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I, GRACE THORPE, AM THE DAUGHTER OF JIM THORPE. IN 1950 MY FATHER, AN AMERICAN INDIAN, WAS NAMED THE OUTSTANDING ATHLETE AND GREATEST FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE HALF CENTURY! (HIT PIC). HE HAD BEEN THE HERO OF THE 1912 OLYMPIC GAMES. HERE YOU SEE HIM IN HIS USA TRACK UNIFORM, SHOT PUT IN HAND. NEXT, (HIT PIC), IS A PHOTOGRAPH OF KING GUSTOV OF SWEDEN PRESENTING HIM WITH HIS OLYMPIC AWARDS. TWO YEARS LATER, HOWEVER, THE OLYMPIC STORY TOOK A SAD TURN. IT WAS REVEALED THAT, PRIOR TO THE GAMES, JIM THORPE HAD PLAYED A LITTLE Semi-Pro BASEBALL, EARNING A WHOPPING $60 A MONTH! THUS, IN THE EYES OF THE AMATEUR ATHLETIC UNION AND THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE, HE WAS A [[underlined]] PROFESSIONAL [[/underlined]]. CONSEQUENTLY, HIS MEDALS WERE TAKEN AWAY AND HIS NAME ERASED FROM THE OLYMPIC RECORDS. MY FATHER, (HIT PIC), PICTURED HERE YEARS LATER, NEVER COMPLAINED. HE WAS VERY PHILOSOPHICAL. But I'm Mad. CURRENTLY, I'M ENGAGED IN A CAMPAIGN TO HAVE HIS PRE-OLYMPIC AMATEUR STATES RESTORED AND HIS NAME INCLUDED AMONG THE OLYMPIC WINNERS. I FEEL THAT IT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT FOR AMERICAN INDIANS TO KNOW THAT SUCK A GREAT ATHLETE WAS ONE OF THEIR OWN.

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SIGNED: GRACE THORPE
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