Jim Thorpe
(aka Eric W.)

Jim Thorpe, a Native American, was born in 1888. He was brave, daring and skilled at hunting. He had a great childhood. However, his brother died at a young age from pneumonia. They had a younger sister named Mary. A couple of years after Charlie died, their mom also died of pneumonia. After all of that happened, Jim Thorpe was devastated.

Soon after, Jim Thorpe started playing sports. He played baseball, football, tennis, lacrosse, ran track and played many other sports. All of a sudden, it happened Jim Thorpe was in the Olympics. He was a gold medallist and became the greatest athlete of the half century. Jim Thorpe was the first president of the American Professional Football Association. Some of you may be familiar with the name Pop Warner. He was Jim Thorpe's football coach and is responsible for starting off today's youth football program.

Jim Thorpe died in 1953. His memorial is in Mauch Chunk, now the city of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. You can also visit Jim Thorpe at the Hall of Fame.

Return to "BIOGRAPHY" Home Page