Jim Thorpe's Accomplishments

Jim Thorpe was an American Athlete who performed during the early 1900’s. At a young age he picked up track and field and eventually other sports like baseball and football and excelled in all of them. He gained worldwide attention because of his amazing talent in every sport he picked up and also because of his race being Native American, which was rare to see in professional sports. His two best sports were Football and Track and field which he won many awards in. He then got into the acting business which made him even more popular and respected throughout the US and even the world. From being told he is the best athlete in the world by a king, to being the president of what is now the NFL, Jim Thorpe changed America culturally because of his athletic career, his ability to persuade people not to discriminate

Tim Tebow is one of the most inspirational active sports players to younger kids and even adults. Tim Tebow has overcome many challenges in his life, he won the national championship in football at University of Florida as quarterback. He later entered the draft and was picked by the Denver Broncos in the first round and twenty- fifth pick. When Tim Tebow joined the league it was not for him, he had only bad games situations we usually go deep down to find talents that we never knew we had. We tend to rise to the occasion and complete tasks that need to be done by us because we are the bravest to do it. I do agree with this specific prompt because there have been times where I have had to rise above and be the bigger man to complete challenges. There are also many famous figures such as: Tim Tebow, my great uncle, and Steve Jobs. These people in one way or another have started with nothing and made millions and billions. They have all found talents that they did not know they had. Their hidden talents have impacted families, fans, and the evolution of technology.

In 1999, when this essay was published, something as simple as a cellphone was a revolution to the American people. Conversations anywhere with no wires involved! Wow! Looking back now, American seemed pretty simple in 1999. This is the same for Michael Jordan – once upon a time, Jordan was JUST a basketball player. LaFeber’s essay illustrates for us the rise of the young Jordan from his middle-class family in racist North Carolina through his college years and eventually into the NBA where he became an international sports icon. LaFeber tells the story of how Jordan caught the eye of Nike CEO Phil Knight and goes on to explain how Knight transformed Jordan into the face of a multi-billion dollar international corporation. LaFeber also fills us in on race and sports issues surrounding Jordan and how that played a part in Nike’s growth. LaFeber shows us how race effected middle-class Michael Jordan at a young age and how he was able to overcome this and grow into the star he is today.

No one can deny the social segregation between nerds and athletes. We see it in the media and reality. Most turn a blind eye to this social occurrence, some put an emphasis towards it. A passionate writer by the name of Leonid Fridman wrote a passage titled, “America Needs Its Nerds,” which expands upon our nation’s social treatment of scholars. Fridman emphasizes the need of individuals who place their focus on learning to help advance our country versus one focusing on less important aspects such as athletics. Fridman uses dramatic tone and ethos to convey to his readers how “geeks and nerds” are undermined instead of admired in our society.

Most African American that want to make it to the National Football League (NFL) or the National basketball League (NBA), do not realize there is a slim chance to none of actually going into a professional sport. Gates writes “African American youngster has about as much of becoming a professional athlete as he or she does of winning the lottery” (1). Not many African American youngsters know that there are “12 times more black lawyers than black athletes” or there are only 1200 blacks who play in a professional sport (1). There are 12 times more black professionals that are in the communities accommodating to the needs of those who need the assistance with either legal or health issues. The youth can achieve greatness in today’s society by getting a degree and forming a foundation to make enough to be financially stable.

Its no secret that college sports brings in the big bucks, and without the athletes preforming day in or day out universities would lack the funds to support a school needs. The college sports industry makes 11 billion in annual revenues (Mitchell, Horace, U.S. News Digital Weekly). 11 billion dollars made off of college sports alone is enough its self to pay these student-athletes for their contribution to a school’s success because without them there wouldn’t be this much income. They need these athletes and the NCAA should quit exploiting them for their talents and compensate them. Student-athletes are amateurs who choose to participate in intercollegiate athletics (Mitchell, Horace, U.S. News Digital Weekly). Indeed, they are amateur but in sports the word professional has a different meaning since in all sports there is a 1-2-year stint before an athlete can go from the college level to a professional standpoint. Meaning it only takes a year or two

The history of sports goes back since ancient times. It has been a useful way for people to explore nature and their environment. Sports include different activities and games such as football, soccer, basketball, and etc. to express their skills and talents. Also, sports are a way to relax and have fun; but are sports all our African Americans rely on? The dream to become future sports stars. The reason why Gates begins his essay with an anecdote is to show and compare how many african-american athletes were at work today and how little the chances of African-Americans becoming athletes are compared to being a lawyer, dentist, or even a doctor. African-Americans assume that they are born athletes and it’s because the school system doesn’t

In our society sports are a very important social construction. As sports continue to grow, they are becoming more integrated into the major spheres of social life. Sports have become an entity, due to the fact that they not only create entertainment and jobs; sports have become a huge platform for various causes. Sports are extremely important to our society and have very powerful influences. Though experiences vary from person to person, most people have some sort of experience with sports. I personally have experienced sports more from the spectator and participant stance, and have been impacted from each perspective a great deal. Compared to sophomore safety, Jamal Adams my sports experience has been very different from impact and perspective.

Jim Thorpe is a super hero of sports. He is a man who has a love for sports. He has played many sports, and is a true hero in the sports world. He was not only amazing at track and football, but he was also very good at swimming, lacrosse, basketball, wrestling, golf, and tennis. He was born May 28, 1887, and was born near a town called Prague in Oklahoma. His father was a farmer, and his name was Hiram Thorpe. His mother was a Potawatomi Indian named Mary James. Thorpes Native American name was Wa­Tho­Huk, which means “bright path.” He started off very young with great athletic abilities. This showed when he learned to ride horses and swim at the age of 3. Jim loved the outdoors as a boy, especially hunting. Jim had a twin brother, and they were very close. His brother was named Charlie. In 1904 Thorpe and his brother started school in Carlisle Industrial School in Pennsylvania. Whenever they were in school Charlie enjoyed it, but Jim did not. He wasn’t very good so Charlie had to help him through. At the age of 9 Charlie got sick and ended up dying. Thorpe was heartbroken he wanted to quit school. He even ended up running twenty­three miles’ home to his parents. Whenever he first started his athletic career at his school he played football and track. In 1907 he proved his amazing abilities whenever he jumped over a high jump pole 5 feet 9 inches. At first Thorpe was never given the opportunity to try out for the team. Whenever he walked by the varsity players practicing

In the 1900’s there were not many African American athletes. In addition, most people wouldn’t picture a professional athlete coming from a small town of less than 3,000 people. However the small town of Humboldt had 2 professional athletes and their names were George Alexander Sweatt and Walter Johnson.

“In an age when Americans enjoy dozens of cable sports channels, when professional athletes often command salaries in the tens of millions of dollars...it’s hard to fully appreciate how important the rising prominence of the University of Washington’s crew was to the people of Seattle in 1935” (Brown 173). As seen by this quote, America is a much different place than what it was in the 1930s. The times have changed significantly. In today’s day and age we have it all too good. The world we live in is one of leisure and not nearly as much hard work as there used to be. Back in the early 20th century the people had it pretty rough and dealt with many frightening problems of their generation such as

Taking the counselor’s advice, my subject tried out for football, which led him into the educational world of the black athlete. “I became somewhat of an ‘untouchable’ as far as the teachers were concerned. My coaches got tutors for me, but instead of helping me with my homework they sort of did it for me.” The fact that my subject was a good student, an intelligent student, became overshadowed by the idea that the only way he would be able to go to college was through sports.

Thorpe briefly left the school to pursue his love of baseball, which would later lead to him being stripped of the gold medals he won at the Stockholm Olympics.

Greatness in sports is a status that only very few reach, however to be labeled the greatest athlete of all time is for that one soul individual who excels at all aspects of the game and exceeds every other player in that sport. In my exploratory essay I established what makes an athlete the greatest athlete of all time. In the following paragraph I am going to summarize what makes an athlete the greatest athlete of all time. For the sake of the argument to follow I am going to stick with just the NFL. When I look at the NFL one name comes to mind when thinking about the greatest NFL player of all time. His name is Tom Brady. Tom Brady is the greatest of all time.

There has been amplified debate on the treatment, education, training of the college athlete. To avoid exploitation of athletes, “The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), formed in 1905, set bylaws requiring college student-athletes to be amateurs in order to be eligible for intercollegiate athletics competition” (Schneider n.p.). Intercollegiate athletics have dramatically changed over the last several decades. Currently, intercollegiate athletics generate tremendous amounts of revenue, remarkably in football and basketball. College sports in America is a