several odd jobs. Thorpe suffered from alcoholism, and lived his last years in failing health and poverty.
In a poll of sports fans conducted by ABC Sports, Thorpe was voted the Greatest Athlete of the Twentieth Century. (Full article...)