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1. Jim Thorpe: All-American Icon​/St. Sauveur, Page 1
Nick St. Sauveur
University of Connecticut
Spring 2019
Jim Thorpe: All-American Icon
Introduction
American athletics has seen many changes in the past hundred years. Jackie Robinson was the first
African American Major League Baseball player in 1947. Professional tennis player Billie Jean King was the
first woman to be named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year in 1972. Tom Brady was the first NFL
player to have six Super Bowl wins in 2019. Even so, these records can mean nothing if the future does not
carry the names of these people forward with it. Limiting intellectual development for future generations in this
way is a mistake. Fighting against that is what this paper aims to do through Native American sports legend Jim
Thorpe. His race, as this paper theorizes with experimental evidence, has separated him from the national
spotlight. The majority of our society has diminished the gravity of Thorpe's accomplishments. I hope to help
change that here.
Born 27 May 1888 near Prague, Oklahoma, Thorpe did not have the easiest youth. By the time he was
sixteen, both his mother Charlotte and twin brother Charlie had passed away. His father Hiram took it very hard
and coped with alcohol. Thorpe “used sports” to cope, and it turned out he was not half bad (Flatter, 2001). He
had so much talent that his football coach, Glenn “Pop” Warner took Thorpe under his wing. Together, they
“trained in track and field,” going on to qualify for the 1912 Olympics in Sweden (Metzler, 1912). He won two
gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon. These events included everything from foot races, to javelin and
discus throwing. Unfortunately, he was stripped of the medals a year later. Thorpe was a paid “$45 in today's
value” as a baseball player in the minor leagues before the Olympics (Quirk, 2014). They felt it was unfair for
Thorpe, as a paid athlete, to compete against unpaid athletes. At the time, money was “an incentive” no other
athlete had to back their training (Simpson, 2004). Fame was the only allowance in light of the Olympics.
Anything else was immoral. Thorpe pleaded with officials, but was still denied.
Despite this Olympic rejection, he did not leave sports. Thorpe became the first president of the
American Professional Football Association (APFA). Today, that group is active now as the better known
National Football League (NFL). He also played three professional sports at the same time. Thorpe was
“dominant” on the basketball court, football field, and baseball diamond (Wheeler, 1979). He retired from
professional sports in 1928 at forty-one years old. This choice unfortunately coincided with the start of the
Great Depression. Even with his celebrity status, it was difficult for him to find work. His dreams only revolved
around athletics, but he could not take any more bruises. Besides odd jobs and “a short film career,” (Williams,
2006) Thorpe could not provide for his family. He spent his entire youth providing for the struggling
reservations of the nation. There was nothing left for his wife Patricia and kids to survive on. Thorpe fell into a
“deep depression” and became an alcoholic as his father before him (Watterson, 2000). He died penniless of
heart issues in 1953 at the age of sixty-five. Almost thirty years after death, his extended family got the gold
medals back. Thorpe's Olympic records were also restored. Nonetheless, history still has his name. Very “few
young Americans” are aware of this influence on the world of sport (Zarnowski, 2005) . The goal of this study
is to learn why Thorpe is not as much a part of today’s popular imagination as well as why that might be and
what could be done to alter it.
Research Topic
Jim Thorpe is a legendary American Olympian and athlete. Why he is not more relevant to the average
student is the broad question this work tries to answer. The idea of his era and minority status is a potential
reason, but assumptions are never good to have. With that said, there are also subtopics that need understanding.

2. Jim Thorpe: All-American Icon​/St. Sauveur, Page 2
It is important to prove or disprove the beginning idea, and learn of other reasons if they exist is important. Only
then can this study bring together fair claims about how educated those in higher education are in cultures other
than their own.
Research Method
Students and teachers were the main subject of the study. As times change, the amount of information
one generation can learn and understand from another is very different. That is why these groups were the
primary source of information over others. Subjects came together through the convenience method. Based on
the extent of their education, there are three different groups considered. The first group consists of
undergraduate students. They have the shortest amount of education, having not yet received a bachelor's. The
second group consists of graduate students. They have a moderate amount of education, having not yet received
a masters or doctorate. The third group consists of professors. They have the highest amount of education,
having obtained a masters or doctorate. Making groups according to education instead of age would prove to
decrease the variability in factors worth considering for knowledge of Thorpe.
Each participant had five questions to answer. The first question asked what their education level was.
The second question was if they had ever been an athlete in high school or college. The third question would be
that more error-free because groups would be more defined. The fourth question was why they thought they
knew him. If they answered "no" to question three, question five would be why they thought that was so.
Regardless how they answered question three about knowing Thorpe, all answered question six on how
knowledge of his contributions could be better assessed in school. The first question would begin the group
division process. The second question would help determine whether involvement in sports had any impact on
awareness of Thorpe. It would also, in a more definite way, isolate who did not know him. The third question
would be that more error-free because groups would be more defined. The fourth question was why they
thought they knew him. This was to see if someone’s education or athleticism made them more likely to know
him. If they answered "no" to question three, question five would be why they thought that was so. Regardless
how they answered question three about knowing Thorpe, all answered question six. How they thought other
people could best learn about Thorpe was important to assess. Their ideas may help illustrate how the study's
aims could further benefit future youth.
Data and Analysis
There were seventy-five total participants in this study. They contributed over the course of an average
school week. Thirty were undergraduate students, twenty-five were graduate students, and twenty were
professors.
Data Collection #1 (Question III)

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The first of three important questions to speak on was question three. Whether volunteers in these three
groups knew who Thorpe was had surprising results. With all of Thorpe’s accomplishments, it was assumed
more knew about him regardless of education level. This was not the case. Only four people or 13.3% of
undergraduates spoken to at the UConn Hartford Regional Campus knew him. This meant that twenty-six
people, or 86.7% of undergraduate students spoken to had never heard of him. Graduates did not fare much
better. Six people or 24.0% of graduate students knew him. So, nineteen graduate students or 76.0% did not
know his name. This is despite what could average to be anywhere from two to five more years of learning.
Professors, even as the highest scoring group in this regard, still had a lower percent than expected. Regardless
of field, it was assumed the group’s superior level of education would give them a perfect score of “yes” on this
question. Seventeen people, or 85.0% of professors knew him. Thus, only three professors did not know who
Thorpe was. This separation is significant given that education is the only dividing factor besides experience
unlike others mentioned later.
Data Collection #2 (Question II)
The second of three important questions to speak on was question two. To see that being a
student-athlete in high school or college had no effect on knowledge of Thorpe was a shock. It was an
assumption that being an athlete would incline someone to knowledge of Thorpe. For the most part, this idea
was incorrect. Twenty-four people or 80% of undergraduate students interviewed identified as athletes. This
means that almost every undergraduate student-athlete did not know Thorpe. So, those that were not athletes
had better knowledge of him than those who were. As before, graduate student-athletes did not fare much better.
Eighteen people or 72.0% of graduate students interviewed identified as athletes. This means that almost every
graduate student-athlete did not know Thorpe. So, almost as many non-athlete graduate students prove to be
more aware of who Thorpe was. Professors made a difference here,with twelve people or 60.0% who were
student-athletes

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Data Collection #3 (Question VI)
The last of three important questions to speak on was question six. How people felt Thorpe's legend
should carry on in higher education needs acknowledgement. Since the undergraduate student group was least
educated on Thorpe, they alone answered this question, as it was not asked of the graduate students or
professors. The highest recommendation was cultural changes. Fifteen people or 50.0% of undergraduates said
this. When asking for elaboration, they all said something akin to the original hypothesis of this work. Society
did not and does not seem to give those of minority status as many opportunities as others. This limits the
rapidity with which someone of such a group is able to come to the forefront of our minds. The next highest
ranking suggestion concerned educational course offerings. Ten people or 33.3% of undergraduates asked
answered to this. Students are so focused on learning how to earn a living that they forgot how to experience
life itself. Thus, inadvertent ignorance of diversity has stunted their knowledge somehow. The smallest group
felt that social media was a major factor to consider. Five people or 16.7% of undergraduates gave this answer.
Thorpe has not become a digital trend, so he is not considered a relevant figure to the youth of this generation.
Potential Errors
In spite of everything discussed, there are a few major questions that remain unanswered. The first was
whether the state of Connecticut was the right place to conduct this study. Since Thorpe was born in Oklahoma,
it may have been more efficient to survey citizens there. Southern state schools in general may have better
knowledge of Thorpe too. Northern state schools may be more or less down the middle. To continue this study
in the South would answer this important question. The second question is that only professors of the social
sciences participated. If those of the physical sciences were asked about Thorpe, there may have been a larger or
smaller disparity. The third question is that only those of public-education participated. The convenience sample
method used may not have been best for that reason. Private school students and staff may be more
knowledgeable of Thorpe. Whether any professors interviewed for this had their prospective educations at
private schools is also unknown. The fourth issue considered is that of completion. While this work did ask
whether student-athletes knew of Thorpe compared to non-athletes, there was no specific comparison done
between their own groups in particular. There were some clear differences between them in Data Collection #1
(Question III) and Data Collection #2 (Question II) in hindsight, but how large or small that separation is
another lacking area worth further investment. The fifth and final problem that may have infringed on the
accuracy of this paper and the data it speaks to is time. This study was done over the course of about two weeks
from 5 April 2019 to 17 April 2019. The paper was put together section by section between then and now.

5. Jim Thorpe: All-American Icon​/St. Sauveur, Page 5
Conclusion
It is now clear that the average UConn Hartford student is unaware of Jim Thorpe's legacy. This is
problematic considering all that he did for our nation’s through athletics and ethics to change its culture.
Whether this is the case for other schools across the state and country is also a concern. For that reason, as this
work illustrates, adopting a more progressive and diverse model of social welfare is very important. Akin to
Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy, society today must learn not to judge someone based on where they come
from, but what they do despite that. It would be a shame to see another youth’s future torn asunder because of
similar issues. That is why those of this century must never forget the lessons of those that came before them.
The goal of this paper, in the broadest means possible, is to project that idea through the life and times of
All-American icon Jim Thorpe. Please do not let him be forgotten.

6. Jim Thorpe: All-American Icon​/St. Sauveur, Page 6
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