PRINTER'S NO. 4368
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
1001
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY HEFFLEY, KNOWLES, KINSEY, FREEMAN, MURT,
YOUNGBLOOD, DRISCOLL, MOUL, NEILSON, PYLE, GAYDOS AND
MILLARD, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM AND RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENT,
SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Encouraging the International Olympic Committee to reinstate Jim
Thorpe as the sole gold medal winner of the pentathlon and
the decathlon events of the 1912 Olympic games in Stockholm,
Sweden.
WHEREAS, Jim Thorpe was born May 28, 1888, and was raised as
a member of the Native American Sac and Fox Nation; and
WHEREAS, Jim Thorpe was the grandson of the nation's chief,
Black Hawk, and was given the native name of Bright Path; and
WHEREAS, The accomplishments and legacy of Jim Thorpe were
not only part of his great "bright path," but have also been an
inspiration to people worldwide; and
WHEREAS, Jim Thorpe overcame great tragedy in his youth to
attend the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1907; and
WHEREAS, While at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Jim
Thorpe was coached by the legendary football coach Glenn Scobey
"Pop" Warner and was awarded All-American honors in 1911 and
1912; and
WHEREAS, Jim Thorpe honorably represented the Native American
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Sac and Fox Nation and the United States at the 1912 Olympic
Games in Stockholm, Sweden; and
WHEREAS, Jim Thorpe was the first United States athlete to
win the pentathlon and the decathlon in one Olympic year; and
WHEREAS, Jim Thorpe's athletic feats and worldwide publicity
established the viability of the modern Olympic Games; and
WHEREAS, To honor his gold medals in the pentathlon and
decathlon, Jim Thorpe received gifts from King Gustaf V of
Sweden and Czar Nicholas II of Russia; and
WHEREAS, A ticker-tape parade was held in New York City upon
Jim Thorpe's return to the United States from Sweden in 1912;
and
WHEREAS, Jim Thorpe's gold medals were revoked after he was
found to have violated strict rules regarding amateurism in
force at the time; and
WHEREAS, Jim Thorpe's gold medals were not reinstated until
1982, 30 years after his death, when the International Olympic
Committee recognized the improper application of the
disqualification procedures; and
WHEREAS, Although Jim Thorpe's gold medals were reinstated in
1982, he was not recognized as the sole gold medal winner of the
pentathlon and the decathlon events, rather he was recognized as
a co-gold medal winner with the athletes who were elevated to
gold medal status after his gold medals were revoked; therefore
be it
RESOLVED, (the Senate concurring), That the General Assembly
encourage the International Olympic Committee to reinstate Jim
Thorpe as the sole gold medal winner of the pentathlon and the
decathlon events of the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden;
and be it further
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RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of the House of
Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania transmit a
copy of this resolution to the President of the International
Olympic Committee, the President of the United States Olympic
Committee, the President of the United States, the President pro
tempore of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United
States House of Representatives, each member of Congress from
Pennsylvania and the presiding officers of each house of the
state legislatures requesting their cooperation in encouraging
this reinstatement.
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