The Native Olympian Who Won Gold for the USA While Being Denied Citizenship

Jim Thorpe’s Stockholm Victory with Mismatched Garbage Shoes

Jim Thorpe won Olympic gold in 1912 with garbage shoes.

The Sac and Fox athlete, whose name meant “Bright Path,” came from Carlisle School where they tried to “kill the Indian” in him. In Stockholm, he crushed the pentathlon and then faced a crisis – someone stole his shoes.

Thorpe dug through trash, found mismatched shoes, and still won the decathlon by a huge margin. Even Sweden’s king called him “the greatest athlete in the world.”

Yet six months later, officials stripped his medals for once playing minor league baseball. It took 110 years before he was finally named sole champion again.

The town of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania now honors his legacy with a striking memorial you won’t soon forget.

They Tried to “Kill the Indian” at Carlisle School

Jim Thorpe walked into Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1904, entering a place meant to wipe out his Native identity.

The Pennsylvania boarding school ran with the cruel motto “Kill the Indian, save the man,” forcing Native kids to drop their languages, religions, and cultural practices.

Staff cut students’ hair and punished them for speaking their native languages. In this harsh place, Thorpe found freedom in sports.

Under coach Pop Warner, he became a top football player and track star.

In 1911, Thorpe led Carlisle to an 11-1 football record and scored all 18 points in their upset win over Harvard.

America Sent Him to Stockholm Without Citizenship

The ship Finland carried Thorpe and the U.S. Olympic team across the Atlantic to Stockholm in 1912.

Thorpe played for a country that didn’t see him as a citizen, as Native Americans wouldn’t get U.S. citizenship until 1924.

During the trip, Thorpe trained hard on the ship’s deck, unlike stories claiming he didn’t prepare. His fellow travelers included future World War II General George Patton and Hawaiian swimming star Duke Kahanamoku.

The journey started what would become one of the most amazing Olympic showings ever.

Four First-Place Finishes Secured His First Gold

On July 7, 1912, Thorpe ruled the pentathlon contest, winning four of the five events. He came first in long jump, 200-meter dash, discus throw, and 1500-meter run.

His only third-place finish came in javelin, a sport he had never tried before that year. Thorpe scored three times more than his closest rival, easily winning his first gold medal.

His day didn’t end after this win. That same night, he made it to the high jump final where he tied for fourth place.

Someone Stole His Shoes Before the Big Day

Thorpe opened his bag before the second day of decathlon on July 12 or 13 and found his track shoes missing. With just minutes before the events started, he rushed to find replacements.

Thorpe found two odd shoes, one from a teammate and another in a trash can. One shoe was too big, so he wore extra socks on that foot to make it fit right.

This last-minute problem would shake most athletes, but Thorpe calmly got ready to compete with whatever gear he could put together.

Mismatched Garbage Shoes Couldn’t Stop His Victory

Wearing his makeshift footwear, Thorpe joined all ten decathlon events over the three-day contest.

He won the high jump outright and ran the 110-meter hurdles in 15.6 seconds, a time not matched at the Olympics until 1948. Thorpe placed in the top four in all ten events despite his poor-fitting shoes.

The decathlon tested his all-around sports skills with events like 100m dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400m, discus, 110m hurdles, pole vault, javelin, and 1500m.

His World Record Stood for 15 Years

Thorpe finished the decathlon on July 15, 1912, with a world record score of 8,413 points. He beat Sweden’s Hugo Wieslander by a huge 688 points, creating a massive gap between first and second place.

His record stayed unbroken until 1927, lasting nearly 15 years.

Thorpe ended his showing by finishing the final event, the tough 1500-meter run, in 4 minutes and 40.1 seconds.

His combined wins in the pentathlon and decathlon proved him as the world’s most complete athlete.

Sweden’s King Called Him the Greatest Athlete Alive

King Gustav V of Sweden personally gave Thorpe his two gold medals during the closing events.

The king also handed him special prizes, one from himself for the decathlon and another from Czar Nicholas II of Russia for the pentathlon.

When King Gustav gave over the awards, he told Thorpe, “You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world. ” Thorpe simply answered, “Thanks, King.”

This talk between a king and a Native American athlete from a boarding school became famous in Olympic stories.

Future President Eisenhower Couldn’t Stop Him

New York City welcomed Thorpe and his Olympic teammates with a parade down Broadway when they came back from Stockholm.

Thorpe then headed back to Carlisle for the 1912 football season, where his Olympic fame made him an even bigger star. On November 9, 1912, Carlisle beat Army 27-6 in a game linking two American icons.

Future President Dwight Eisenhower played for Army and hurt his knee trying to tackle Thorpe. The Native American star scored 22 points in the win.

Officials Took His Medals for Playing $2 Baseball Games

A Massachusetts newspaper broke the story in January 1913 that Thorpe had played minor league baseball in North Carolina during 1909-1910.

He earned between $2 per game and $35 per week, small amounts that broke the strict amateur rules of that time. The Amateur Athletic Union quickly stripped Thorpe’s amateur status.

The International Olympic Committee then took away his medals six months after the Olympics, past their own 30-day protest deadline.

Swedish runner-up Hugo Wieslander and Norwegian Ferdinand Bie got gold, though both men refused to take the medals.

He Died Without Seeing His Medals Restored

Heart failure took Thorpe’s life on March 28, 1953, at age 64. He never lived to see his Olympic achievements properly recognized.

In 1982, twenty-nine years after his death, the IOC partially restored justice by returning replica medals to Thorpe’s children.

However, they listed him only as co-champion alongside Wieslander and Bie in the official records. This compromise came after advocates proved the 1913 disqualification violated the IOC’s own 30-day protest rule.

The partial restoration left many feeling that full justice remained unserved for decades.

Full Justice Came Exactly 110 Years Later

On July 15, 2022—precisely 110 years after his decathlon triumph—the IOC finally declared Thorpe the sole champion of both the pentathlon and decathlon.

This full restoration came after the Swedish and Norwegian Olympic committees confirmed that neither Wieslander nor Bie had ever accepted their upgraded medals.

Both athletes had always considered Thorpe the only legitimate gold medalist.

Wieslander’s family joined the Olympic committees in requesting that Thorpe be recognized as the sole winner, finally correcting a century-old injustice against one of history’s greatest athletes.

Visiting Jim Thorpe Victorian District, Pennsylvania

You can visit Jim Thorpe’s memorial at 1 Joe Boyle Circle on Route 903, which is free and open all day. The displays tell about his 1912 Olympic wins in pentathlon and decathlon, plus his pro sports career.

King Gustav V’s famous quote calling him “the greatest athlete in the world” is carved on his tomb.

Drive 1.5 miles south to town for the Mauch Chunk Museum’s Jim Thorpe exhibits, open 11am-5pm with $12 guided tours.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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