Jim Thorpe was a three-sport athlete who played football, baseball, and track. He dominated the 1912 Olympics and didn’t stop there, playing in the World Series and the NFL.
All the while, Jim Thorpe faced overbearing racism, discrimination, and exploitation. He persevered and pushed through boundaries erected to manage his ascent with the same speed, power, and understanding he displayed on fields of play.
A great example is when, in 1920, the charter board of a new football league named Thorpe as president of the National Football League.
Born in a one-room cabin in Oklahoma with the Native American name Wa-Th-Huk (“Bright Path”), Thorpe’s father sent him to the Carlisle Institute in Pennsylvania. There, he made national headlines for his superior football abilities.
While there are other contenders for the athlete who carries the title of Greatest of all Time, my pick is Jim Thorpe.
