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Daughters Still Want Medals
Jim Thorpe Legend Live

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GRACE AND GALE THORPE
Famous names, endless project

THE LEGEND of Jim Thorpe, better than some fairy tales, is alive and well in downtown Knoxville. 

The tiny flame that is the memory of this great Indian athlete is fed and fanned almost daily by two students at the University of Tennesse.

Believe it or not, Gale and Grace Thorpe, daughters of Big Jim are busy with studies in arts and crafts. But, the Jim Thorpe story is never long out of their minds. They are convinced they can't win back their dad's Olympic honors by themselves but they refuse to give up the fight.

"Oh yes, we remain very interested," said Grace. "Seldom does a day go by that we don't get a letter or call about Dad. I was talking with our sister Charlotte Sunday. She's in touch with Mayor Bradley in Los Angeles, to see if he'd be willing to help. We thought we might get the medals home for the 1984 Olympics.

"We have a friend working on a script for a TV movie. I'm planning a book"

SUPPOSEDLY still crated as returned so many years ago is a jewel-studded replica of a Viking ship, handed Thorpe by the czar of Russia in honors of the pentathlon victory in the 1912 Olympics. A bronze bust of the king of Sweden was Thorpe's prize for first in the decathlon.

Many times Grace and Gale have reread the presentation address of Gustav V: "Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world."

And how they have thrilled to Jim Thorpe's reply: "Thanks, King."

Thorpe lost his gold medals and trophies because he was judged a baseball professional and thus, an illegal entry in the Olympic Games. He confessed to receiving $60 a month for playing in Rocky Mount and Fayetteville in the

the early '50s. He didn't like to talk about himself but I remember the story about how it was his job as a boy to catch the horses on the range. He'd laugh and say that's why he could run fast . . . he had to hurry."

When Grace had a job in Washington with a Senate subcommittee on Indian affairs, she'd use the phone after work hours to promote the restoration of Thorpe's sports image. She had 30 Senators backing a resolution. She had Grace Kelley's brother, John, speaking for the Thorpe family. She won more recent support from Gerald Ford, then president.

"We thought it might finally happen when the International Olympic Committee met in Montreal (1976). The issue was on the agenda. They didn't even discuss it. It was tabled," says Grace.

THE THORPE sisters picked Tennessee to continue their education because the school was recommended by a friend and because it is strong in arts and crafts, a mutual interest.

"Gale is more into design. I'm interested in writing," said Grace. "I think I've found a way to help keep the Jim Thorpe story alive while I'm at UT.

"Starting in September, I plan to write a book aimed at third-grade boys. It'll be the story of the little Indian boy who grew up to run in the Olympics, how he won and then lost. I hope to do my own illustrations.

"To tell you the truth the issue over his medals and trophies is the reason he is so widely remembered. If there hadn't been a question over his professionalism, if the world hadn't felt the decision was wrong, he'd just be a line in the record book."

MARVIN WEST
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News-Sentinel Sports Writer

very old Carolnia League, said he did under his own name what so many others did without identification.

The fact that he was a most unworldly Indian boy who had struggled to exist meant nothing to the pure amateurs of the Olympic movement. He had violated by-law B-1, rule 26 . . . "A competitor must not be, or have been, a professional in any sport, or contracted to be one before the official closing of the Games."

THORPE, as Grace and Gale recall, was a football All-American at Carlisle Indian School (under Pop Warner) before he went to Stockholm for the Olympics. He played major league baseball six seasons (New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Braves).

Before there was a National Football League, he brought the spotlight to professional football by signing with the Canton Bulldogs. He got $250 a game when most were playing for quarters.

So multi-talented and imposing was this Sac and Fox Indian that he was voted, in a 1950 Associated Press poll of America's sportswriters and broadcasters, the country's greatest athlete of that half-century.

Babe Ruth was a distant second in the poll. Jack Dempsey was third. Ty Cobb was fourth.

"DAD'S LIFE was sad," says Grace. "I am convinced he was a fantastic athlete but maybe God didn't give him everything. He had many disappointments, many heartbreaks. His twin brother died at age eight. His first son died in his arms. My mother grew impatient with his lifestyle and left him."

Grace remembers her father as gentle, soft-spoken, almost shy. He was pleasant even gracious.

"He liked to tease. I remember when I was in Indian school, Dad visited and everybody made a fuss over him. He was the big sports hero of his time but to me, he was just Daddy and he'd promised to get me an ice cream cone. I kept tugging at him to go and he finally picked me up and put me on his shoulders. I thought we were on our way but he kept talking. There wasn't much I could do way up in the air.

"I lived with my father three or four years as a teenager in California. He visited us in New York in his late years, 

Noble, Harper Lead 92-48 Win
UT Women Get Even

By TED RIGGS
News-Sentinel Sports Writer

Talk about getting even!

Tennessee's women who lost a controversial overtime decision to Louisiana State last week at Baton Rouge, demolished the Ben-Gals, 92-48, Monday night at Stokely Center.

"We were emotionally ready, beamed Holly Warlick, Lady Vol point guard. "The defeat at LSU shook us up. We hadn't forgotten it."

Jerilynn Harper, freshman reserve who scored 20 without missing a shot, declared: "We were up as much for this game as any I can remember."

Harper was nine-of-nine from the floor, two-of-two from the foul line. Cindy Noble also netted 20, Debbie Groover 14 and Cindy Brogdon 12.

Best for the losers were Julie Gross (11) and Priscilla Teal (10).

"I didn't have to give them any pep talks," said UT Coach Pat Head. "The girls got themselves ready to play.\

"I was particularly pleased with the defense. We're basically a man-to-man team, but we experimented with the zone and got some things done with it, too. Defense definitely was the key."

LSU's Jinx Coleman thought there was another significant factor. "A lot of calls, especially in the first half didn't go our way. If they had, it might have been a little different.

"At home you're in a better position to get back up after falling far behind. There's nothing like playing at LSU." 

Tennesse, which pushed its record to 17-5, goes against North Carolina Saturday, 8 p.m., at Stokely. Louisiana State dropped to 7-6.

"It really feels good to win back-to-back games again," Head added. "We were very inconsistent for a while, but the win over Valdosta State Saturday (93-73) and this one lead me to believe the team has reversed that trend.

"In the losses at Kentucky and LSU, we got ahead and let up. That really worried me."

There was no such problems Monday

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UP, UP, UP — Cindy Noble of Tennesse goes high
pressure by LSU's Joanette Boutte in Monday's Lady

night. The Ben-Gals gained a 4-0 lead in the first minute, but Tennesse struck back swiftly. UT held a 15-7 margin after 6:14, then made it 23-12 with Noble scoring eight consecutive points.

The Lady Vols counted three straight times off the fast break,

Former Ole Miss Coach

Transcription Notes:
Wasn't sure whether or not to transcribe far right column that got cut off or the table at the top.