Jim Thorpe: The 20th Century's Greatest Athlete - US History - Extra History

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We explore the awe-inspiring journey of Jim Thorpe, hailed as the greatest athlete ever. From his humble beginnings at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School to his groundbreaking achievements in football, track and field, and baseball, Thorpe's story is one of resilience, talent, and triumph over adversity. Despite facing numerous challenges, including the loss of his twin brother and the harsh realities of Native American boarding schools, Thorpe's remarkable athletic prowess shines through. Join us as we delve into the life of this legendary figure whose legacy continues to inspire generations, earning him the title of the greatest athlete of the 20th century.
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Artist: Nick DeWitt I Writer: Steven Van Patten I Showrunner & Narrator: Matthew Krol I Video Editor: Devon House Creative I Audio Editor: Clean Waves I Studio Director: Geoffry Zatkin I Social Media: Kat Rider
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#ExtraHistory #Olympics #History

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[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

You guys always make My day 😊😊😊❤❤❤

[@also_arles]

Cheers to a new video! ❤️

[@user-ct4qx6go4m]

Love you

[@theminecraftknight1631]

Do you still do extra mythology?

[@RuneGuld]

A correction. Gustav was king of Sweden, not Norway.

[@SonofTuscon99]

As a huge NFL history freak, Jim Thorpe is one of my favorite history stories. When he got awarded his gold medals at the 1912 Olympics by King Gustav of Sweden, he was told, "you are the greatest athlete in the world". Thorpe then modestly replied, "Thanks, King". He later became the first ever president/commissioner of what is now known as the NFL. He also was a player/coach of the Canton Bulldogs at the time, and was a member of the inaugural class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

[@lordloptr1789]

Where did you get Norway from, the 1912 Olympics were in Sweden and King Gustav V was the King of Sweden and only became king after the union between Sweden and Norway was over. So he was never King of Norway.

[@Stewplaysgames]

The goat!

[@SonofTuscon99]

@@lordloptr1789 the vid said Norway, but I could've sworn it was Sweden!

[@andrewklang809]

I was gonna post "Thanks, King" if someone else didn't. Just the most American response possible.

[@ProtectTheSecond]

My absolute favorite athlete of all time. Dude was a tank

[@hollowednight5290]

Literally a modern day Achilles. Not only was he born with talent, but he trained just as hard as anyone else, if not harder, and became a legend.

[@sonofenigma2]

One other fun fact: a town in PA, Mauch Chunk, renamed itself Jim Thorpe to honor him after his death and even houses his remains. Funny thing is Jim never went to this town or probably knew it ever existed.

[@ocathain-games]

I’m from there! The town is fighting his tribe who disowned him

[@sonofenigma2]

@ocathain-games that is also important to note. I forgot to bring up the lawsuits the town had in recent years.

[@ashleyannevans2075]

exactly a deal was made with his widow

[@applesauce4971]

went rafting there lol

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

It's about 90 miles northeast of Carlisle, where he went to school.

[@GlamorousTitanic21]

What an amazing story. My grandfather played football in high school back when all they wore were leather caps, no proper helmet existed.

[@benin8or]

For those unfamiliar with the world of sports, Jim Thorpe is an absolute unit. He is legendary. This is a great video.

[@seanmcloughlin5983]

Whenever my family used to drive through Pennsylvania to get to New York we always stopped by Jim Thorpe PA to get groceries and pay respects to a legend.

[@1ronDragon]

2:07 I always appreciate the sparingly used smooth animation I also enjoy how one-off are ordered, back-to-back sports stories on athletes with Irish ancestry for St.Patrick's week, and Jim Thorpe to continue Native American stories after Sitting Bull, PERFECT 👌

[@conormurphy4328]

Yet there is absolutely no importance that he has Irish ancestry. So no real connection for St Patrick’s day

[@lysanamcmillan7972]

@@conormurphy4328You slander our shared Irish ancestry saying that it didn't matter to Thorpe's development as a person.

[@conormurphy4328]

@@lysanamcmillan7972 lol and how did it matter exactly? Did he ever visit Ireland? Did he even meet his Irish grandfather? Did it have any impact on him as a person at all apart from its where his ancestors *happened* to be from?

[@MercedesJordy]

Being from Pennsylvania, I'm glad Jim Thorpe gets some KZbin love

[@biohazard724]

From his namesake town?

[@jameswolf133]

Nitpick time. You depict high jumpers using the Fosbury Flop which did not become widespread until about 60 years after the events depicted in the opening scene.

[@chuckiieternal]

Born and raised here in Rocky Mount, we were raised on the story of Jim and the Rocky Mount Railroaders. The historic highway marker still proudly stands downtown showing the direction to where the ball park he played at was located. Kay Kysler, Thelonious Monk and Jim Thorpe still deeply infuse local town history to this day.

[@souleylove]

Don't forget there's also a town in PA named Jim Thorpe. I grew up near there, but unfortunately they never told his story in school. I had to look up his story on my own because I was curious about the town's name.

[@Kingjulien1809]

The funny thing is that Jim Thorpe most likely has never been to that town 😂

[@user-wx8ic2iv3d]

Learned about Jim in my pop culture class! He did an assignment where random words such such Eisenhower, Jim Thorpe, Football, etc were connected and we needed to figure out how. Really digging the videos on native history recently!

[@SonofTuscon99]

I gotta say, that Eisenhower story was super interesting!!

[@lizardguy4236]

I’m so glad y’all covered this. Not enough people know who Jim Thorpe was which is a shame considering how impressive all of his accomplishments were

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

8:23 Gustaf V… of Sweden. His father, Oscar II had been King of Norway but had abdicated that throne 7 years prior and died 5 years prior.

[@BrazenBard]

"Abdicated" is such a polite, civil way of phrasing it. We threatened the Swedes with a royal thumping back in 1905. :D

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

@@BrazenBard It… really isn’t? That is the correct term to describe what occurred on 1905. And he was succeeded as king by his own grandnephew. This wasn’t a revolution

[@DaydreamingSwede]

@@BrazenBard not the Swedes, but the royal family. The Swedish people supported an independent Norway

[@BrazenBard]

@@Edmonton-of2ecRevolution? No, that it wasn't - not in the sense of blood being spilled - but Norway dissolved the union three and a half months before Sweden came around and agreed to it. But Oscar II was, from all I can tell, of the opinion that Norway had "too many liberties" compared to Sweden, and he wasn't about to give us any more freedom than we already had, in particular getting our own consulates up and running, which had been agreed upon in 1814, so... yeah, it'd be more accurate to say he was compelled to abdicate the Norwegian throne, than that he just abdicated.

[@wolf2912]

Olympic games were in Stockholm 1912 not in Norway king gustav of Sweden 🇸🇪

[@GoWildcatsrahhh]

Likely a mistake, all good

[@olefredrikskjegstad5972]

In fairness, that was literally the first King of just Sweden in the modern age. His dad was also King of Norway until their independence in 1905

[@tomihodet354]

This has to be one of the rare times a english speaker mistakes Norway for Sweden and not the other way around 😅

[@Blackjack09721]

Jim Thorpe is a prime example of how sports can pave the way for many in society, and also how diversity scares people who know they suck if going against bigger pools of competition.

[@anncase8673]

You cant forget the fact that when the NFL was formed in 1920, Thorpe was unanimously elected as the leagues first president because the name recognition and potential prestige it would bring to the league

[@cbudzynski]

The visuals for the high jump early in the episode is using a technique called the Fosbury Flop from after WWII. Most athlete's before then would use the straddle to leap over face down, or the scissor to keep their whole upper body over the bar and lift the legs over.

[@davidwright7193]

The flop was first used in the 1968 Olympics by 1972 half of athletes were using it by Montreal it was universal. I was still taught scissor technique at primary school in the late 70’s/early 80’s. I don’t think that the PE teacher knew how to teach flop and the school didn’t have landing mats. The introduction of the flop also coincided with and accelerated the use of foam crash mats for the landing area. When Fosbury first started using it landing areas were commonly sand pits at lower levels and landing on your shoulders in a sand pit carries obvious risks of serious injury.

[@gejyspa]

Man! I was gonna say this! 12 seconds into the video and already a mistake!

[@renegadeleader1]

Well, if it makes you feel any better, the forward pass depicted at the 2:48 mark was illegal at the time Jim Thorpe attended school and wouldn't be adopted as a rule until 1906.

[@cg2642]

I love this channel but yeah, when they talk sports they could use a sports editor for the details.

[@jameswolf133]

@@renegadeleader1Let’s pretend that it was a lateral.

[@thatlastsam5234]

Thank you so much for making a video about my great uncle! I remember one of my elders told stories about Jim thorpe when I was young. Which I believe one of my other elders on my grandmother's side(Thorpe side) is still alive which I believe I heard about making a new movie about him though, i heard that back in 2018 or 2019 at a local pow wow. But still, Again, I want to thank you about making this video my great uncle!

[@SonofTuscon99]

Wait, seriously?!

[@thatlastsam5234]

@@SonofTuscon99 mhm. Though I'm about to share this to my grandma so she could show my grandma thorpe.

[@KitagumaIgen]

Mr Thorpe is one of my sporting heroes since I read about him in my youth. Send your great aunt my best regards from Sweden.

[@thatlastsam5234]

Honestly, as a Indian(or NDN as most of my younger cousins and my sister calls it), I believe that people should look more into Native American history as to be honest. Some stories if not most are either tragic or just bad*ss with for example The Native American Code talkers who used their language as an advantage and a counter to enemy radio listeners or even(my favorite) Dog soldiers which they(in some tribes) would stab a knife to the ground and through the hair while fighting off the enemy. Or better(or worse) the Osage murders.

[@ocathain-games]

I attended the School in PA named after him, and the town that is named after him. He is a great man who deserves our respect.

[@theromandudeinWI]

I remember finding Carlisle vs Army when I was 8. I was too young to understand the depth of suffering that they went through but nowadays the story is so much more powerful.

[@CastironWhisky]

I really appreciate your continued coverage of indigenous stories.

[@valmid5069]

It’s great to see Jim Throrpe’s amazing biography a bit of spotlight!

[@hardhatlunchpal]

You guy's didnt cover the Jim Thorpe award in college football. It's very prestigious to even be named as an award through college football and having the best defensive back award in your name is awesome.

[@nathandennis03]

Extra credits doing two Native American story series!!! So nice to see both stories brought to life by the animation.

[@goranurengard]

It is King Gustaf of Sweden, not Norway. The Swedish-Norwegian Union had dissolved in 1906, luckily without armed conflict. It was somewhat close.

[@Feraal]

I'd say the Union dissolved the year before, but yeah, I get why you could argue for 1906 as well.

[@Boom-hw8ku]

the way you tell these stories has the utter most respect for its subjects, i always find myself wanting to cry/crying afterwards, masterful storytelling

[@mandisinclair1632]

This is an amazing episode to watch and absolutely heart-wrenching to hear about Jim Thorpe. I live in the Pennsylvania town named after him and I had no idea about the man's history what a legend

[@DanBacksIide]

I always learn so much from these

[@NeevJack]

Me too

[@ab3040]

There is no NFL without Jim Thorpe Think about how crazy that is

[@fabbe_fisher1588]

That is king Gustaf V of Sweden, although he was crown prince of the Sweden-Norway before the Union split apart. Future episode perhaps?

[@Mountaineer3615]

You missed the best part. After the king awarded Thope his medals, Jim smiled and said "Thanks King."

[@arminiusjomni4452]

Another great video about yet another historical icon we don't know much about. Just one friendly correction, king Gustav (the 5th) was the King of Sweden and not Norway as mentioned near the end of this video.

[@ZBO180]

I love these types of videos because it is not about people who everyone knows, but it shows how everyone can be remembered in history

[@vivienneliu1206]

I love Extra History :D Edit: I have nothing else to say. This channel is just great, and I'm glad to be a viewer and subscriber :D

[@seanrooney1553]

In the opening scene, you depict the boys trying to jump over the bar the modern way, but the Fosbury Flop comes from the 1968 Olympics.

[@sir_captainmorgan]

Jim Thorpe is a hero of mine, I’m so happy to see an awesome video

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Always looking forward to your videos! 😊😊😊🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@LargeMcBottoms]

I live near Jim Thorpe! It's a fun burrough in Pennsylvania that has open container laws to allow for outside drinking. It's a popular day trip destination, with many tiny shops and a theatre!!

[@Fabricensis]

Minor nitpick: In the introduction the athletes clear the bar backwards, but that technique was only introduced by Dick Fosbury in 1968 Back then jumpers would use the scissor technique

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Incredible video as always! Wars of the roses! Please! Hearth ❤❤❤❤❤

[@lightingspeedk]

Thank you I'm from Pennsylvania and this finally explains the names of things

[@Dave-lx3vt]

We definitely need more of these

[@mecahhannah]

Awesome as always thanks ❤

[@dandrive3249]

I remember learning about him in 4th grade. I didn’t hear about him much after wards granted I’m a nerd. He’s always been one of my favorite athletes

[@Ryu_D]

Thank you for the video.

[@ILoveMisty1985]

Always love to see sports episodes of Extra History to see more sports history!

[@twiisted7507]

I’m just a whisper to the wind, I have no sway in the decisions made. A cycling history would be such fresh air to this channel. It would be so interesting to see how you manage it. If this statement holds any weight please I’ll be watching.

[@mebrychi6504]

Another great series

[@huskyfluff8236]

I love in the town in PA named after him. Fantastic place with beautiful mountains and a small brownstone style main st

[@WilliamSchmidNetwork]

I definitely think you guys should do an Extra Sports series. There are plenty of interesting stories from the world of sports that would make great episodes. For example, Did you know that during the 1950’s the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings played a game at a prison in Michigan’s upper peninsula?

[@user-mc4xm4pi5h]

This was a really good story of course as always

[@Heffelfinger]

I would love to see you all do something about an ancestor of mine. William "Pudge" Heffelfinger. The first NFL Football Player, and the first paid NFL Football player. Pudge Heffelfinger was around the same time as Thorpe. Pudge at one point of time was so feared, when he would walk on fields, the other team's coaches and players would protest that he should be banned from playing because he was too good and too experienced.

[@droppedhero]

That would be great to see! Despite Will being the first NFL football player, the NFL never talks about him.

[@RightGuyWrongTime]

Agreed!

[@ICountFrom0]

I used to bike in Jim Thorpe, didn't know the history. Thank you.

[@snailevangelist]

i took a motorcycle daytrip to jim thorpe pa from philadelphia only a couple weekends ago, so this is some neat context!

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love your content guys 😊😊😊❤❤❤

[@Funderthair]

Nice I love history w for extra history he is the best

[@abthedragon4921]

Wow, TWO indigenous American stories in a row? Nice!

[@bottasheimfe5750]

Wow what an awesome story!

[@chasefrench1864]

Wild to see Haskell in an extra history vid, love to see it

[@anidiot4702]

this man made me interested in anything sports related for the first time ever

[@Steveyoung49er]

I live no too far from were he was born and got to go visit the place were his parents are buried and see the land they owned. It was a neat experience!

[@nader50752]

15 seconds in, you have a mistake on the high jump, that kind of jump wasn't invented until much later on in the 60s!

[@SnazBrigade]

and his hometown is named after him now! Its very beautiful in the fall

[@strombreakr]

Please do more on the Carlisle football team. They were revolutionary.

[@JenBlair-jw4yt]

Hi I’m half-great grandson of Eisenhower I have heard about this story and this probably wanna of the favorite story’s I tell about him because I found out my great uncle is from the Eisenhower family so yeah oh and I’m a fan of your channel

[@JenBlair-jw4yt]

I wanna see if extra history sees this I’m gonna be happy

[@twiisted7507]

PLEASE, IVE BEEN WATCHING THIS CHANNEL FOR A LOONG TIME.A CYCLING HISTORY SERIES PLEAAAASE

[@clinton.gannaway]

As an Okie we all know this story so glad it's being told on this platform!

[@cusy1054]

always a good day when EH uploads

[@moonbow-07]

this iz a gr8 story ! keep up the good work ! :)

[@RobertJW]

Lifetime nebula! 🎉

[@baliyae]

Jim Thorpe was awesome!

[@ross7872]

I did a literature project in High School where I talked about the history of football and mentioned the Carlisle Indian School

[@user-lk7fx9ji7m]

Love it

[@scoutobrien3406]

Was not expecting a cameo of Eisenhower as the badguy in a sports movie

[@drunorthodox]

I’ve been to the town Jim thorpe it’s very beautiful

[@MariaVosa]

8:24 - King Gustaf of SWEDEN. Stockholm is the capital of Sweden, not Norway. (Gustaf's father had been the king of Sweden and Norway, but the latter gained its independence in 1905) Apart from that minor error, thank you for a fantastic introduction to a person I will now try to read up on a lot more.

[@jonathanfeldheim6554]

Spent a few years in Carlisle, Thorpe is the town hero

[@54raynor]

My favorite Jim Thorpe fact: in addition to track & field, baseball, football, and lacrosse, he was also a collegiate champion in ballroom dancing.

[@janexdoee]

Can I just take a moment to say I LOVE YOUR ANIMATIONS SM

[@danielboggan2479]

It’s worth noting the best college football defensive back, the most physically challenging position to play, is awarded the Thorpe award.

[@nicobambino191]

Jim Thorpe, PA is a great town to visit

[@jeremywilliams1645]

Im from his "home town" the jim thorpe home was right behind our basketball gym

[@ashleyannevans2075]

You should of mentioned the crazy fact about the PA town named after him, that he never lived in or near. His wife made a deal with this struggling small town that if they could have his body they would rename the town after him makin it a tourist spot to honor him. Really nice town.

[@darreljones8645]

I believe one of the pro teams Jim Thorpe played for was the American League baseball team in Cleveland. Because they got him, the former Spiders (which had a mostly lackluster history to that point) renamed themselves the Indians, a nickname they only dropped a couple years ago.

[@Vanic00]

My great Grandmother was force to go to one of those schools, she was so repressed that we didn't even learn of our Cherokee heritage till after she died, when my grandfather, her son, admitted to having been born on the reservation in Arizona. Till then, we, including my mother, had been told that we were just of Scottish decent, which is true, just only half true.

[@alfrancisbuada2591]

Nice addition of Sports History!

[@vaiyt]

Nobody will ever do something as crazy as competing in both the pentathlon and decathlon in the same olympics, let alone win both. And he also competed in the high jump. To me he always will be the greatest Olympian of the modern era, bar none.

[@briannamcdaniel266]

As an African American woman who wants to learn more about her people, this made my whole Saturday! Thanks for the amazing work as always! 😊❤ 9:09 This right here cracked me up. 😂😂

[@minecraftthelostorder5782]

8:39 Woah! **ARMS**

[@prettypic444]

you've gotta make an episode for the duke!

[@chipparmley]

Jim Thorpe was also inter-collegiate ballroom dancing champion in 1912. Just another interesting bit of information about the greatest American athlete of all time.

[@franciscomarinez517]

Mr.Bright path is one of the best athletes to ever do it

[@YoderMemeIndustries]

Jim Thorpe... mah boi!

[@stripkyhistorie4145]

Extra history, I love your Chanel. Can you please someday make video about something historical from my country (Czech republic). For example: writer Franz Kafka, Czech reformation (something that inspired Luther) or Gregor Mendel (founder of geteticks) ect.

[@sourabhmayekar3354]

Awesome

[@Pawnlake]

Cool video

[@Cloudd1103]

I literally dropped everything to see this

[@Just.A.Blur.]

Same

[@FakeBlocks]

Please do the Greek war of independence of 1821 against the ottoman empire next I've been asking for this since the first episodes of the sengoku Jidai!!