Jim Thorpe was an American athlete who won two gold medals in the 1912 Olympics and is widely considered one of the greatest athletes of all time. He was a professional football player, a Major League Baseball player, and a track and field star. He was also inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. Thorpe was a Native American of the Sac and Fox Nation and was born in Oklahoma in 1887. He died in 1953.