Associated Press

Published Nov 20 2001

JIM THORPE, Pa. (AP) -- Jim Thorpe, the American Indian once called " the world' s greatest athlete, " will soon grace the cover of a Wheaties box.

Grace Thorpe, his 80-year-old daughter, and Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker unveiled the box design at a ceremony Tuesday at Jim Thorpe High School. Thorpe died in 1953.

Thorpe never lived in the Carbon County town that bears his name, but he did attend the Carlisle Indian School of Pennsylvania, where his prowess on the gridiron catapulted the school to victories over the likes of Pitt, Army and Penn State.

Thorpe is known for winning both the pentathlon and decathlon in the 1912 Olympics in Sweden. After winning his second gold medal, Sweden' s King Gustav V shook his hand and said, " Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world!"

" Thanks, King, " he replied.

Thorpe also played professional baseball with the New York Giants and the Boston Braves.

Burt Lancaster played the lead role in the 1951 movie about his life, titled " Jim Thorpe, All American."

********

Did you know -

1. Believe it or not, a player once hit 3 home runs into 3 different states in the same game...Olympic champion Jim Thorpe played in a semi-pro baseball game in a ballpark on the Texas-Oklahoma-Arkansas border...He hit his first homer over the leftfield wall with the ball landing in Oklahoma...Then he hit a homer over the rightfield wall, into Arkansas...His third homer of the game was an inside-the-park home run in centerfield, which was in Texas!

2. Thorpe is one of two men in history who played for both the New York football (running back) and the baseball (outfielder) Giants.

3. Thorpe played football professionally well past his prime, retiring in 1928 at age 41.

4. Jim Thorpe played major and minor league baseball for 20 years, starting with the New York Giants in 1913, later playing for the Boston Braves and the Cincinnatti Reds, plus several others.

5. Thorpe was the first president of what is now the National Football League.

6. Thorpe was .252 in his six seasons (1913-15, 1917-19) as an outfielder with the Giants, Cincinnati Reds and Boston Braves.

7. Thorpe's best baseball season was his last, when he batted .327 in 60 games for Boston.

Last year ESPN voted Thorpe "Athlete of the Century".

For more on Jim Thorpe, including a biography, go to: