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The role of sport in politics
Essay about athletic biography of james frances thorpe
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Robert Meely 12/2/14 1st hour Argumentation Essay The contradictory topic of Jim Thorpe and what should have been done with his medals and trophies leaves us with a heated debate. James Francis Thorpe aka Jim Thorpe,was born on May 28th 1887. Jim grew up as part of the Sac and Fox tribe. His father Hiram Thorpe and mother Mary James were strong parents, and part of the reason that Jim excelled in athletics. Jim grew up playing 3 main sports of: track and field, football, as well as baseball. Jim was a sight to see at all three sports. According to (http://www.cmgww.com/sports/thorpe/bio/bio.html) Jim had played for the professional team of the New York Giants in football and and many professional baseball teams. Jim was part of the U.S olympic team for track and field. …show more content…
Jim participated of the 1912 Olympics, and competed in the the pentathlon which consisted of: (running, jumping, javelin, discus and wrestling) and the decathlon which consisted of: (100-metre dash, running long (broad) jump, shot put, high jump, and 400-metre run, 110-metre hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and 1,500-metre run.) Jim won medals in both events.According to (http://www.cmgww.com/sports/thorpe/bio/bio.html) King Gustav of Sweden as well as many other people considered Jim to be “the greatest athlete in the world”.
After winning medals in the Olympics the International Olympic Committee stripped Jim of his medals. In the opinion of some the IOC had the right to do
so. After the Olympics rumors spread that Jim had not been fair to other olympic athletes, because he was a paid professional. The International Olympic Committee then opened an investigation on Jims prior professional career, and couldn’t find anything at first. Later on in the investigation they found out that Jim had in fact played professional sports for money. According to (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition. Q1 2014) Jim had played semi-professional baseball for the Rocky Mount N.C team of the Northern Carolina Eastern League.During the 1909-1910 year when Jim played for the Rocky Mount North Carolina semi-professional team he made a good salary of about $250 a game. While not having a great career at baseball, it was one of the reasons that he lost his medals that he had fought so hard for. If Jim could have done it differently again he could and would have. While some people may say that Jim Thorpe should still be able to keep his medals for the reasons of: Olympic athletes can be professionals as of today, he was completely a natural athlete and never used enhancements or never did anything worthy of his being stripped of his gold medals, I would have to say that, he was a new type of athlete who was nearly never seen back in those days. Jim was able to compete at the highest level with the professionals, much less the other amateur athletes in the olympics, who never had to compete at the level that jim did. In the end of it all Jim was voted as the greatest athlete of the 20th century.
On the morning of May 28, 1888, one of the most versatile, and arguably the greatest of athletes was born in a one-room cabin made of cottonwood and hickory, on the Sac and Fox Indian Reservation located in Prague, Oklahoma. His name was Wa-tho-huck, which means "Bright Path" , in the Native American language spoken by the Sac and Fox Tribe. His father was Hiram P. Thorpe an Irish trapper, and his mother was No-ten-o-quah, and Indian member of the Thunder Clan of Chief Black Hawk, better known as Charlotte Thorpe. It was a customary tradition for Native Americans to name their children after something seen just before giving birth or even just after giving birth. Since the first thing Wa-tho-huck’s mother saw, shortly after giving birth at 6:30 in the morning, was the Sun rising over a walkway leading to the cabin, hence the name "Bright Path." Because Hiram Thorpe wasn’t a full-blooded Indian, Wa-tho-huck needed to have a name given to him at the time he was christened. They agreed on the name James Frances Thorpe, or as many came to know him as, Jim Thorpe.
A hero is someone who doesn’t give up and keeps on fighting for their goal. Jackie Robinson is a great hero and came over great challenges, but he achieved his goal. How Jackie Robinson embodies the human spirt is that he broke the color barrier, and the challenges he faced, and his life.
When the games were over and Owens went home he never got the recognition he deserved. But he did finish college with his earnings from the games. He went on to work as a director of physical education for African Americans. Then he was appointed secretary of the Illinois Athletic Commission. Then he headed is own public relations firm in Chicago and traveled throughout America speaking to youth groups. Finally, forty years after the games Owens was invited to the White House to accept a Medal of Freedom. In the end, Jesse Owens was represented as a symbol of democracy and
On May 22, 1888, Charlotte Thorpe gave birth to Jacobus (Jim) Franciscus Thorpe and his twin brother, Charles, on an Indian reservation near modern-day Prague, Oklahoma. His Native American roots trace back to chief Black Hawk of the Sac and Fox tribe. His Native American name was Wa-tho-huk, which means “Bright Path.” As a child, he experienced many hardships and struggles. Despite those circumstances, he grew up to be the world’s greatest athlete and play six sports and star in the Olympics. Unfortunately, the Olympics didn’t work out the way he planned. Later in life, he battled health, marriage, and child issues. Undeterred by his struggles, the story of Jim Thorpe’s life is a triumphant yet tragic account of a man who overcame the impossible and the impassible to become the greatest athlete in the history of the world.
James Nathaniel Brown later known as Jim Brown was born February 17, 1936 in St. Simons Island, Georgia to parents Theresa and Swinton Brown. When he was just two weeks old his father, Swinton Brown a professional boxer, abandoned his family. Shortly after, his mother, Theresa Brown, also departed taking a job as a housekeeper in Manhasset, NY leaving Jim to be raised by his great grandmother for the first seven years of his life. At age 8 Jim reunited with his mother in Manhasset, NY where he had a difficult time adjusting to his new surroundings. Things improved for Jim once he found an outlet in playing sports. His athletic ability came natural. Although being the product of a broken home Jim went on to become one of the greatest professional athletes in the history of the United States. He was a 1st round 6th overall NFL draft pick in 1956 for the Cleveland Browns. During the 9 seasons he played Jim lead the league in rushing yards, and steered his team toward a championship against Baltimore winning with a score of 27-0. However even with all the success he had, and being at the peak of his career, Jim saw a life outside of football. At the age of 30 before the start of the 1966 season Jim announced his retirement. Some doubted he would stay away from football, but he never returned. (Jim Brown Biography) Instead he began focusing on social and economic causes that were directed at providing opportunities for Black people, especially Black business people (Simmonds).
“It is called destruction before reconstruction. People will have to see the danger of war, the hopelessness of war, before things can improve.”-Elizabeth Joyce The United States, a dark place for the locals. Recovery from the Civil War (e.g. Sherman's march in the south) and Lincoln's death, the country is torn apart. Both the Radical republicans' and President Johnson's goal was to reunite the country in a stable and fair way. My A+ plan for reconstruction has southerners who rebelled to be punished differently, southern states who wish to be readmitted into the Union should give freedmen equal rights, and freedmen should establish new lives as free people.
Jackie Robinson grew up with sports all around him. Jackie’s older brother Matthew was an Olympic sprinter in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin; he came in second in the 200 meter dash behind Jesse Owens. “Matthew inspired Jackie to pursue his talent and love for athletics (Robinson)”. Jackie continued his love for sports at the University of California, Los Angeles. Robinson became the university’s first four sport letterman. He excelled in track, baseball, football and basketball. If it was not for his brother Robinson might not have continued his love for sports, thus never playing in the major leagues and the integration of the United States might have taken longer. He was easi...
Athletes waiver an uncanny amount of courage, by pushing their bodies to the test and showcasing themselves and abilities to the judgement of the public. Sports may come natural for many people, but having utmost character and bravery does not come easy to anyone. Undoubtedly, having both is a rare occasion. Being a prime example, Jackie Robinson used his natural born gifts of a strong character and personality, along with an unprecedented athletic ability. He fought for equality by dignity and hard work. Respectfully, he was one of the best in Major League baseball for his time, and sparked a Civil RIghts Movement while doing it.
In my 8 or so years of playing football I’ve often heard coaches liken the job of the linemen to that of a soldier fighting in a trench, pushing, attacking, and struggling for every inch of the battlefield that is the line of scrimmage. Of course, the job of a lineman is far less dramatic and glorious than that description makes it out to be, most of our job is just keeping the defense at bay so the quarterback and the rest of the backfield has time to get a play off. Unfortunately for us offensive linemen, the defense has a much larger bag of tricks when it comes to the actual clash, they can grab, pull, or simply spin by while the O-line is relegated mostly to pushing with shoulder and hand. This can make things difficult if, for instance
Contact sports in America, like football and boxing, carry a rich history of the spirit of the game, and the feeling of victory. These games bring us together as we cry out and cheer for our team or fighter as they deliver the winning touchdown, or the knockout that brings them the undisputed champion belt. However, these players are facing injuries that can destroy their career and affect their brain for the rest of their lives. We shouldn’t outlaw contact sports, but we should force safety to become more important. If we want to keep our players safe and continue the tradition of the contact sports we enjoy as a country, then we must evolve our safety in sports, and change the way we view contact sports as a country.
It is considered that football is the most viewed sport in the United States, over 200 million people watch the regular season which consists of 256 games, and about 114 million people watch the Super Bowl alone which is the final game of the season. The National Football League roughly makes over 500 million for a regular season and their players get paid an average of 2.11 million, but that is the NFL.
Wake up in the morning, every morning, before the sun has risen. Hit the gym at five in the morning, before long, head to school, and finally precede back to working out and practicing. This is the exhausting day-to-day life of the majority of college athletes. Athletes that spend countless hours working with the result that they can be the best they can possibly be. At their best they make their school millions and millions of dollars and the maximum they can receive out of it, is a free education. College athletes should receive a stipend to play their sport. There is not much of a difference between keeping a college scholarship and keeping a job in a professional sports team, they bring millions of dollars to their school each year, and
Some schools force students to participate in organized school sports. However, I believe that schools should not make this a requirement. Some students may have medical conditions, family situations that don't allow them to participate in organized school sports, or they simply may not have the time.
Student athletes live very busy lives. A typical school day runs from 8:00-2:30, add in a two- hour practice or game, score a part time job, dive into some family time, a grand slam of homework and catch a little bit of sleep. Students are more stressed due to the many activities they are a part of. This issue affects a lot of people not only in this school district, but most other high schools throughout the country. All student athletes exercise more than other children who are not involved in an extracurricular sport. In school athletics, the players are called “student athletes” meaning that school activities come first. There are strict rules for student athletes, not only on the field but in the classroom as well. In physical education
Are high school sports beneficial or not for students? I personally believe if a student is in a high school sport they’re forced to prioritize between school and their sport, and at a young age I believe the student would decide to use his time to improve in his sport instead of school. Which in the long run would affect his academics, unless they decide to stay up late and work on their homework to keep up with both school and their sport. But, even like that in time the lack of sleep would catch up to them, and cause them to do even worse in both academics, and sports. High school sports are like the lotto in my opinion, many play but only a few get rewarded for their work. Therefore, high school sports cause more negativity than positivity.