[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 6] [Senate] [Pages 8157-8158] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]SENATE RESOLUTION 91--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT JIM THORPE SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED AS THE ``ATHLETE OF THE CENTURY'' Mr. SANTORUM submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: S. Res. 91 SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT JIM THORPE SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED AS THE ``ATHLETE OF THE CENTURY''. (a) Findings.--The Senate finds the following: (1) Jim Thorpe is the only athlete ever to excel as an amateur and a professional in 3 major sports--track and field, football, and baseball. (2) Prior to the 1912 Olympic Games, Jim Thorpe won the pentathlon and the decathlon at the Amateur Athletic Union National Championship Trials in Boston, Massachusetts. (3) Jim Thorpe represented the United States and the Sac and Fox Nation in the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, where he won a gold medal in the pentathlon, became the first American athlete to win a gold medal in the decathlon, in which he set a world record, and became the only athlete in Olympic history to win both the pentathlon and the decathlon during the same year. (4) The athletic feats of Jim Thorpe resulted in worldwide publicity that helped to ensure the viability of the Olympic Games. (5) During his major league baseball career, Jim Thorpe played with the New York Giants, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Boston Braves, and ended the 1919 baseball season with a .327 batting average. (6) Jim Thorpe established his amateur football record playing halfback, defender, punter, and place-kicker while he was a student at the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, and was chosen as Walter Camp's First Team All-American Half- Back in 1911 and 1912. (7) Jim Thorpe was a founding father of professional football, playing with the Canton Bulldogs, which was the team recognized as world champion in 1916, 1917, and 1919, the Cleveland Indians, the Oorang Indians, the Rock Island Independent, the New York Giants, and the Chicago Cardinals. (8) In 1920, Jim Thorpe was named the first president of the American Professional Football Association, now known as the National Football League. (9) Jim Thorpe was voted America's Greatest All-Around Male Athlete and chosen as the greatest football player of the half-century in 1950 by an Associated Press poll of sportswriters. (10) Jim Thorpe was named the Greatest American Football Player in History in a 1977 national poll conducted by Sport Magazine. (11) Because of his outstanding achievements, Jim Thorpe was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, the Professional Football Hall of Fame, the Helms Professional Football Hall of Fame, the National Indian Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame, and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. (12) The immeasurable sports achievements of Jim Thorpe have long been an inspiration to the youth in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States. (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that Jim Thorpe should be recognized as the ``Athlete of the Century''. Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today to submit a resolution recognizing Jim Thorpe as the Athlete of the Century. Born to an impoverished family on Sac-and-Fox Indian land, Jim Thorpe overcame adverse circumstances to excel as an amateur and as a professional in three sports; track and field, football and baseball. Thorpe, who was voted ``Athlete of the First Half of the Century'' by the Associated Press almost fifty years ago, is the only American athlete ever to excel at this level in three major sports. As a student at Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, Thorpe prooved his athletic ability early on. One anecdote recalls how the 5- foot-9\1/2\ inch, 144-pound Thorpe almost single-handedly overcame the entire Lafayette track team at a meeting in Easton, Pennsylvania, winning six events. Also while attending the Carlisle Indian School, Jim Thorpe established his amateur football record playing halfback, defender, punter, and place-kicker. In 1911, he was named an All American. In 1912, he represented the United States and the Sac-and-Fox Nation in the Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden. To this day, Thorpe is the only athlete to win gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon. After his Olympic feats in Sweden, Thorpe retured to Carlisle's football team and was named an All-American again. In 1913, Thorpe left amateur athletics and signed a $5,000 contract to play baseball with the New York Giants. As an outfielder with the Giants, and later with the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Braves, his best season was his last one, when he batted .327 in 60 games for Boston. In 1915, Thorpe agreed to play professional football for the Canton Bulldogs. [[Page 8158]] Thorpe went on to become a key part of this team as it was recognized as the ``world champion'' in 1916, 1917, and 1919. Thorpe's professional football career later included stints with Cleveland, Rock Island, the New York Giants, and the Chicago Cardinals. In 1920, Thorpe became the first president of the American Football Association, which was later to become the National Football League. Today, he is recognized as a founding father of professional football. Recently, I had the privilege of attending a luncheon honoring Jim Thorpe's daughter, Grace, at the Jim Thorpe Memorial Hall in the Carbon County, Pennsylvania, a town named for the great athlete. Grace Thorpe has traveled around the country asking people to sign petitions declaring her father athlete of the century. She plans to send the petition to cable sports networks and national sportswriters. As Jim Thorpe Area Sports Hall of Fame president, Jack Kmetz has noted, Thorpe unfortunately missed out on the modern-day media blitz that surrounds popular athletes today. Nonetheless, I promised Ms. Thorpe and the people of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania that I would introduce this resolution which I hope will raise awareness of this true legend's achievements and give him the recongnition he deserves. ____________________