2018 – Athletics,

Jim Thorpe was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac & Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States in the Olympics. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won two Olympic gold medals in the 1912 Summer Olympics (one in classic pentathlon – 5 events and the other in decathlon – 10 events). He also played American football (collegiate and professional), professional baseball, and basketball. 

Thorpe grew up in the Sac and Fox Nation in Indian Territory (what is now the state of Oklahoma). As a youth, he attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he was a two-time All-American for the school’s football team. 

Thorpe first gained nationwide notice in 1911 for his athletic ability. As a running back, defensive back, placekicker and punter, Thorpe scored all of his team’s four field goals in an 18–15 upset of Harvard, a top-ranked team in the early days of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). His team finished the season 11–1. In 1912 Carlisle won the national collegiate championship largely as a result of Thorpe’s efforts. Carlisle’s 1912 record included a 27–6 victory over the Army team (keep in mind that Carlisle, which was essentially a vo-tech school, was competing against, and beating some of the top-ranked college football “Power-houses” of that time).  From 1920 to 1921, Thorpe served as the first president of the American Professional Football Association, which became the NFL in 1922.