[katana]

A couple years ago I saw a PBS documentary about Thorpe which included the story of his working as an extra on the filming of They Died With Their Boots On, which starred Errol Flynn as an heroic Col. G.A. Custer. Thorpe and some buddies (also Indians, IIRC) were drinking in a bar when Flynn walked in, very drunk, in full Custer buckskin regalia and for some reason started getting into Thorpe's face. There was a brief fistfight and Flynn ended up knocked out cold. Thorpe was fired from the film the next day but according to the story his comment over a comatose Errol Flynn was "Custer's s*** is still weak".

[buckalfa]

Used to live in Scioto County Ohio and I am somewhat knowledgeable about the history of Portsmouth and its environs. Never knew this about Thorpe and semi-pro football in the River City. Always believed pro ball in P-Town started with the Portsmouth Spartans in the 1930’s, the team that eventually became the Detroit Lions of the NFL.

Portsmouth now is just a rusted shell of its former self. Illegal drugs and pills are now the most profitable past of the economy.