Historical Marker Program

World Famous Athlete Jim Thorpe

Payne County
Location: in Jim Thorpe Municipal Park in Yale
Coordinates: 36.116500, -96.686333
Material: Aluminum
Sponsor(s): Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Topics: American Indians; Early Statehood, 1907–1941; Social/Cultural

At the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, Jim Thorpe (Wa-tho-huk) was the winner of both the pentathlon and decathlon contests. The King of Sweden declared Thorpe, “The greatest athlete in the World.” Thorpe went on to play both professional baseball and football and is considered one of the greatest athletes of American sports history. Thorpe made his home in Yale in 1917.