Jim Thorpe
Chronology
| 1888 | Born May 28 near Prague, Oklahoma; mother names him Wa-thohuck, Sauk and Fox for "Bright Path" |
| 1896 | Twin brother, Charles, dies |
| 1898 | Is enrolled in Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas |
| 1901 | Mother dies of blood poisoning |
| 1904 | Enrolls in Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pennsylvania |
| 1904 | Father dies of blood poisoning |
| 1907 | Joins the Carlisle varsity track and football teams |
| 1909-10 | Takes time away from Carlisle to go back to Oklahoma; plays minor-league baseball at Rocky Mount and Fayetteville, North Carolina |
| 1911 | Reenrolls at Carlisle; is named first-team All-American by Walter Camp for season with Carlisle Indians football team |
| 1912 | Wins gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon at Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden |
| 1912 | Named first-team All-American in football for second consecutive year |
| 1913 | Stripped of Olympic titles when news story breaks that he played baseball for pay in 1909-1910; gives back Olympic gold medals |
| 1913 | Leaves Carlisle and signs three-year contract with New York Giants pro baseball team |
| 1913 | Marries Carlisle sweetheart, Iva Miller; they will have a son and three daughters |
| 1916-20 | Plays halfback and serves as head coach for Canton Bulldogs pro football career ends |
| 1918 | Son James, Jr., dies at age 3 after a sudden illness |
| 1919 | Leaves New York Giants baseball team after run-in with manager John McGraw |
| 1920 | American Professional Football Association is formed; Thorpe is Named Greatest Football Player of the Half-Century and Greatest |
| 1922-23 | Organizes and plays for traveling Oorang Indians football team |
| 1923 | Marriage to Iva Miller ends |
| 1925 | Marries Freeda Kirkpatrick; they will have four sons |
| 1926 | Plays final season with Canton Bulldogs |
| 1928 | Plays token game with Chicago Cardinals on Thanksgiving Day; football career end |
| 1929-45 | Works as laborer, movie extra, and lecturer |
| 1932 | After former fans raise money so he can attend, Thorpe takes seat next to Vice President Charles Curtis at Olympic Games in Los Angeles to a standing ovation by crowd of 105,000 |
| 1941 | Marriage to Freeda Kirkpatrick ends |
| 1945 | Serves briefly in U.S. merchant marine; marries Patricia Gladys Askew |
| 1948 | Joins recreation staff of Chicago Park District and teaches trackfundamentals to young people; is hired to prepare Israel's National Soccer Team for match against U.S. Olympic Soccer Team in New York |
| 1950 | Named greatest Football Player of the Half-century and greatest Male Athlete of the Half-Century |
| 1951 | Movie about his life, Jim Thorpe-All-American, premieres in Oklahoma City and Carlisle |
| 1953 | Dies of massive heart attack on March 28 in Lomita, California; is buried in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, which changes its name to Jim Thorpe |
| 1963 | Inducted as charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio |
| 1973 | Amateur Athletic Union restores Thorpe's status as amateur for 1909-1912 |
| 1982-83 | International Olympic Committee restores Thorpe's Olympic records and returns gold medals to his family |
| 1999 | U.S. Congress passes resolution naming Thorpe America's Athlete of the Century |
Additional topics
Famous Sports StarsFootballJim Thorpe Biography - Beginning On The Bright Path, Carlisle Indian, The 1912 Olympics, Chronology, Greatest Football Season - SELECTED WRITINGS BY THORPE: