A Tug of War Over Jim Thorpe's Remains

PRAGUE, Okla. and JIM THORPE, Pa. -- There is nothing too fancy where Jack Thorpe stands. It's in a rural Oklahoma graveyard surrounded by a chain-link fence and across the street from Garden Grove Church.

This is where Jack Thorpe wants his father, Jim Thorpe, perhaps the greatest athlete who ever lived, to be moved for burial 56 years after his death. There are no plans for an elaborate tomb or for any extras. He simply wants his father to be buried underneath a simple marker beside his father Hiram Thorpe and many relatives.

"We want to put him to rest where he wanted to be,'' Jack Thorpe said of the graveyard that is a few miles from where Thorpe was born May 28, 1888, and about 40 miles east of Oklahoma City. "We want him to have a proper Indian burial so his soul can be put to rest.''

Instead, Thorpe, a member of the Sac and Fox Tribe who was born on what was then Indian land and is now near the town of Prague, is entombed more than 1,300 miles away in Jim Thorpe, Pa., a town of 5,000 two hours north of Philadelphia. It's a place he never set foot in his life.

Thorpe, who had alcohol and money problems in his later years, died on March 28, 1953 in Lomita, Calif., and it didn't take long before squabbles started on where he would be buried. Thorpe, who died at 64 after his third heart attack, was expected to be interred in his native Oklahoma before his body was taken away by his third wife, Patricia Thorpe, one day before the burial. She was not Native American.

A plan for a memorial in Oklahoma fell through. Patricia Thorpe then traveled the country in search of a burial site for the hero of the 1912 Summer Olympics and the first great pro football star.

In 1954, her travels took her to the towns of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk, Pa., about two hours northeast of Carlisle (Pa.) Indian School, where Thorpe first gained recognition nearly 100 years ago as a football star. With the nearby coal mines shutting down, the towns were in peril and looking for something to boost tourism.

It was decided by a vote the towns, known as boroughs in Pennsylvania, would consolidate, and be renamed Jim Thorpe. Per a contract between Patricia Thorpe and the boroughs, it was agreed a "fitting tribute and memorial'' would be built by 1957. Thorpe's widow also was to get money for "expenses,'' although that was not written in the contract.

With many townsfolk agreeing to chip in for the $10,000 memorial by contributing a nickel a week, it was completed on time. And that's where Thorpe, after being housed in a morgue for a year and temporarily buried in Jim Thorpe for three years, has been since.

But Jack Thorpe, 72, and some other members of the family long have objected to Thorpe being buried so far from his native Oklahoma, and believe his spirit is continuing to wander due to not having a proper Indian burial. He said he has been told his father wanted to be buried near his birthplace.

The family is soon planning to take action, and has retained Pickett & Grace, a Kansas City, Mo., law firm. Travis Willingham, one of two attorneys working on the case, told FanHouse last month a lawsuit will be filed "sometime in November'' in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania asking for the return of Thorpe's remains to Oklahoma.

"I'll see it in my lifetime,'' said Jack Thorpe, who said a lawsuit has become necessary due to borough officials having given no consideration to a possible return of the body.

The lawyers plan to use the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which Congress signed into law in 1990. It covers situations calling for remains of graves and other patrimonial and cultural artifacts being repatriated to an Indian tribe.

"It relates because Jim Thorpe, Pa., receives federal funding,'' said Willingham, who said the borough of Jim Thorpe will be sued. "I would think it would be a very good case we have.''

Not a clear-cut case

However, an attorney who specializes in Native American law wrote in an e-mail to FanHouse that this law might not apply to the Jim Thorpe situation because Thorpe is not buried on federal land and that law was passed well after Thorpe's burial. However, Donald Juneau, of Hammond, La., doesn't rule out Thorpe's family winning the case using other means.

It certainly isn't the first time the Thorpe family has been in an epic fight. Thorpe, who would later star through the 1920s in the NFL and also played Major League Baseball, won gold medals in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm in the decathlon and pentathlon and would be declared the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th century. But Thorpe's medals were stripped in 1913 because he played baseball for a few bucks prior to the 1912 Olympics, which should have made him ineligible as a professional.

It later was determined the International Olympic Committee did not follow proper procedures in taking Thorpe's medals, with many believing he faced discrimination due to being an Indian. Following years of pressure from the Thorpe family, the medals were returned in 1983, around the time Jack Thorpe began expressing his desire to have his father's body returned to Oklahoma.

"He was the greatest athlete who ever lived,'' Jack Thorpe said flatly.

It took 70 years to get the medals returned, but Thorpe family members are hopeful they can get the body back in less than 60. Yet there soon could be a fight in the courtroom as well as one possibly within the Thorpe family, with not all members in agreement about moving the body.

Borough officials never have shown any desire to give up the body. Ronald Confer, 66, has been the mayor since 1999, but he will retire at the end of the year. He spoke against returning the body after Jack Thorpe brought the issue to the media in 2001, and he has continued to do so.

"We had an agreement, and we fulfilled our part,'' said Confer, who provided FanHouse with a copy of the 1954 contract between Patricia Thorpe and the borough. "We've had [the body] for over 50 years. I don't understand what their dilemma is [in Oklahoma].''

'It should stay there'

A granddaughter of Thorpe's agrees with Confer. Sharon Kossakowski, 69, sees no reason for the body to be moved.

"It should stay there,'' said Kossakowski, of Yale, Okla. "It's been there for over 50 years, and shouldn't be moved. They have done a beautiful job there.''

Kossakowski said she didn't know a lawsuit is forthcoming, and plans to talk to Jack Thorpe soon about her objections. But Jack Thorpe is used to the family being divided on the issue.

Thorpe married three times, and had four children each with first wife Iva and second wife Freeda. Both are deceased although Freeda didn't die until two years ago at the age of 102. He had no children with Patricia, who died in 1972.

All of the children from the first marriage are dead. Three of the children, including Jack, from the second marriage are still alive.

Of the children Thorpe had with Iva, Gail, Kossakowski's mother who died in 2005 at 87, and Grace, who died earlier this year at 87, both were well aware of efforts by Jack Thorpe to bring the body back to Oklahoma. Grace never was in favor of it while Gail went back and forth.

Kossakowski said shortly before she died that Gail went back to believing the body should remain in Pennsylvania. But Jack Thorpe has pressed on primarily because the oldest brother from his father's second marriage also wants the body brought back.

Indian culture

"In Indian culture, the oldest male is the one who makes the decisions,'' said Bill Thorpe, 81, who lives in Arlington, Texas. "It is something I really want [the body returned to Oklahoma] because his spirit will truly not be put to rest until he has a proper Indian burial.''

Because Bill Thorpe considers Jack, once the leader for the Sac and Fox Tribe in Shawnee, Okla., the better public spokesman, he has his brother act on behalf of the family.

As for the borough of Jim Thorpe, Confer will be replaced by Mike Sofranko, 43, who won the election Nov. 3 and takes over Jan. 1.

"Until I see the lawsuit and what they're requesting, I can't really comment,'' Sofranko said. "But, if you look back, there is a history [in the town] with Jim Thorpe. We renamed the two boroughs and the school and everything in his honor. If Jim Thorpe were alive today, he would be proud that we are honoring what he stood for. I have respect for the heritage of Native American tribes and their families, but we will all have to sit down and [discuss any lawsuit with the seven members of the borough council involved].''

For now, it's business as usual in Jim Thorpe, which is located in the scenic Lehigh Valley and has been dubbed the "Switzerland of the United States'' for its rolling hills. The marble tomb stands on the east side of town in what was once East Mauch Chunk.

On the side of the tomb, there are carvings of Thorpe competing in track and field events and in football and baseball. There is a quote from King Gustav V of Sweden after Thorpe won his two Olympic golds that reads: "Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world.''

Behind the tomb are U.S., Pennsylvania and Olympic flags high atop poles. Flanking the tomb on each side of a park are displays that chronicle Thorpe's legendary athletic career.

A statue of Thorpe holding a football, erected in 2007, is on one side. It chronicles Thorpe's feats, including being named the greatest athlete of the 20th century in an "ABC's Wide World of Sports'' online poll.

On another side there are five pillars that include more precise details about Thorpe's many accomplishments. Nowhere is it mentioned, though, that Thorpe never set foot in the town.

"I think that it is strange without a doubt,'' admits Sofranko, when asked if it is odd the borough honors a man who had never been there.

Visitors also are perplexed. FanHouse talked to more than a half dozen at the memorial last Friday, and none were aware Thorpe had no prior connection with the town.

"I never knew that story,'' said Richard Stone, 63, of Oceanport, N.J. "If they bought his body for commercial reasons because of his name, that goes against my beliefs. [For] a Native American, if [Oklahoma is] his homeland, he should be there.''

Those commercial reasons, though, never really materialized. Jim Thorpe never got the tourism boom it expected and fell short in its bid to land the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which instead opened in 1963 in Canton, Ohio, the city Thorpe put on the map thanks to his gridiron exploits.

Of the visitors who spoke with FanHouse, none listed Thorpe's memorial as the primary lure. The town draws tourists more due to an historic railroad that runs through the scenic Lehigh Valley, the concert venue Penn's Peak and for outdoor activities.

Borough officials admit locals have been divided over the years about whether the body should remain and the town continue to be called Jim Thorpe. Confer said it was on the ballot in the 1960s to change the name back, but the measure failed.

Mixed feelings among locals

Ann Marie Fitzpatrick, who runs Nature's Trail, a gift shop on Broadway, the town's quaint main street that isn't very broad, is dead set on keeping the status quo. She started in 1995 an annual celebration on Thorpe's birthday, which includes a run.

"That's a really touchy subject to bring it up again,'' said Fitzpatrick, 68. "Grace used to come and visit [the shop] and she was comfortable with where the body was. Sure, they would have liked to have had the body buried at the beginning in Oklahoma, but it didn't happen. Grace even made the comment once, 'You had your opportunity. You snooze. You lose.' ''

Chip Burnett, 58, said it would be a "slap in the face to the people of Jim Thorpe'' if the body is taken. But Bob Bell, 64, said he would have no problem if that were to happen.

"If they want him back and they're willing to move him, who am I to stand in their way?'' Bell said. "I appreciate the family's wishes. I wouldn't mind if [the town's name] changed back to Mauch Chunk. I think there's quite a charm to Mauck Chunk.''

Resident Steve Hlavka, 70, admits to being torn. But he said there's one positive that could come out of a lawsuit being filed.

"Let [the town] take the publicity,'' Hlavka said. "There's no such thing as bad publicity. Just get it in the paper.''

The story about the family wanting the body back got its most publicity in 2001. But it got started in the minds of Jack and Bill Thorpe much earlier.

Bill Thorpe, 13 when his father divorced Freeda in 1941, was ready to be discharged from the military when he got word his father died in 1953. After having fought in the Korean War, he returned from Asia to the U.S.

Bill Thorpe was on hand for what was supposed to be Thorpe's burial the next day in Oklahoma, and family members were having dinner near Thorpe's body.

"As part of the Indian ceremony, you have dinner in the room with the casket,'' said Bill Thorpe. "We were celebrating and sending him off. [Patricia Thorpe] came up with a police officer and an ambulance, and she put him in the ambulance and took him away.''

Bill Thorpe said family members generally disagreed with the body being taken. But they were told by Oklahoma officials that Patricia Thorpe had the right to decide what to do with Thorpe.

Bill Thorpe said the state of Oklahoma had been discussing plans to build a memorial for Thorpe. But he said plans were scrapped due to behavior by his widow.

"There were plans to also set up a sports museum for Jim Thorpe, and she wanted to be a member of the board,'' he said. "But she expected to be paid, and when they said no, she said, 'Well, you're not going to have his body.'"

The brothers say Patricia Thorpe traveled around the country looking for a place for her husband to be interred. After Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk stepped forward, the brothers say Patricia was paid for the body.

No official information could be found on the sum. Bill calls the amount Patricia received $10,000 while Jack said it was $25,000. Both agree the money was listed as being for expenses since the law would have frowned upon buying a body.

Bill Thorpe said Patricia Thorpe was seeking monetary gain and said he "hated her guts'' and never had anything to do with her the rest of her life. Jack Thorpe called Patricia "money hungry,'' but said he visited with her throughout the rest of her life. Jack Thorpe, 15 when his father died, said he initially was too young to form much of an opinion on what was going on with his body.

Jack Thorpe first visited his father's tomb in the late 1950s. He returned around the time duplicate gold medals had been given to Bill and Gail in a January 1983 ceremony in Los Angeles. At that time, he didn't think much of what he saw.

"I was going there to be the keynote speaker for the Lehigh Valley Boy Scouts,'' he said. "They didn't tell me there were going to be reporters there. They asked me how I felt. I told them that I felt he should be buried back in Oklahoma. They didn't like that ... I have no problem with the town being named after my father. It's an honor. I just don't think he should be buried there.''

Bill Thorpe only once has been to the memorial. It was in the mid-1980s when he was visiting relatives on the side of his wife, who is now deceased.

He said he didn't feel good about seeing his father being buried in a place where he never had been. At least he did see one inspiring sign.

"[Bill Thorpe and his wife] saw a young Indian who was helping take care of [the tomb],'' he said. "He said he had been inspired by my father and he got into track and field and was trying to make the Olympics. I never did know whether he made it or not.''

In the years after Thorpe's medals were restored, Jack Thorpe began to think more and more about his father's resting place. There also began to be more awareness in Oklahoma about Thorpe.

A sleek marker was erected at the site of Thorpe's birthplace. It touts his many accomplishments and displays his Sac and Fox name "Watha Huck,'' meaning "Bright Path.''

His duplicate medals initially were placed under a portrait of Thorpe that has been hanging in the State Capitol in Oklahoma City since 1966. Now, the medals are on display across the street at the Oklahoma History Center, where there is a Thorpe display complete with a 21st century Wheaties box with Thorpe on the front.

With all of this newfound interest in Thorpe, family members continued to squabble about how they stood on the issue of the great athlete's body. Finally, during a period in which Gail sided with the brothers, a decision was made in 2001 to pursue with vigor bringing the body back.

Much of this decade has been spent working with Pickett & Grace, a firm that has handled other cases for the Sac and Fox Tribe, which has about 3,500 members, the great majority in Oklahoma. Willingham wouldn't address how the firm is being paid.

"I've thought about it for years,'' Willingham said about what laws might apply to Thorpe's situation. "I checked with a professor from my law school [John Ragsdale, an Indian specialist at the University of Missouri-Kansas City], and he believed this law would apply.''

That law is NAGPRA. But Juneau isn't so sure that is the right path.

"That doesn't apply to the Jim Thorpe situation,'' Juneau wrote. "NAGPRA was enacted in 1990 to cover situations where not only remains in graves, but other patrimonial and cultural artifacts should be repatriated to an Indian tribe. However, the act only covers remains and patrimonial objects which are on federal lands ... NAGPRA does cover graves and other human remains ... but this protection is limited to the statute's date of enactment, Nov. 16, 1990.''

Sofranko confirmed Thorpe is buried on land owned by the borough of Jim Thorpe. But Juneau didn't completely rule out Thorpe's lawyers being able to win a case. He cited the 1979 Louisiana case Charrier v. Bell in which a man unearthed a large amount of Indian artifacts next to the Mississippi River, which eventually went to Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

In the suit, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe claimed ownership of the artifacts even though it had been 200 years since the tribe had a village in the location. Juneau wrote the tribe won "because it was held that these graves and human remains were not commodities ... This case could be of some help to the Jim Thorpe lawyers because it disapproves of human remains being in commerce, to be bought and sold. That is a powerful argument.''

Confer believes the May 19, 1954, contract between the borough and Patricia Thorpe is binding. It reads Thorpe's widow has "exclusive right over the disposition of the remains of her said deceased husband, including the selection or determination of his place of burial.'' It reads that, if the boroughs of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk agree to change the name to Jim Thorpe and builds a "fitting tribute and memorial to Thorpe,'' then Patricia Thorpe and "her heirs, administrators and executors [can't] remove or cause to be removed the body.''

"We've had [the body] for over 50 years, and we honor him,'' Confer said. "For 30 some years, they never really bothered us about it, and then, when the medals were coming back, out of the clear blue sky [Jack Thorpe stated he wanted the body returned to Oklahoma]. I always wondered why we never got the medals. We have his remains here.''

Yet what if the lawsuit is lost, and Jim Thorpe no longer has Thorpe's remains? Confer didn't want to speculate on whether the town would need to change its name and perhaps do something with the memorial.

But one visitor to Jim Thorpe said the memorial still would serve as a fitting tribute to the legendary athlete even if it no longer housed his body.

"At least someone has taken interest in his incredible abilities,'' said Jack Methot, 62, of San Jose, Calif., believing Thorpe historically has not been properly honored for all his accomplishments. "That doesn't mean they can't have a memorial here that eulogizes his fantastic athletic abilities. They can keep that.''

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com and on Twitter @christomasson.