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Jim Thorpe biography

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  • PLACE OF DEATH: Lomita, California
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Jim Thorpe was one of the most versatile American athletes of all time. He was predominantly American Indian in heritage, which played into his renowned.

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Born in 1888 and of American India heritage, Jim Thorpe was one of the most versatile American athletes of all time. He excelled in baseball, basketball, boxing, lacrosse, swimming, and hockey. He won Olympic medals in 1912, but they were taken back in 1913 due to technicalities. He served as the first president of was would become the National Football League. His medals were restored in 1983.

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(born May 28, 1888, near Prague, Indian Territory—died March 28, 1953, Lomita, Calif., U.S.) U.S. athlete. Of predominantly American Indian (Sauk and Fox) descent, he trained as a football halfback under Pop Warner while attending the Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pa. (1908–12), where he also excelled at baseball, basketball, boxing, lacrosse, swimming, and hockey. In 1912 he won the Olympic decathlon and pentathlon by wide margins, but he was deprived of his medals in 1913 after it was discovered he had played semiprofessional baseball. He later played professional baseball and football, and in 1920–21 he served as first president of what would become the National Football League. His Olympic medals were restored posthumously in 1983.

Copyright © 1994-2011 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. For more information visit Britannica.com

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