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Jim Thorpe
From BR Bullpen
James Francis Thorpe
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.
- High School Carlisle Indian School
- Debut April 14, 1913
- Final Game September 25, 1919
- Born May 28, 1887 in Prague, OK USA
- Died March 28, 1953 in Lomita, CA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
"You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world." - Swedish king Gustav V at the 1912 Olympics to Jim Thorpe
"Thanks, king." - Jim Thorpe's response
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The double Olympic medalist Jim Thorpe was signed by John McGraw as a publicity stunt in 1913, although he had some minor league baseball experience. Thorpe was a steadily improving ballplayer over six major league seasons, hitting .327 in his last year, and having a lifetime OPS+ of 99 (where 100 is average). He disagreed with McGraw's assessment of him and was sold to the Cincinnati Reds in 1917. He was later that year returned to the Giants and technically appeared briefly in the 1917 World Series (he was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the first inning after the opposing team changed pitchers to one who was a righty).
Thorpe's most famous baseball feat was driving in the only run in the famous Hippo Vaughn and Fred Toney double no-hitter in 1917.
With the 1919 Boston Braves, Thorpe was the team's top hitter. His .327 batting average was well above the .292 hit by the top regular on the team, Walter Holke. His .429 SLG beat all the regulars (Joe Riggert had a .408) and was second only to the .441 posted by Les Mann in slightly fewer plate appearances than Thorpe had. The league's top batting average that year was Edd Roush's .321, so Thorpe would have won the batting title if he had had enough plate appearances.
After 1919 Thorpe left major league baseball. He was the founding president of the National Football League. He was later inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.
Ironically, Thorpe was stripped of his gold medals because of baseball. He was declared a professional for accepting $60 a month to play baseball in the summers of 1909 and 1910. The medals were restored in 1983.
The SABR Minor League database shows Thorpe with seven minor league seasons, a .319 batting average and considerable power. When he hit .360 for Akron in 1920 and .358 for Toledo in 1921, in both cases he had the highest batting average among the regulars on the team. Thorpe was mostly a pitcher in the minors in 1909-10, going 9-10 in 1909 and 10-10 in 1910.
Thorpe was voted as the best male athlete of the first half of the 20th Century.
Although well past the age for military service, Thorpe volunteered during World War II and served on an ammunition ship for the Merchant Marine in 1945. He also received a credit as an actor in Buster Keaton's 1935 baseball-themed movie, One Run Elmer.
When he was at the Carlisle Indian School, he once played baseball against Dwight Eisenhower. One of his teammates was NFL Hall of Famer and minor league outfielder-manager Joe Guyon.
Thorpe had a twin brother who died at age 8.
[edit] Further Reading
- Kate Buford: Native American Son: The Life and Sporting Legend of Jim Thorpe, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, 2010.
- William A. Cook: Jim Thorpe: A Biography, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2011.
