Life did not set him up for success. He didn’t have a wealthy upbringing, he suffered great loss many times over, he didn’t come from a long line of famous athletes. In fact, he was an American Indian - the most despised and discarded race in America.
What turned this despised Indian into a super star athlete (or who I consider to be a Native “superhero”)? How did he go from discarded, to receiving gifts from the Czar of Russia and the King of Sweden and even his body being fought over after his death?
His name is Jim Thorpe. And in 1912, this Native American sports super hero triumphantly bolted into his sports career by winning the Decathlon AND the Pentathlon at the Stockholm Olympics with 8,146 points (today’s current highest score is 9,126). One of his teammates once described him as “an oak tree doing a hundred yards in 10 seconds”. But he didn’t stop there. This track star also found success in football and baseball too!
But the journey was not easy. I sat down with Ashley Scott, Curator at the Jim Thorpe Home in Yale, Oklahoma to hear more about this Native American super hero - his success, the obstacles he overcame and the inspiration he brings to all people of all races from all backgrounds!
Season 1, Episode 16: “Jim Thorpe – Great American Athlete (and Native Superhero)”
Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcast
Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/
S6, E9, Part 2, The Preservation of 100 Stories: Native ChocTalk’s 100th Episode!
S6, E9, Pt1, The Preservation of 100 Stories: Native ChocTalk’s 100th Episode!
Season 6, Episode 8: God in the Song of the Whippoorwills: Blas Preciado, Kiowa
S6, E7, Pt2 Barry Friedman on The Pendleton Blanket and the Stories and History Woven Within, Part 2
S6, E7, Pt1 Barry Friedman on The Pendleton Blanket and the Stories and History Woven Within, Part 1
S6, E6, Pt2: Stanford Lake & Ancestral Stories of the Navajo, Part 2
S6, E6, Pt1: Stanford Lake & Ancestral Stories of the Navajo, Part 1
Season 6, Episode 5: Cattle Drives, Lighthorsemen, and Legends of the Turnbulls with Bobby Bulls (Choctaw)
Season 6, Episode 4: “Blood on the Crossties: The Florida Chautauqua Murders (A Choctaw Parker Mystery/Adventure)” with Author James D. Brewer
S6, E3, Pt2 Solomon Little Owl (Crow) on The College Mascot Story, Buffalo Hunts & The Crow People, Part 2
S6, E3, Pt1 Solomon Little Owl (Crow) on The College Mascot Story, Buffalo Hunts & The Crow People, Part 1
S6, E2: Erin Pendleton (Choctaw) & Inspiration for Women’s History Month
S6E1Pt5: Dr. William Meadows on “The First Code Talkers, Native American Communicators of WWI”, Pt5
S6, E1, Pt4: Dr. William Meadows on “The First Code Talkers, Native American Communicators of World War I”, Part 4
S6, E1, Pt3: Dr. William Meadows on “The First Code Talkers, Native American Communicators of World War I”, Part 3
S6, E1, Pt2: Dr. William Meadows on “The First Code Talkers, Native American Communicators of World War I”, Part 2
S6, E1, Pt1: Dr. William Meadows on “The First Code Talkers, Native American Communicators of World War I”, Part 1
S5 E4 Pt 2 Sam Guerrero Stitt (Choctaw) on The Spirit of Giving & Native Genealogy & History
S5, E4, Pt 1 Sam Guerrero Stitt (Choctaw) on The Spirit of Giving & Native Genealogy & History
S5, E3: Chickasaw Composer, Brandi Berry Benson and the Pa I Sha Story Put to Music
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