Jim Thorpe

[Rhotchkiss]

Perhaps the greatest athlete of all time, Jim Thorpe played baseball, football, basketball and ran track. The write-up below is from Wikipedia and describes Jim's athletic accolades.

Show your Jim Thorpe items -- baseball or otherwise.

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 was the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States in the Olympics. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won two Olympic gold medals in the 1912 Summer Olympics (one in classic pentathlon and the other in decathlon). He also played 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 contemporary amateurism rules. In 1983, 30 years after his death, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) restored his Olympic medals with replicas, after ruling that the decision to strip him of his medals fell outside of the required 30 days. Official IOC records still listed Thorpe as co-champion in decathlon and pentathlon until 2022, when it was decided to restore him as the sole champion in both events.

Thorpe grew up in the Sac and Fox Nation in Indian Territory (what is now the U.S. state of Oklahoma). As a youth, he attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he was a two-time All-American for the school's football team under coach Pop Warner. 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, he played for the Pine Village Pros in Indiana. Later 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, 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, including Grace Thorpe, an environmentalist and Native rights activist, before suffering from heart failure and dying in 1953.

Thorpe has received numerous accolades for his athletic accomplishments. The Associated Press ranked him as 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. The town of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, was named in his honor. It has a monument site that contains 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.

[Lucas00]

Super cool pieces, I love researching and reading about Jim. Being a PA native as well it's really cool he was local and now has a town named after him.

It's a dream of mine to get a snapshot of Jim on a baseball field in uniform, but I doubt that will ever happen. And if it does I won't be able to afford it anyway.

[Bobbycee]

Good stuff.

Here's 2 recommendations on Jim Thorpe: Read "Path Lit By Lightning", by David Maraniss. Also, go see Jim's grave/mausoleum in Jim Thorpe, PA. If you live in the north east, it's a day trip well worth taking. The town is awesome .
Enjoy the train ride in the Spring or Fall.

It's too bad he never got to play in an established NFL. He would have dominated. Same may be true in Baseball, but John McGraw refused to play him, letting his talents rot on the bench

[Snapolit1]

Shame that an entire generation of Americans (or two now) is completely ignorant of such an influential man.

[brianp-beme]

My Sport Kings Jim Thorpe. I always thought it was cool he made it into this set.

And my Jim Thorpenstein card. A little fun with the scanner, with an assist from George Connally.


Brian

[mrreality68]

Great items Ryan

And great information on the him

Let’s see what everyone has

[Jobu]

Super rare photo of the NFL's 1922-23 Oorang Indians that existed only in 1922 and 1923. Left to right are Jim Thorpe (HOF), Joe Guyon (HOF), Elmer Busch, Peter Calac -- all four also played at Carlisle Indian School. This might have been owned by Busch as I got it with the postcard shown below. (And while I am at it, by other Carlisle item is this Fred Broker RPPC.)

[Exhibitman]

This is a tough appearance-related PC:

[GasHouseGang]

Front row, far left.

[gonefishin]

I wish I did own some vintage items of Thorpe's, but unfortunately they are out of my price range. I do however own a pretty cool book. It was given to Floyd Paterson by Thorpe's daughter Grace (who in her own right was quite accomplished) for participation at an event. I acquired the book from an auction of Patterson's estate items.

[YankeeCollector]

This……

[doug.goodman]

Police Gazette supplement from May 24, 1913 and then a full page from the April 21, 1917 issue.

PG very frequently reused the same photos, there may be other full pages from different issues, if so the caption(s) would be different.

[bcbgcbrcb]

The Fatima Giants team card is “only” a few hundred and likely the most affordable playing days card of Thorpe out there. I think it’s a good option if you are just looking to own something.

I believe there is also a card from one of the Colgan’s Chips series, although that one along with the Sporting News cards will cost you a small fortune. Also, one of those c1915 W-UNC photographic strip cards, I believe, along with a Zeenut PCL minor league card as well.

[Kawika]

Some phenomenal photos posted in this thread, particularly Ryan and Jobu's offerings. Here are a couple of my Thorpe items.

1) "Domestic" photo of the Giants world tour team in 1913. Matty didn't go overseas with the rest.

2) 1914 George Grantham Bain photo (Type 1)

[Peter_Spaeth]

Did he really say, "Thanks, King"?

[Leon]

From the BST.

[bandrus1]

The NY t200 is the most undervalued card in the entire hobby

[oldjudge]

Great idea, Ryan!

[BabyRuth]

Sport Kings sans trimming

[pclpads]

He also had a minor role as a prisoner in the James Cagney classic, "White Heat." It's just prior to Cagney going ballistic in the dining hall when he learns his ma has died.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Did he really say, "Thanks, King"?

In Kate Buford's extensive 2010 biography of Thorpe, she insists that the story never happened, pointing out among other things that the "Thanks, King" claim was not reported contemporaneously and only began being reported in newspapers in the 1940s.

“It would be claimed,” she writes, “that Jim replied, ‘Thanks, King,’ as if he knew no better, the story undermining the moment of his greatest triumph.” She argues that, “A flippant reply would have been out of character for a man who was highly uncomfortable in public ceremonies and hated to stand out.” Movie footage of the event shows Thorpe accepting the award, taking a step back, making a bowing motion to the King and then rejoining his teammates."

https://thislandpress.com/2012/07/27...-all-american/

I live about 45 minutes from Jim Thorpe, Pa., and have visited his burial place several times, FWIW, the "Thanks, King" story is mentioned at Thorpe's tomb in the town that carries his name today.

[Joe Hunter]

Early 1910’s fashion plate

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by BabyRuth

Sport Kings sans trimming

Nice full bodied card.

And now I know what the upper portion of a Sports King Thorpe looks like...no more need to Thorpenstein.

Brian

[Aug06]

Originally Posted by Bobbycee

Good stuff.

Here's 2 recommendations on Jim Thorpe: Read "Path Lit By Lightning", by David Maraniss. Also, go see Jim's grave/mausoleum in Jim Thorpe, PA. If you live in the north east, it's a day trip well worth taking. The town is awesome .
Enjoy the train ride in the Spring or Fall.

It's too bad he never got to play in an established NFL. He would have dominated. Same may be true in Baseball, but John McGraw refused to play him, letting his talents rot on the bench

I am lucky enough to live 10 minutes away from Jim Thorpe PA (Weatherly PA). you are 100% correct, the town is an awesome place to visit and i am there quite often. Ive been to the mausoleum dozens of times. Very nice place to visit.
Everything i have ever heard, Thorpe was a hell of an all around athlete, i wish i owned something of his...card, postcard, etc..

[jefferyepayne]

A great thread! I've been looking for an Oorang postcard or type 1 photo for a very long time so it's great to see a few in this thread. If anyone is looking to sell one, let me know.

While I don't have an original image of Thorpe from his Oorang days, I was able to pick up these very nice Oorang Indian team travel crates a while back. Besides having various Oorang team logos stamped on them, each one has "James F. Thorpe, Coach" stamped on it.



I have a lot of Thorpe images as he is a collecting focus for me. What do you all want to see? Baseball? Football? Track? Movies? Home life? Days in Carlisle? Days in Canton?

jeff

[runred41]

I also have a few Thorpe, Carlisle and 1912 items I'll share. I've got to figure out again how to insert an image! If you go back to 2019 I had started a thread on Thorpe and posted some of my items. Always a great thread when Thorpe is the focus!

[55koufax]

Such a beautiful card.

[StraightRaceCards]

That Hensel studio is awesome Ryan.

As a track man myself, the Thorpe in Stockholm is really an amazing card. Great thread!

[Michael B]

There are two Jim Thorpe postcards in the 1912 set. Fortunately, I have both. The other one is card #99 and features the start of the 1500m in the Pentathlon. In 1912 there was the Modern Pentathlon, which is still competed today. Gen George Patton competed in that one in 1912. There was also the athletic pentathlon - long jump, javelin, 200m, discus and 1500m. This card is much harder to find than #238, the one shown in this thread.

Thorpe #99.jpg

From left to right

Ferdinand Bie of Norway - shared the silver medal
Jim Thorpe
Austin Menoul of the U.S.
Frank Lukeman of Canada - bronze medal
Hugo Wieslander of Sweden
Jim Donahue of the U.S. - shared the silver medal
Avery Brundage - he did not finish this race. Best known as president of the International Olympic Committee, he was an accomplished athlete in the 1910's. He finished second in the AAU decathlon championship in 1915. Alma Richards, the man who beat him, was the high jump gold medalist in Stockholm.

[aelefson]

Amazing items shared so far! Here is a photo I have of Thorpe. I am not sure what it was used for but Jeff pointed out that Professor Steckbeck was the author of a book on Thorpe in the early 1950s.

Alan

[Hankphenom]

Listen to Chief Meyers talking about Thorpe in the audio version of "The Glory of Their Times." It will break your heart.

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Did he really say, "Thanks, King"?

Wasn't the Babe supposed to have said something like that, perhaps when the Yankees went to England in 1924 and were greeted by King George?

[lhardem]

Here is Thorpe from a very obscure set of Supplements issued in 1914 by the New York Evening Sun. The artist, Larry Semon, later became a leading silent movie star who directed and played the lead role of Scarecrow in the 1925 silent film version of The Wizard of Oz.

Details about the set of 21 supplements (all members of the NY Giants) can be viewed here.



19-thorpe30.jpg

[cmoore330]

Here’s another obscure supplement from a 1912 French publication:

[JohnP0621]

My only card with Thorpe.

John P