Jim Thorpe Thorpe posing in his football uniform in the late 1910s or early 1920s Date of birth May 28, 1888(1888-05-28) Place of birth Prague, Oklahoma, USA Date of death March 28, 1953(1953-03-28) (aged 64) Place of death Lomita, California, USA Position(s) Back College Carlisle Indian Jersey number 31, 2, 1 Honors All-Pro selection (1923) NFL 1920s All-Decade Team Playing stats DatabaseFootball Coaching stats DatabaseFootball Team(s) as a player 1915-1917 1919-1920 1921 1922-1923 1924 1925 1925 1926 1926 1928 Canton Bulldogs Canton Bulldogs Cleveland Indians Oorang Indians Rock Island Independents New York Giants Rock Island Independents Tampa Cardinals Canton Bulldogs Chicago Cardinals Team(s) as a coach/administrator 1915-1920 1921 1922–1923 1925 Canton Bulldogs Cleveland Indians Oorang Indians Tampa Cardinals College Football Hall of Fame Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1963 Medal record Men’s athletics Competitor for the  United States Olympic Games Gold 1912 Stockholm Pentathlon Gold 1912 Stockholm Decathlon Jim Thorpe Outfielder Batted: Right Threw: Right  MLB debut April 14, 1913 for the New York Giants Last MLB appearance September 25, 1919 for the Boston Braves Career statistics Batting average     .252 Home runs     7 Runs batted in     82 Hits     176 Teams New York Giants (1913–1915, 1917, 1918–1919) Cincinnati Reds (1917) Boston Braves (1919) Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe (Sac and Fox (Sauk): Wa-Tho-Huk, translated to Bright Path) (May 28, 1888 – March 28, 1953) was an American athlete of mixed ancestry (mixed Caucasian and American Indian). Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won Olympic gold medals for the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, played American football (collegiate and professional), and also played professional baseball and basketball. He lost his Olympic titles after it was found he was paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics, thus violating the amateurism rules..