Jim Thorpe: The Legend Remembered

ISBN-13: 9781565545397 / Angielski / Miękka / 1999 / 112 str.

Rosemary Kissinger Updyke

Opis

The son of a Sac and Fox Indian father and a
Potawatami Indian mother, Jim Wa-Tho-Huk Thorpe was born in
Oklahoma in 1888. A natural athlete, he overcame family tragedies and personal
hardships to become a star in not one, but three sports, and to win two Olympic
gold medals.
He first gained recognition at the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania,
where he gave outstanding performances on the track and field and football
teams. His coach there, Pop Warner, was instrumental in getting Jim to the 1912
Olympics in Sweden, where he stunned the crowd and his competitors by winning
gold medals in both the decathlon and the pentathlon. Upon presenting Jim with
his medals and trophies, King Gustav of Sweden proclaimed him "the
greatest athlete in the world "
Despite losing his Olympic medals and status due to an innocent mistake, Jim
continued to excel athletically, playing professionally in both baseball and
football. He was named to the National Indian Football Hall of Fame, the
Pennsylvania Hall of Fame, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Today, the NFL's
Most Valuable Player award is called the Jim Thorpe Trophy. In 1984, the U.S.
Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in his honor. Jim Thorpe, the
Legend Remembered tells the young reader all about Thorpe's remarkable
life; although he died in 1953, his accomplishments still teach the valuable
lesson of perseverance.