James Francis "Jim" Thorpe (Sac and Fox) Wa-Tho-Huk,
translated as "Bright Path";[ May 28, 1888 – March
28, 1953)[2 was an American athlete of both Native American and
European ancestry. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern
sports, he won Olympic gold medals for the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon,
played football (collegiate and professional), and also played professional
baseball and basketball. He lost his Olympic titles after it was found he was
paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in
the Olympics, thus violating the amateurism rules that were then in place. In
1983, 30 years after his death, the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
restored his Olympic medals.
In a poll of sports fans conducted by ABC Sports, Thorpe was voted the Greatest Athlete of the Twentieth Century out of 15 other athletes including Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth, Jesse Owens, Wayne Gretzky, Jack Nicklaus and Michael Jordan