My name is James Francis Thorpe. I also had an original Native American.
This name that the natives gave me was Wa-tho-huck. Wa- tho-huck
means "Bright Path" . My parents were part of the Sac and Fox, and had
man ancestors from there. I was born and raised near Prague, Indian
Territory. This Indian Territory is now the state of Oklahoma. I went to
school at Haskell Institute, in Lawrence, Kansas, and at Carlisle Indian
My first year at Carlisle Indian school was in 1907. While attending
the school I displayed outstanding ability in football and track. While I was
playing these sports I won the attention of Pop Warner. At this time he was
Carlisle's coach of these sports. I was the start on the varsity football team .
But in 1909 I had to withdraw from the school and move on to North
Carolina. While in North Carolina I worked as a farmhand and played
semiprofessional baseball. After about 2 years I returned to Carlisle in 1911.
Again I played halfback on the football team. While playing halfback I
helped our team beat some of the most powerful teams in the country. In
1911 and 1912 I made the All-American team. Although I was highly
recognized for my football skills I also shined in many other sports at
Carlisle such as: track and field, baseball, lacrosse, basketball, ice hockey,
swimming, boxing, tennis, and archery. I guess you could say I was an all
After Carlisle I moved onto some bigger and better things. I became
a member of the United States track and field team at the Olympic Games
of 1912. There I was widely recognized as the world's greatest all-around
athlete. People came up with this conclusion after I won both the
pentathlon and the decathlon. However my sports career came to a big
speed bump early in 1913. The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), having
learned that I had played semiprofessional baseball, canceled my amateur
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