Oklahomans knew that Jim Thorpe was the rightful winner of the 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon. Now, the world knows it with the announcement last week he is reinstated as the sole gold medalist for those events.
It took a 110-year fight, but Thorpe finally received justice.
Thorpe, a member of the Sac and Fox Nation and born near Hominy, is considered one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century. He’s at the top of the list for any century for his excellence in at least a dozen sports.
He was among the first U.S. superstar athletes, getting a ticker-tape parade in New York City. The Swedish King Gustav V said to him at the Olympic medal ceremony, “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world.”
Though Thorpe set records at the Olympics, he was later stripped of the medals on allegations he violated amateurism rules by earning about $30 a month playing minor league baseball games in 1909-1910.
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Thorpe’s supporters have long argued the decision was steeped in racism, hypocrisy and sour grapes. He was the first Native American to win a gold medal for the U.S.
His critics stated that rules are rules, so Thorpe must face consequences. Though, the details indicate there’s truth to what his advocates say, including an unsettled definition of amateurism and an admission of guilt ghost-written by a former coach.
The attitude of what Thorpe faced is summed up in a letter from James E. Sullivan, chairman of the Amateur Athletic Union, to the Olympic Committee, referring to Thorpe as “an Indian of limited experience and education in the way of other than his own people.”
This racist notion led to extreme interpretations of amateurism until 1986 when professional athletes were given permission to participate.
In 1982, the International Olympic Committee announced Thorpe would be considered a co-winner of the events. That was never good enough and not accurate.
Thorpe’s story didn’t end at the Olympic Games. He helped form what is now the National Football League, serving as its first president, and appeared in films. He was known to be generous, particularly with youth organizations.
Another wrong remains. After his death, his third wife, Patsy Thorpe, made a deal with a Pennsylvania township to have him buried there. The town was renamed Jim Thorpe and holds no other connection to the man.
Thorpe’s body was removed during a tribal funeral service with the help of Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers. His sons have been fighting to return their father to Oklahoma burial grounds.
Oklahoma artist Charles Banks Wilson immortalized Thorpe in a portrait now back on display at the state Capitol. The painting is based on a photo of Thorpe from the 1912 Olympic Games.
Wilson could have chosen images from many other notable points in Thorpe’s life. But that image kept the Olympic injustice alive in a prominent place through history.
It’s a reminder that rules are sometimes unfair, but wrongs can be made right even more than a century later.
