Jim Thorpe Memorabilia Archive Including 1912 Carlisle Indian School Game Worn Helmet & Cleats.. Born on May 28, 1887... (Total: 30 Item)

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Jim Thorpe Memorabilia Archive Including 1912 Carlisle Indian School Game Worn Helmet & Cleats.

Born on May 28, 1887 to the daughter of the last great Sauk and Fox chief Black Hawk, a revered warrior and athlete, James Francis Thorpe was given the Indian name Wa-Tho-Huk, which translates to "Bright Path." It was a name that few would ever hear, but one that would prove to be perfectly fitting. The American political philosophy of Manifest Destiny had already decimated the population of Native Americans in our ever-expanding nation, and marginalized those who survived its brutality. Through this enforced segregation, Thorpe found his way to the Carlisle Industrial Indian School in rural Pennsylvania in 1904 at age sixteen. It was there that his phenomenal athletic career began, as a member of the school's track and football teams, and that he fell under the tutelage of gridiron legend Glenn "Pop" Warner during eight years on campus. The pieces that would construct Thorpe's immortality started to fall into place.

While the legend of Jim Thorpe began to grow within the collegiate football ranks during the later years of the twentieth century's first decade, it was 1912 that saw his conversion to international superstar. At the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games, a twenty-four year old Thorpe dominated the pentathlon and decathlon, earning Gold in each and his proudest compliment from King Gustav of Sweden, who said to him, "Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world. I would consider it an honor to shake your hand." Thorpe's reply: "Thanks, King."

The year 1912 also brings us to the premiere pieces that Heritage Auction Galleries is pleased and privileged to present to the collecting community. The incredible leather helmet and cleats stand as the only Jim Thorpe game used material ever to surface from his days with the Carlisle Indi