Early Life

Jim Thorpe was an amazing athlete who excelled at many sports. Thorpe was born in May 1887 in Oklahoma, but his birth date isn’t certain. This is because his birth certificate was not found.

He was the son of Hiram Thorpe and Charlotte Vieux. Thorpe belongs to the Sac and Fox Nation, a Native American tribe.
Thorpe also grew up in a Roman Catholic home. He had a twin brother named Charlie, who died when he was nine.

Thorpe attended the Sac and Fox Indian Agency school in Stroud, with his twin brother, Charlie. Charlie helped him through school until he died of pneumonia when they were nine years old.

During his time at the Sac and Fox Indian Agency School, Thorpe kept on running away from school until his father changed the school. Thorpe’s father sent him to a boarding school at Lawrence, Kansas to prevent him from running away.

Family Tragedy

Not quite long after this, Thorpe’s mother died of childbirth complications, leaving him depressed. As a result, he dropped out of school and left his home to work on a horse ranch.

But Thorpe later reconsidered his decisions, returned home, and decided to attend Carlisle Indian Industrial School where he played football.

Thorpe started his athletic career at Carlisle in 1907. He participated in the 1912 Olympics in Sweden. He competed in the pentathlon and decathlon events and won gold in both of them.

However, his Olympic triumph was short-lived as he was stripped of his Gold medals when it was discovered that he played semi-professional baseball, which violated the rules of amateurism at that time.

Following the Olympics, Thorpe played professional baseball for many teams, including the New York Giants. He also played professional football in the NFL.

Personal Life

Thorpe was married three times and has eight children in total. He married his first wife, Iva Miller, in 1913. They had four children together before divorcing in 1925.

In 1926, Thorpe married his second wife, Freeda Verona Kirkpatrick. They had four children together and divorced in 1941. Lastly, Thorpe married his last wife, Patricia Gladys Askew in 1945. She remained his wife until he died.

Death

Thorpe passed away in 1953 at the age of 65..