Jim Thorpe

:This article refers to the football & baseball player. To see the city in Pennsylvania see Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania.

Reinstated

Over the years, several attempts have been made to reinstate Thorpe's Olympic titles, most started by one of Thorpe's seven surviving children. Most persistent were Robert Wheeler and Florence Ridlon. They succeeded in having the AAU and United States Olympic Committee (USOC) overturn their decisions and restore Thorpe's amateur status prior to 1913.

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In 1982, they set up the Jim Thorpe Foundation, and managed to get support from the US Congress. Armed with this support, and evidence from 1912 showing Thorpe's disqualification had occurred outside of the 30-day limit, they finally got attention from the IOC, which had not made any attempts to reinstate Thorpe.

Related Topics:
1982 - Jim Thorpe Foundation - US Congress

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In October 1982, the IOC Executive Committee approved Thorpe's reinstatement. In an unusual ruling, however, they declared that Thorpe was now co-champion with Bie and Wieslander, even though both athletes had always said they considered Thorpe to be the only champion. In a ceremony on January 18, 1983, two of Thorpe's children, Gale and Bill, were presented with commemorative medals. (The original medals had both ended up in museums, but were stolen and are still missing.)

Related Topics:
January 18 - 1983

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