"Jim" Thorpe Head of the Football Professionals -- September 17, 2020

 

Richmond Times-Dispatch, 19-September-1920

I don't usually write about football in this blog, but the National Football League celebrates its 100th birthday today, 17-September-2020.  The new league called itself the American Professional Football Association. Native American Jim Thorpe, winner of the Decathlon at the 1912 Olympic Games and coach of the Canton Bulldogs, one of the ten teams, was elected president. Note that the newspaper misspelled his family name in the headline. 

I couldn't find a reference to it in newspapers of the 17th and 18th, but I found this in the 19-September-1920 Richmond Times-Dispatch.  

"JIM" THORP HEAD OF THE

FOOTBALL PROFESSIONALS

Famous Indian Athlete, Coach of

Canton Bulldogs Chosen President

of Association.

CANTON, OHIO, Sept. 18 -- James Thorpe, famous Indian football player and coach of the Canton Bulldogs, a local professional team, has been chosen head of the American Professional Football Association, the only professional football organization In the country.

Professional Football Association Representatives of eleven cities unanimously voted Thorpe to the presidency with Stanley Cofall, of Cleveland, as vice-president. and Art Tanney, of Akron, for secretary and treasurer.

At the meeting held here last night, Rock Island, Ill.; Rochester, N. Y.; Muncie, lnd.; Decatur, Ill.; Chicago, Cleveland, Dayton, Hammond, lnd.; and Akron teams were represented. A decision was reached to refrain from luring players out of college football for the professional football games.

Thorpe is Poor Ballplayer -- August 10, 2012

This article, from the 01-February-1913 Washington Herald, casts doubts on Jim Thorpe's abilities as a ballplayer. 

This image is from the 29-May-1912 Tacoma Times.

THORPE IS POOR BALLPLAYER

Noted Indian Not Likely to Make Good in Major League Ranks.

Jim Thorpe, the Carlisle Indian, who has just been declared a professional by the Amateur Athletic Union is a joke ball player, and if the New York Giants have signed him at a fancy salary somebody has been badly stung.

During the season of 1909 five Washington boys played in the Eastern Carolina League and batted against Thorpe. They all state that the Indian was only a fair minor league pitcher, a poor hitter, worse fielder, and that his only asset was speed on the bases, which availed little as he seldom got on the bags.

This was four years ago, and possibly the Indian has improved a whole lot since, but the Washington plavers who saw him yn action all tell the same story.  They do not think he will ever be able to hold a job in the big show. 

The records of Thorpe s work down in the Carolina circuit are not startling, and would seem to bear out the opinions our young men in Washington have of the Indian's ability.

In 1909 whlle with Fayetteville, Thorpe took part in sixteen games and batted .250.  The same season, with Rocky Mount he played in twenty-nine games and hit .236.  The following season with Rocky Mount the Indian batted .253 for forty-four games. His pitching record that season was nine games won and ten
lost.  In the other contests he played first base. 

The Washington plavers who were in the Eastern Carolina League during the 1909 season are Jack Spalding, Heinie Gastmejer, Cy Macdonald, Curly Brown, and Al Handiboe. They will bear out the truth of the foregoing statement. 

The writer knew of Thorpe's playing professional baseball three vears ago and could have made the whole matter public had he so desired.  So could have countless other baseball scribes, but what was the use.  The records of the great Indian were published in Spalding's record books of 1909 and 1910, and it was up to the A.A.U. to do the probing.  Thorpe played under his own name and never made any attempt to conceal the fact that he plaved baseball in professional ranks.

Thorpe mav turn out to be a great ball plaver but if he does, there will be five Washingtonians greatly surprised. 

Perhaps McGraw will keep him on the bench as a pinch base runner, for it is claimed that the Indian is a marvel on the paths.  He is sure to be a great drawing card, anyway , and for that reason, alone will doubtless be worth the salary the Giants will pay him

Jim Thorpe as a Giant -- August 8, 2012

This cartoon by Robert W Edgren, from the 11-February-1913 San Francisco Call talks about Jim Thorpe's career with the New York Giants. Manager John McGraw predicts that he will be a regular this season. Christy Mathewson was a great Giants pitcher.  Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.  Please excuse the 1913 racism. 

THORPE SHOULD BE GOOD TOSSER

Indian Figures Out Every Move in Advance

NEW YORK, Feb. 10. —Jim Thorpe, the great Indian athlete who has become a Giant, has one characteristic that will be a strong point in his favor even before his physical dexterity or knowledge of the game begins to develop.

"Did you notice," said McGraw enthusiastically, "that trick or habit he has of looking out the corner of his eye and taking in the surroundings before he expresses himself on a subject?"

After talking with this wonderful athlete a few minutes one couldn't help noticing it.

"That is a sure sign of a calculating athlete." added McGraw. "I guess you have observed Mathewson doing it
when apparently he was paying no attention."

According to McGraw, the ball player who studies out details is nearly always successful.

That Thorpe is an observant fellow was shown when I asked him why he preferred to join the Giants. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at a large framed picture of the New York team which included all the substitutes last spring.

"I could have gone to St. Louis and, according to what the scout told me, could have been a regular." he said.  "But it occurred to me that I had never seen any startling newspaper stories about what the St. Louis team had done. That is what decided me in favor of the Giants. If the St. Louis club was willing to put an untried man like me on the regular team they would likely put other untried men on it and it wouldn't be much of a team. I think I would rather sit on the bench with a good team than to be on the field with a bad one. After seeing what good players do I might be able to do it myself.

"I have never heard of a ball player who sat on the bench with the Giants turning out badly," he added. "A lot of good coaching, I figure, is worth more to a young player than a little bad playing."

Thorpe explained that he had a small income from his property in Oklahoma, but that it was not sufficient for a good living. In other words, he is going into baseball purely for the money there is in it.

Contrary to the general impression, Thorpe is not a full blooded Sac and Fox Indian. His parents are both half breeds. His father is a well to do farmer in what was formerly Indian Territory. Jim was born near a little place called Prague. He is a ward of the United States government and owns a tract of land which is a part of the grant to the Indians.

Though there is a general impressionthat McGraw signed Thorpe purely for the sake of having a worldwide famous attraction for the Giants, the New York manager is really enthusiastic over his chances as a player.

"Thorpe is the ideal build for a ball player," says McGraw. "He is broad shouldered, clean limbed and. weighs 176 pounds. His mind is quick and his record is ample evidence of his gameness.  I like the way he has of studying things out. Of course. I realize that he will be a big novelty for the public, but I also expect to turn him into a good player."

Jim Thorpe Accused -- August 6, 2012

This image, from the 28-January-1913 New York World, describes how Jim Thorpe's brief career in semi-pro baseball threatened his Olympic records.

America Will Return Olympic Prizes If Thorpe Is Found to Be a "Pro"

Charges That Indian All-Round Champion Played Professional Baseball Are Being Investigated by the A A. U.

After rising to the highest pinnacle in sports ever held by any one in this country, James Tliorpe, world's greatest athlete, now at the height of his fame, must stand trial to answer charges that he blotted his amateur standing by playng professlonal baseball in the Eastern North Carolina League before entering Carlisle.  This country will he a heavy loser if the professionalism charges are proven, for not only must the trophies Thorpe won at the Olympic games at Siweden, emblematic of the highest individual score be returned but some of the best records ever made in this country must be wiped off the record book.

James E. Sullivan. secretary of the Amateur Athletic Union, said to-day that the National Registration Committee would take up the charges of professionalism against James Thorpe, the Carlisle Indian, to-morrow afternoon.

Should Thorpe ultimately be found guilty of professionalism and of having received money to play baseball in the Eastern North Carolina League, in which it is charged he pitched and covered flrst base, America will have to return to Sweden the trophies the Indian won at the Olympic games. While the deduction of his points would affect America's total to some extent, it would not change the result.

INDIAN A WONDER AT ALL KINDS OF SPORTS.

No one either in this country or abroad has won more notoriety in the sporting world the last two years than James Thorpe, a student In the Government's school at Carlisle.  There wasn't a sport that the Indian was not adept in, and his rise to th title of the world's greatest athlete at the recent Olympic games at Sweden was the result of a meteoric career. 

Thorpe first became heard of as a football player. The aggressive game appealed to the Indian's nature, and he waa a terror for all opposing teams.  For the last two years he has been ranked as an All-American halfback  One instance of his wonderful work on the gridiron was the game with the Army last year The entire Cadet team "played" for the great Carllale half-back, but so elusive was his line running that he crossed the Army's goal line for three touchdowns. Thorpe specialized in drop kicking, and in this branch of the game was second only to Brickley of Harvard in booting the ball over the bars.

The Indian tinned his attention to lacrosse after the football season closed and was a wizard in chasing up and down the field with the netted sticks.

BIG LEAGUE TEAMS WANTED TO SIGN HIM UP.

Thorpe's baseball ability became so pronounced that several big league scouts wanted to land the Carlisle stu
dent for their teams. A bitter discussion ensued last season when both Pittsburgh and Washington claimed they had corralled him, but Tliorpe ended the controversy when he announced his intention of remaining an
amateur.

These sports didn't require so much time that Thorpe couldn't take up athletics. it was tie same old story when the Indian decided to become a runner and weight man -- nobody could beat him. He quickly specialized in the weight-throwing contests and at the tryouts in Cambridge last spring for the American Olympic team soon demonstrated his right to represent Uncle Sam.

At the World's Games in Sweden's capital Thorpe was a revelation to the  thousands gathered from many countries. The Indian was in his element in the Pentathlon and Decathalon. Against the strongest array ever brought together for any event the American fought his way to the front in both contests. In the Pentathlon he romped away with 7 points and in the Decathalon Thorpe amassed a total of 8,412.55 points.

"You are the greatest athlete in the world," declared the King of Sweden in presenting to Thorpe at the finish of the games two handsome trophies in recognition of his record-breaking achievements.

 THORPE'S TEAM-MATES IDENTIFY HIM.

Raleigh, N. C, Jan. 27. Fans here are not surpised that it has just been charged that the Jim Thorp who played in the Eastern North Carolina league and the man who was tha hero of the Olympic games at Stockholm last summer are one and the same. The only thing that they ars surprised at is that it should be considered wrong for an athlete to compete as an amateur, even if he did play professional ball. Umpire Sherwood Upchuroh says that he didn't think there was any secret about the identity of Thorpe, the Olympic hero, as ha always regarded him as the man on whom be called balls and strikes many times in the league games in this vicinity. When Thorpe won at Stockholm North Carolina papers printed his pictures. There
are five men here who played with the Indian while he was a member of the Rocky Mount and later of of the Faytteville team, managed by Clancy, the man who instigated the charges against Thorpe.

Indian is World's Great Athlete -- August 4, 1912

This image, from the 27-July-1912 El Paso Herald, describes Jim Thorpe's wins in the pentathalon and decathalon. In 1913, the Olympic Committee stripped the medals from him because he had been paid to play a few semipro baseball games. 

Jim Thorpe, the full-blooded Sac and Fox Indian, of the Carlisle Pa. Indian training college, who proved himself to be one of the greatest athletes the world ever saw by winning two all around athletic competitions at the International Olympic athletic games, just concluded at Stockholm. Sweden.  At the left, Thorpe is shown just after throwing the discus.  In the center he is set for a 100-meters dash. At the right he is shown going over the bar in the high jump.

Greatest American Athlete -- August 2, 2012

This article, from the 29-May-1912 Tacoma Times, looks forward to the Olympic games and predicts that Jim Thorpe will do well.

Indian, "Greatest American Athlete" Will Be Olympic Game Sensation 

Most spectacular of the American series in this year's Olympic games at Stockholm is marvelous Jim Thorpe, the Sac and Fox Indian athlete of the Carlisle school, who won the eastern trials. He has been called "the greatest American athlete."

As Martin Sheridan will confine himself to the discus events, Thorpe is expected to win honors which have been won in the past by our greatest point-winner. Strong rivals to Thorpe are Donahue, the coast marvel, and August Menaul of Chicago university.

Thorpe has shown astonishing form this spring. He is tossing the 16-pound shot well over 43 feet, clearing the bar in the high jump close to 6 feet and doing 22 feet or better in the broad jump.  He can step a hundred yards in 10 1-5 seconds and the 220 hurdles close to standard time, while he is one of the best hammer and discus throwers we have.  Thorpe has shown exceptional skill with the javelin, is at home in the pole-vault and has the hereditary ability of his race as a runner, so will be very much at home in the 1,500 meter run.