Jim Thorpe was born on May 28, 1888 in a remote cabin near Prague, Oklahoma. His father, Hiram Thorpe, was a farmer and his mother, Mary James was a descendent of the great Sauk and Fox chief Black Hawk. Thorpe's Indian name was Wa-Tho-Huk, which translates to "Bright Path." He was predestined for a bright path. In 1904, he started at the Carlisle Industrial Indian School and began his athletic career. At Carlisle, he played football for the legendary coach Glenn "Pop" Warner and also ran track. When he was 24, he went to Stockholm, Sweden for the 1912 Olympic Games. He set many records and won two gold medals in the Pentathlon and the Decathlon. He then went on to play professional baseball that consisted of the New York Giants, the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Braves. He also played professional football for the Canton Bulldogs, the Cleveland Indians, and other teams that later became the National Football League. He was married 3 times and had 8 children. He died on March 28, 1953 of a heart attack. His wife at the time of his death was Patsy Thorpe. He is currently buried in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.
Jim Thorpe's name has been appearing in many news article recently. His family wants to return the athlete's remains to the Oklahoma reservation where he grew up, but the town wants to keep him in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. At his funeral in 1953, his wife Patsy, barged in and seized her dead husbands body. She was accompanied by state troopers and a hearse. Patsy had received an offer she could not refuse. She had made a deal with two struggling towns in Pennsylvania. The towns had to merge and rename themselves "Jim Thorpe" and build a memorial to honor him. The towns complied with the regulations of the deal and have had possession of Thorpe's remains for 59 years. Just recently, Thorpe's sons and the Sauk and Fox nation prevailed in a federal lawsuit that demanded that the town return their fathers body.
Thorpe's sons are not only opposing the town in Pennsylvania, but also their nephews. The sons believe that his body should be returned because he had never even set foot in what is now Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, and the 1990 Native Americans Graves and Repatriation Act governs the return of human remains and other indian artifacts. The nephews are agreeing with the town. They believe that the town has honored their grandfather's legacy. "The town was built around my grandpa-- people revere him," John Thorpe said. John Thorpe and another grandson travel up to Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania every year to take part in their grandfather's celebrations. Another reason why the nephews are opposing their uncles argument is because Oklahoma could have kept Thorpe in 1953 but decided to let him go. The sons are also arguing that he was taken away from them and that they had no authority at that time.
Recently, in an NBC news article, Dan Hugos said, "Look, if it turns out that Jim Thorpe is going to be transported somewhere else, then let's accompany him and make it as graceful and honorable a transition as it could possibly be." Many inhabitants of the town are still appalled by the accusations that the family members of Thorpe have made on the town. The family still has an ongoing internal conflict and nobody knows when this controversy will come to a conclusion.
Works Cited
"Jim Thorpe." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., 17 Nov. 2008. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/593411/Jim-Thorpe>.
"Jim Thorpe Is Dead On West Coast at 64." New York Times. N.p., 29 Mar. 1953. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0528.html>.
"Jim Thorpe The World's Greatest Athlete." Jim Thorpe The World's Greatest Athlete. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. <http://www.cmgww.com/sports/thorpe/bio/bio.html>.
Schoor, Gene, and Henry Gilfond. The Jim Thorpe Story: America's Greatest Athlete. New York: Messner, 1951. Print.
United States. National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. National NAGPRA. National Park Service, 16 Nov. 1990. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nps.gov/nagpra/MANDATES/25USC3001etseq.htm>.
Zucchino, David. "Jim Thorpe, Pa., Fights to Keep Its Namesake." Los Angeles Times. N.p., 18 Oct. 2013. Web. 22 Oct. 2013. <http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-jim-thorpe-body-20131018-dto,0,7443553.htmlstory#axzz2iPajDWo5>.
I liked this article a lot because of the organization. I thought that it was a good idea to make the life of the person before the fame the pre-runner of the actual article. The overall neatness of the article helped to guide the reader through the stages of his life.
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that his wife "made a deal" with two towns in Penn. It makes me wonder why they would have wanted his body there in the first place, and also why she would be willing to "sell" it. What is so special about where he is now I guess would be my question. It is great that they do in fact celebrate his legacy, but it does call in to question many of the family's motives.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the above comment,
ReplyDeleteJim Thorpe spent most of his life in Pennsylvania. His school, The Carlisle Industrial Indian School, was in fact in Pennsylvania. At the time of Thorpe's death, his family had been living in Pennsylvania, but his family had arranged for him to be buried in Oklahoma. She happened to come across these two small coal-based towns and offered to give them his corpse for cash. They agreed to this because these towns were very desperate and looked at this as an opportunity to return the towns back to prosperity.