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Jim Thorpe / James Francis Thorpe



(Courtesy of Les Adams)

Above are Jim Thorpe and Tom Tyler in the chapterplay BATTLING WITH BUFFALO BILL (Universal, 1931).


James Francis 'Jim' Thorpe (1887 - 1953) attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School (Carlisle, Pennsylvania), and in the 1912 Stockholm Olympic games, won the decathlon and pentathlon.  However, he was stripped of his medals when it was disclosed that he had played professional sports. 

From the official Jim Thorpe website (link below):

"James Francis Thorpe was born on May 28, 1887 in a one-room cabin near Prague, Oklahoma. Although there is much confusion on Thorpe's date of birth, this is the date according to his estate. He was born to Hiram Thorpe, a farmer, and Charlotte Vieux, a Pottawatomie Indian and descendant of the last great Sauk and Fox chief Black Hawk, a noted warrior and athlete. Jim was actually born a twin, but his brother Charlie died at the age of nine. His Indian name, Wa-Tho-Huk, translated to 'Bright Path,' something that Thorpe definitely had ahead of him."

Thorpe's professional football career began around 1915 with the pre-NFL Canton Bulldogs and ended in the mid 1920s with the New York Giants and Chicago Cardinals.

Burt Lancaster starred as Thorpe in the bio-film, JIM THORPE - ALL AMERICAN (Warner Bros., 1951).


  Although some of the data is incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Jim Thorpe: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0861680/.

The Official Jim Thorpe website is at: http://www.cmgww.com/sports/thorpe/index.php

Thorpe is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame: https://www.profootballhof.com/players/jim-thorpe/

Carlisle Indian Industrial School (Carlisle, Pennsylvania) existed from 1879 - 1918. Thorpe student records and other info can be found at: https://carlisleindian.dickinson.edu/student_files/james-thorpe-student-file

Barbara Landis has a website on the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and her webpage on Jim Thorpe is at: http://home.epix.net/%7Elandis/thorpe.html

Find A Grave website has photos of the marker/memorial for Thorpe in Carbon County, Pennsylvania: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1031/jim-thorpe



(From Old Corral collection)

Above are mountie Kermit Maynard and his trusty horse 'Rocky' in a lobby card from WILDCAT TROOPER (Ambassador-Conn, 1936). Kerm's helper on the far right is comedian Fuzzy Knight, and Kerm is giving aid to Jim Thorpe.



Crop/blowup of Jim Thorpe from the WILDCAT TROOPER lobby card.



(Courtesy of Ed Tabor)

Above from L-to-R are Wheeler Oakman, Kermit Maynard and Jim Thorpe in a lobby card from CODE OF THE MOUNTED (Ambassador-Conn, 1935). However, the scene depicted in the lobby card does not occur in the movie. Jim Thorpe tries to knife Wheeler Oakman but winds up being shot by Dick Curtis. When Thorpe attacks Oakman, Kermit Maynard has not yet entered the scene. Maynard enters after Thorpe is killed.

CODE OF THE MOUNTED (Ambassador-Conn, 1935) and WILDCAT TROOPER (Ambassador-Conn, 1936), are among the series of mountie films starring Kermit Maynard, the younger brother of Ken Maynard.



(Courtesy of Ken Jones)

Hoot Gibson on the left and Chief Thunder Cloud on the right, have apprehended a trio of henchies in OUTLAW TRAIL (Monogram, 1944), an entry in the Trail Blazers series.  In the center from L-to-R are Jim Thorpe, Al Ferguson and Frank Ellis.



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