Posted on 07/15/2022 5:08:19 AM PDT by Phlap
Jim Thorpe, one of the greatest athletes in history and the victim of what many considered a century-old Olympic injustice, has been restored as the sole winner of the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Games.
Thorpe, who excelled at a dozen or more sports, had dominated his two events at the 1912 Games in Stockholm but was stripped of his medals after it emerged that he had briefly played professional baseball before his Olympic career. American officials, in what historians considered a blend of racism and a fanatical devotion to the idea of amateurism, had been among the loudest proponents of Thorpe’s disqualification.
The International Olympic Committee’s recognition of Thorpe, to be announced on Friday, comes 40 years after it restored him as a co-winner of both events. But the restoration in 1982 was not enough for his supporters, who carried on campaigning on behalf of Thorpe, an American icon who is particularly revered in Native American communities.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I suppose this is justice but it’s way too late to be very meaningful to those directly involved. This is the IOC doing some historical cleanup.
Absolutely. Olympic athletes in a lot of countries were supported only due to their athletic ability; in effect it was their job. The NBA thing was more like the last straw.
Now, let’s talk about the 72 USA Mens Basketball Team.
It would have likely been racists Democrats..as they have been obsessed with race and sex for a very long time..IF the allegation is true.
NOTE:Thorpe competed against other males..he did beat little girls in order to unjustly “win”.
NOTE:Thorpe competed against other males..he did NOT beat little girls in order to unjustly “win”.
Good!
FWIW-
I imagine he’s retired by now.
I have visited the town of Jim Thorpe PA in eastern Pennsylvania on a tour of places where the Molly Maguires played a part in the labor activism in the late 1800’s. Their main street is composed of Victorian housing which has been turned unto quaint little shops like candy stores. A scene in the 1970 film classic The Molly Maguires was filmed there, the scene where Richard Harris and Samantha Eggar treat themselves to a day off in town.
“Some of the old-timers there still call it Mauch Chunk, but Jim Thorpe, PA it remains.”
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Mauch Chunk is used to name a lot of things such as streets and businesses even in the Lehigh Valley Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton area, 30-40 miles away. The county’s flagship public park is Mauch Chunk Lake Park.
Not too long ago the grandson of Jim Thorpe sued the town of Jim Thorpe for the return of the body to Oklahoma where he, the grandson has set up a museum. The case went all the way to the US Supreme Court. The town won so he is still buried here in NE PA.
I live in Carbon County PA about 5 miles from the Jim Thorpe shrine. This area has a lot of money invested in the memory of this great American athlete.
Front page on the local news outlet...
https://www.tnonline.com/20220715/jim-thorpe-reinstated-as-sole-winner-for-1912-olympic-golds/
The whole “Jim Thorpe” traveling remains story is weird and a little sad. But IO am glad they reinstated his medals.
Jim Thorpe is a beautiful small town, friendly and a little quirky. I second the Molly MaGuire’s recommendation (Shepherds’ Pie was amazing, good beer too!). Also one of the BEST swing-sets ever, tucked in a tiny pocket park below the “Mansions”!
We stayed in a lovely Airbnb home and thoroughly enjoyed our 4 day stay, wandering the area. But there are very obviously depressed sections in the larger towns, ex coal-regions.
“What proof do they have that racism played a part in his disqualification? None”
When you go to bed and the ground is dry and wake up in the morning and see snow, it is likely it snowed even though you didn’t see it happen.
He just won? Great stamina.
‘The town was renamed Jim Thorpe in his honor and his native state now petitions regularly to move his remains.’
the town is Mauch Chunk, where my Irish forbears settled in 1847...time to change the name back...
He violated strict rules on amateurism. The American people were very proud when he won the gold medals.
“...the town is Mauch Chunk, where my Irish forbears settled in 1847...time to change the name back...”
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As I mentioned in post #31 the issue of the grave of Jim Thorpe and by extension the town’s name was decided by the USSC. The boro doesn’t want to change the name back and Mauch Chunk is not Irish rather it is Native American. So i don’t see your point in wanting to change the name of the town back. But if you feel strongly about it why not run for mayor and put a motion on the table?
Yes it is true that the Irish settled in mass here but there were other European ethnic groups.
One thing that i like to point out about the town of JT. Today, at the southern end of the county parking lot next to the Central Railroad of NJ train station, the Delaware and Lehigh Trail (The D&L), crosses the Lehigh River via a ped bridge (that cost over 5 million bux). At the point where the eastern bridge abutment stands is the ruins of lock #1 of the Lehigh canal, built in 1818-1820.
An argument could be made that the industrial revolution in North America started at right there. This is were the canal began, anthracite coal mined in Summit Hill/Lansford/Coaldale was loaded into barges and transported to eastern markets. It was that coal and the marketing of it, that started the USA on it’s path to becoming a great industrial power.
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