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It was 1912, an Olympic year, and Coach Warner pointed his star pupil toward the international games. Although he rarely practiced, and accepted any coaching with something less than devotion, Thorpe's natural abilities could not be denied. He represented the United States in the decathlon and pentathlon. The latter was a five-event program that included the 200-meter dash, 1,500-meter run, broad jumps, discus, and javelin.

Thorpe won four of the five events in the pentathlon, finishing third in the javelin. Points were scored by order of finish, so he attained a low score of seven - four on four firsts, and three on his third. Absolute perfection would have been a score of five. His was the most fantastic record ever attained in Olympic competition. 

In the decathlon, which is composed of ten diverse track and field events, Thorpe easily defeated the world's top-rated athletes. He scored 8,412.96 points to lead the second-place finisher, Hugo Wieslander of Sweden, by almost 700 points. In the decathlon, points are scored by comparing the contestant's records with certain preset standards, and Thorpe's accomplishment was amazing. 

So remarkable was his performance, for example, that his time of 15.6 seconds in the high hurdles stood for 36 years until another American, Bob Mathias, beat it in 1948. The latter of course, was aided by better equipment and techniques than were known in Thorpe's time. In fact, the Indian star ran the race with a pair of ill-fitting, borrowed shoes he managed to acquire minutes before the start. Characteristic of his unconcerned view of the whole thing, he had mislaid his own. 

When Thorpe returned to Carlisle in the fall of 1912, he was the best-known sports performer in America. Another football season lay ahead, and every Carlisle opponent geared its defense to stop him. Despite being the target on every play, the brilliant brave enjoyed his greatest year. 

Typical of his performance were successive plays in the game against Army. He returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, but his team was offside and Army kicked off again. This time Thorpe took the ball on the five-yard line and repeated his feat, leaving a collection of astonished Cadets in his wake. 

December, 1969

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To the surprise of no one, Thorpe was again selected as halfback on Walter Camp's 1912 All American team. 

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[[caption]]Six years in the National League failed to bring out anything close to Thorpe's potential as a player. [[/caption]]

Thorpe had no opportunity to embellish his track records the following spring, for it was the that the insouciant Indian received the most crushing blow of his life. A newspaperman recognized him on a photograph of the 1910 Rocky Point baseball team, notified the A.A.U., and the entire sports world was stunned. The great Thorpe had been a professional, and all his amazing Olympic records were to be erased!

Thorpe readily admitted his play-for-play, but was bewildered over the stir it caused. Scores of other college athletes he knew had done the same thing. His real crime was in not concealing his identity. 

By today's standards the severe penalty inflicted on Thorpe appears rather ludicrous. Many nations now subsidize athletes on year-around training programs in the specialties, so the fact

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that Thorpe accepted money for playing a game in no way associated with the events in which he competed seems, by contrast, a very minor transgression.

How severely the penalty affected Thorpe no one knew. Phlegmatic and emotionless in appearance, the legendary Indian suffered in silence. He turned to other fields. 

He signed to play professional baseball with the New York Giants in 1913. From the outset the personalities of manager John McGraw and the lackadaisical Indian ran on a collision course. Despite, Thorpe's excellent showing in spring training, his nonchalant attitude infuriated the fiery manager, McGraw adamantly refused to use his high-priced rookie. (Thorpe had signed a three-year contract for $5,000 a season.)

Playing irregularly, Thorpe's batting eye suffered. He languished on the Giant bench for seven years, playing briefly on loan to other teams during that period. Traded to the Boston Braves in 1919, he performed in 60 games, and, a regular for the first time, hit .327.

Football was still the Indian's first love, however. In 1920 he was elected president of the American Professional Football Association, an 11-team league. But his inclinations were geared to playing, not administration. 

He returned to the playing field with the Rock Island Independents in 1922, 1923, and 1924. In 1925, at 37, he was with the New York Giants in the National Professional Football League. As late as 1929, Jim Thorpe, then 41, was still playing pro football with the Chicago Cardinals against the best in the game. 

Always quick with a buck, Thorpe faced bleak days after his fabulous body began to lose its strength and agility. Following a number of ill-starred ventures, at one time he was reduced to doing manual labor with a pick and shovel. But better days returned, and he was living comfortably at the time of his death in 1953. 

Thorpe recently was given another honor when Sports Illustrated magazine selected him as a member of the all-time team of players who competed during football's first 50 years. He has long been in the Eagle Hall of Fame.

Certainly, as King Gustav said, here was the world's most wonderful athlete.

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