Jim Thorpe is often mentioned as one of the greatest athletes of all time, and in the early 20th century, he was peerless. His accomplishments:
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Intercollegiate ballroom dancing champion (1912)
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Attending Carlisle Indian School, Thorpe played Harvard in 1911, pulling an 18-15 upset. Thorpe scored all of his team's points: four field goals and a touchdown.
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President Dwight D. Eisenhower once played against Thorpe in college, and recalled in a later speech: "Here and there, there are some people who are supremely endowed. My memory goes back to Jim Thorpe. He never practiced in his life, and he could do anything better than any other football player I ever saw."
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Thorpe entered the 1912 Summer Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, and competed in Pentathlon and Decathlon. He won a Gold Medal in both. King Gustav V awarded Thorpe his medals and said "You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world." Thorpe famously replied "Thanks, King."
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Thorpe's Gold Medals were stripped by Amateur Athletic Association (AAU), who ruled Thorpe was ineligible to compete due to accepting wages as a professional baseball player. In 1982, Thorpe's medals were posthumously given back to him.
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Thorpe played 52 games for six different NFL franchises before retiring at the age of 41.
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As a coach, Thorpe had a 14-25-2 record overseeing various teams, including the now defunct Canton Bulldogs.
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Thorpe played 289 professional baseball games. He batted a .252 average in his career with 91 runs scored and 82 RBI.
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Thorpe had a brief and undocumented pro Basketball career, playing for a traveling team called "The World Famous Indians."
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Thorpe was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963, and has a full size statue in Canton, not just a bust.
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