Jim Thorpe - by Robert W Wheeler (Paperback)

About the Book

A biography of early twentieth-century Native American athlete Jim Thorpe, discussing his school years, his participation in amateur sports, his Olympic wins in 1912, and his professional baseball and football careers.

Book Synopsis

Born in 1888 in what would soon be Oklahoma Territory, Jim Thorpe was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation. After attending the Sac and Fox agency school and Haskell Indian Junior College in Lawrence, Kansas, he transferred to Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. At Carlisle he led the football team to victories over some of the nation's best college teams-Army, Navy, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Pennsylvania, and Nebraska. In 1912 he participated in the Olympic Games in Stockholm, winning both the decathlon and pentathlon. It was then that King Gustav V of Sweden dubbed him "the world's greatest athlete."

Between 1913 and 1919, Thorpe played professional baseball for the New York Giants, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Boston Braves. In 1915 he began playing professional football with the Canton (Ohio) Bulldogs. When the top teams were organized into the American Professional Football Association in 1920, Thorpe was named the first president of the organization, renamed the National Football League in 1922. Throughout his career he excelled in every sport he played, earning King Gustav's accolade many times over.

In a new preface, Wheeler and Florence Ridlon update Thorpe's story, drawing on research they have conducted in spearheading the effort to restore the athlete's Olympic medals and his first-place wins in the pentathlon and decathlon, taken from him when it was discovered he had played professional baseball during the summer before the games in Stockholm. The explanation for Thorpe's imprudence, as Wheeler and Ridlon show, has everything to do with poor advice from the coach he trusted, Glenn "Pop" Warner, and a corrupt Indian boarding school system. The preface also discusses Thorpe's work on the lecture circuit and in the motion picture business, as an actor and recruiter of other Native actors.

Review Quotes

"Jim Thorpe: World's Greatest Athlete is the finest biography I have ever read on any athlete. No other work I have seen is in the same class. It is obvious to me that Wheeler has studied his subject in great depth and has worked diligently in the preparation of the book. I applaud his writing and both his and Flo Ridlon's efforts with the Jim Thorpe Foundation."--Bill Mallon, Co-founder and past President of the International Society of Olympic Historians and co-author of The 1912 Olympic Games

"Bob Wheeler has become my Thorpeologist and his biography of JimThorpe has become my go-to book for understanding what inspired the world's preeminent athlete to greatness. Bob's meticulous research, his interviews with Jim Thorpe's contemporaries, and his compelling narrative make this book a must read. Thank you, Bob, for sharing the true story of Jim Thorpe!"--Nedra Darling (Prairie Band Potawatomi), Producer and Co-founder of Bright Path Strong

"Jim Thorpe: World's Greatest Athlete is undoubtedly the best documented account of Thorpe's life. In a quest that encompassed a half-century, Bob Wheeler, with significant assistance from Florence Ridlon, succeeded in restoring Jim Thorpe's medals and official recognition as the true gold medal winner of the decathlon and pentathlon for the 1912 Olympics--correcting a long-standing and unjust wrong. Like Jim Thorpe, Wheeler cleared the multiple hurdles thrown in his path over the years."--Jim Campbell, Pro Football Hall of Fame researcher and historian and co-author of Hell with the Lid Off: Inside the Fierce Rivalry between the 1970s Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers

"Jim Thorpe: World's Greatest Athlete deserves the accolade as Thorpe's best biography. In my estimation, it should be required reading for every American student. It is a lesson for our times."--Lavonna Ann Weller, Education Specialist, Bureau of Indian Affairs

"Bob Wheeler hitch-hiked, lugging his bulky reel-to-reel tape recorder, across America in search of the true Jim Thorpe story, interviewing nearly 200 people, including President Dwight Eisenhower, actor Burt Lancaster, and a teacher from the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Wheeler used this treasure trove of material to write this marvelous, compelling, definitive biography. And, with a huge assist from his wife, Flo Ridlon, he wound up righting historical wrongs and helped get Thorpe's Olympic medals, records, and legacy restored."--Scott Pitoniak, Rochester Business Journal columnist and author of Syracuse University Football

"Bob Wheeler worked very hard and learned firsthand the difference between corruption and integrity and chose the latter at personal expense."--Howard Cosell, Sports journalist and broadcaster, ABC-TV

"Not only did Wheeler exhaustively research Thorpe's life, but he and Dr. Florence Ridlon got his Olympic medals restored. This is the gold standard!"--Tom Benjey, author of Gridiron Gypsies: The Complete History of the Carlisle Indian School Football Team

"The definitive volume on Thorpe."--Pro (official magazine of the NFL)


"The standard by which to build upon Thorpe has been set. Robert Wheeler's book is still the bedrock-solid pinnacle book on the great athlete's life which must be adhered to if that future author has any hope of success."--Jeff Benjamin, Senior Writer for American Track and Field and RunBlogRun

"Wheeler was able to talk to people who had known Thorpe from childhood to the end of his life. Biographies of this depth are practically non-existent. Wheeler records Thorpe's life with sympathy, understanding, and adherence to fact."--Rose Robinson, Founder, American Indian Press Association, and Indian Media Woman of the Year