Jim Thorpe

[revmoran]

I didn't notice a thread on Jim Thorpe alone, and rather than get off track on the 100 Best Books thread I thought I'd start one - and offer this to get it going - a program from Thorpe's football tenure with the Portsmouth Shoe-Steel team. I haven't seen another example, and would love to see a Portsmouth home program with a team photo. I also found an article about the game online

[revmoran]

I'll post one more for now - fast forward 25 years from that football game and Jim Thorpe is signing autographs at The New England Sportsman's and Boat Show - and on the reverse of the page is Ted Williams, which makes the 1959 Fleer card the perfect companion.

[DBesse27]

Love that card. Hell, I love the whole set.

[TanksAndSpartans]

Mike, great idea for a thread! Love the Shoe-Steel program - what a great piece of history.

I looked up this game in Home & Away - it was a big deal for Portsmouth to play in the “big city”. Becker documented that Creasy was looking for a tougher game (apparently they had played a soft schedule to date). The Guards offered 37% of the gate and the Steels took it and started “loading up” (common practice of signing ringers for big games). One of the players signed was Russell Hathway who had played for the Maroons and Bisons in the NFL. The Norfolk and Western ran an excursion train to Cincinnati. There is no exact attendance figure, but one newspaper estimated at 5-7 thousand which may have been a Redland stadium record. (As your article shows, the Cincinatti newspapers definitely played up Thorpe's appearance - Becker mentioned "fathers last chance to take their sons see the great Jim Thorpe.") Portsmouth lost the game 19-12, but this was one of the games Thorpe was healthy for as we know he threw a touchdown pass. No other game stats were provided in the book.

[jefferyepayne]

Wow. Surprised this thread isn't getting more love from the pre-war thorpe collectors out there. I know who you are!

I've shown most of my Thorpe football stuff on the Ode to Pre-War Football thread but here are a couple of non-football items you might enjoy.













jeff

[RollieFingers]

is it rude to ask how much they cost?
i think thats a valid detail in collecting

[GasHouseGang]

I picked this up because it had Thorpe in it.

[TanksAndSpartans]

Great items everyone! I'm hoping the member who owns the Capitol Candy Thorpe in the SGC holder posts that one....

[scooter729]

Not quite so contemporary as some of the others, but tough to find in its own right...

[Filthy]

These are all amazing!

[Exhibitman]

[jefferyepayne]

Originally Posted by scooter729

Not quite so contemporary as some of the others, but tough to find in its own right...

That's a nice one! I have some newer ones as well ... pick them up if I can find them cheap.











Forgot one vintage image. This is a glass negative of Thorpe playing baseball


jeff

[cmoore330]

Here's one that hasn't been mentioned in the thread:

[revmoran]

Some Thorpe wirephotos -

[revmoran]

This is a RPPC from the World Famous Indians basketball team - which I have only as a scan



1933 Sport Kings



1955 Hinckley and Schmitt Chicago All Star luncheon book mark



Canton Bank give-a-way



More recent Helmar Batter Up card

[TanksAndSpartans]

Thanks Mike - really enjoyed those!

[jefferyepayne]

Surprised everyone's favorite Thorpe hasn't shown up in this thread yet!



Some Thorpe photos.







jeff

[Blcmmh]

Great stuff guys !!!Been awhile since I posted .

[DBesse27]

Jeff, Rev, those are great Thorpe collections you've got there!

[jefferyepayne]

Thanks guys! Can never have enough Thorpe stuff.















jeff

[cmoore330]

I was finally able to get my hands on a copy of this rare French magazine from 1912. I've had this on my list for many years because it has an awesome supplement of Jim Thorpe. I was able to hunt one down through some deep internet research and it arrived yesterday! It's about 11 x 14 and the artwork & colors are beautiful.

FYI...shipping time from central France to central Oklahoma is almost 3 weeks!

[TanksAndSpartans]

Great pickup! I enjoyed looking through this thread again.

[jefferyepayne]

That's a beautiful pickup, Casey! Love it. What does the front look like?

jeff

[Arazi4442]

Great magazine, Casey. That's a new one to me. Always enjoy seeing Thorpe items I've never seen before and nice to have Oklahoma memoribilia staying close to home.

Boomer!

[jefferyepayne]

This is one of my favorite Thorpe images. Not sure what year it is but look how young he looks! Gotta be 1907 or 08 when he had just started playing for Carlisle.



jeff

[cmoore330]

Originally Posted by jefferyepayne

That's a beautiful pickup, Casey! Love it. What does the front look like?

jeff

Here is the front, Jeff:

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

never knew Thorpe was a blonde!

[FourStrikes]

Thorpe was on the roster in '07 and played in '08 (I think).

also posted these in the "ode to prewar..." thread

[jefferyepayne]

Great postcards! Have you zoomed in to see if you can find Thorpe on the field?

jeff

[runred41]

Hi...I’ve been a member for awhile but never posted anything. The Thorpe thread has been calling to me for awhile and love the pieces that have been shown so far. I have an immense Jim Thorpe collection of over 1000 pieces that has never been seen (other than many of the pieces themselves) but never been shared as a collection. My earliest piece is 1904 when he enrolled in Carlisle. If somebody will teach me how to load photos I’d be willing to start sharing photos of my collection....if anybody is interested in seeing what I have. I see some fellow Oklahoma collectors who enjoy having Thorpe pieces! Hopefully, I’ve posted this correctly and not messed up the flow of the thread. Thanks! Mike

[TanksAndSpartans]

Mike, Do you have any Thorpe items related to him playing pro football? I'm especially interested in his pre-NFL seasons with the Canton Bulldogs particularly 1915-17, 1919. Thanks.

[runred41]

John...I have not had the privilege to purchase any Canton items with Thorpe. I have Carlisle, Cleveland and Oorang Thorpe memorabilia. I started concentrating on his track and Olympic career as the bidding for those items are not quite as heavy most the time. Of course as you know...any Thorpe memorabilia is hard to come by. Carl has helped me to install Tapatalk and will start taking pictures of some items I have and share them. I did end up with the 1907 and 1908 postcards that have appeared on the ode to prewar thread.
Mike

[TanksAndSpartans]

Thanks Mike - those pre-NFL years (15-19) are tough to find much of anything - Thorpe was the biggest name, probably Rockne 2nd as he moonlighted in pro football, but I've never seen many items.

Looking forward to seeing your collection!

[runred41]

Here is my favorite piece and most likely earliest know Jim Thorpe item. I consider it the cornerstone of my collection. When he enrolled in Carlisle he received government issued items..this is his writing tablet. I’ve seen his wool blanket many years ago and missed it by less that 30 seconds. The owner had taken it down and said a biographer of Thorpe’s had bought it over the phone and was on his way from North Carolina to get it. I got it from a guy who’s grandfather ran a trading post turned into pawn shop and he was the heir to all the stuff left in warehouses. He had Jesse James, Cole Younger and Wyatt Earp estate items that those families had pawned. I have a copy of the pawn ticket(somewhere) and Roger Neufeldt (whom a lot of you probably know) from here in Oklahoma verified it’s authenticity as he has one and knows Thorpe family members. The 2nd photo is of Thorpe’s enrollment information off of Carlisle’s archive. Notice 878 that was assigned to him in 1904 then crossed through and then after he left and came back he was given a new number.



w


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[runred41]

This item is a program for a dual track meet and baseball game on same day with Syracuse. Coach Warner wanted to be able to utilize his 2-sport athletes so came up with the idea. There is a lot mentioned about the dual meet with Syracuse in 1908 but so far I have not found any mention of him competing in 1907 against Syracuse. I’m thinking this might be his very first track meet he competed in. He is listed in 4 events but did not place in any of them which further makes me think this represents his very first competition. The student ticket would have been used to get into both events. If anybody ever sees an article about this 1907 track meet I’d sure love to see it!






















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[Jasonxmay]

This is my favorite Thorpe autograph. It's one of only a couple signed cards that I kept when I sold my collection. I've never seen or heard of another one. It's in a PSA holder now.

[runred41]

Originally Posted by Jasonxmay

This is my favorite Thorpe autograph. It's one of only a couple signed cards that I kept when I sold my collection. I've never seen or heard of another one. It's in a PSA holder now.

That is a beautiful card! Never seen one signed.


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[runred41]

These are Reach and Spalding pictures from their rule and stat catalogues. Not worth much except to me as they all include Thorpe. First set is from 1914, 2nd set is 1915, 3rd pic is from 1916, 1918 for 4th pic, 1919 for 5th pic and then 1920 for the 6th pic. I have football ones also that I’ll post later.

.

.

[runred41]

You’ve all seen this postcard yet got to show mine! I was able to finally pick this one up from a collector here in Oklahoma. Pretty decent example of this particular postcard.




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[jefferyepayne]

Great stuff!

[runred41]

Here are some more reach and spalding and newspaper items I picked up. The Toledo one is the only one I’ve come across. The newspaper photo of Thorpe long jumping is from a July 24, 1912 newspaper.






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[runred41]

This almanac is to commemorate/document the 1912 Olympics and is full of pictures of our olympians. It is in beat up condition but for me at least has been very hard to find with Thorpe on the cover. If anybody ever comes across one in much better condition and is not interested in it themselves I’d appreciate a pm about it.




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[runred41]

This is a postcard advertising the Carlisle vs Villanova game in 1907. Very little can be found about Thorpe’s contribution in 1907. First 3 games were shutouts so he probably didn’t play unless he received the opening or halftime kickoff which perhaps could have happened. My speculation is since he ran 2 kickoff returns for touchdowns against 30-40 players in practice when he tried out for the team that he very well could have been used as a kickoff returner on a highly talented team that included Albert Exendine, Albert Payne, Pete Hauser and Frank Mount Pleasant. Thorpe was listed in lineup for 5th game against Syracuse and played against Penn to replace an injured Payne. It was reported that on his first carry he went opposite way of his blockers and got buried but went 45 yards on his next carry. He definitely ran a kickoff back for a TD against Bucknell in the 6th game of season. Unfortunately for him he didn’t score it though! He let up a few yards from the end zone, got tripped up and fumbled into the end zone where a teammate recovered it for the TD! Most of you have probably seen this one but this one is mine and Thorpe was definitely there!




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[cmoore330]

Originally Posted by runred41

This almanac is to commemorate/document the 1912 Olympics and is full of pictures of our olympians. It is in beat up condition but for me at least has been very hard to find with Thorpe on the cover. If anybody ever comes across one in much better condition and is not interested in it themselves I’d appreciate a pm about it.




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I missed out on one these several years back and still haven’t seen another for sale. I still regret it! By the way, what part of OK are you in?

[runred41]

I am from The Enid area right now...I have a lot of 1912 Olympic items I’ll be posting pictures of also. Looks like we collect a lot of the same things.

[runred41]

This postcard is from the 1908 season...not sure if Thorpe is on the field but a good chance with 18 players shown that he is. With the correct equipment a person might be able to tell or not. Minnesota was one of 2 teams to beat Carlisle in 1908. Thorpe was selected 3rd team All-American in 1908. Most of you have seen this card in the past or one like it I know..it now resides in my collection. I’m going to show some modern cards I’ve picked up over the years along with some of my vintage items so that when I run out of vintage items maybe I won’t bore others with new items.








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[runred41]

This next item is a program from Carlisle. The program covers the ‘Athletic Celebration And Presentation of Cs for 1908’ held on March 20, 1909. Thorpe is listed as Captain of the track team. I believe it to be a rare program and quickly becoming one of my favorite pieces for sure. Jim is pictured with the baseball team which you rarely see so this program is really special!









































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[cmoore330]

Originally Posted by runred41

I am from The Enid area right now...I have a lot of 1912 Olympic items I’ll be posting pictures of also. Looks like we collect a lot of the same things.

I’m in Edmond, so not too terribly far away. I’d love to meet up if it ever makes sense. Not too many vintage collectors (or stuff to find) in this part of the world.

[runred41]

In 1912 Warner really got serious with Thorpe track wise to get him prepared for the Olympic trials starting with the Indooor season. This following program is from the 23rd Annual Indoor Games at Mechanics Hall in Boston on February 10, 1912. Many of the eventual track olympians can be found in the program. Thorpe competed in the 40 dash, 45 hurdles, high jump, 16lb shot, and 3 standing jumps events. Being a track guy I think this is a really nice program!

























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[runred41]

Forgot to send a picture of Mechanics Hall where the meet was held. This is a period postcard.




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