The Spirit of Jim Thorpe

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Wisconsin Public Radio

Prx, Philosophy, Knowledge, Wpr, Ttbook, Wisconsin, Society & Culture

4.7 • 844 Ratings

🗓️ 22 June 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jim Thorpe was one of the greatest athletes the world has ever known — a legend in the NFL, MLB, NCAA, and in the Olympics. Today he is being celebrated by a new generation of Native Americans.

Rapper Tall Paul’s album is called, “The Story of Jim Thorpe." Tall Paul is an Anishinaabe and Oneida Hip-Hop artist enrolled on the Leech Lake reservation in Minnesota.
Biographer David Maraniss is the author of "Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe."
Activist Suzan Shown Harjo is the recipient of a 2014 Presidential Medal of Freedom. She is Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee.
Patty Loew is the director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research at Northwestern University. She is a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe.

Special thanks to Robert W. Wheeler and the Smithsonian for archival audio.

Original Air Date: January 14, 2023

Interviews In This Hour:
Was Jim Thorpe the greatest athlete who ever lived? — The white man's trophy — A hero who looks like me — Indigenous excellence: Hip hop and the legacy of Jim Thorpe

Guests:
Tall Paul, Suzan Shown Harjo, Patty Loew, David Maraniss

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, it's Anne.
0:02.0	Today, on to the best of our knowledge, we're celebrating one of the greatest athletes the world has ever known.
0:10.0	The greatest athlete in the world.
0:12.0	One of the greatest athletes of all time.
0:14.0	Just that much better than everybody else.
0:16.0	A pro football player, Major League Baseball player, gold medal winner in the Olympics.
0:21.3	Everything, anybody else knew, it can do it better.
0:24.0	He could do anything.
0:25.7	His name was Jim Thorpe.
0:28.9	And because he was Native American, he battled racism and discrimination every day of his life.
0:35.0	It's been 70 years since Jim Thorpe died, but today he's inspiring a new generation of
0:40.7	activists, artists, and athletes.
0:43.8	I'll tell you his story after this.
0:51.1	From WPR.
0:57.7	I think of the from WPR. I'm Anne Strange Champs, and welcome to the best of our knowledge.
1:02.1	Today, we celebrate an American icon.
1:06.5	The greatest all-round athlete America has ever produced.
1:11.0	Ladies and gentlemen, Jim Thorpe All-America.
1:18.0	Jim Thorpe was a Native American athlete who died 70 years ago
1:21.8	and is still one of the greatest athletes who ever lived.
1:26.0	Maybe the greatest.
1:29.8	A legendary pro football player,
	...

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