05 March 2009

An interesting bit of American history

Jim Thorpe is generally recognized as one of the most remarkable athletes in the history of sport. In 1911 he played offense, defense, and kicker for the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. At the 1912 summer Olympics in Stockholm he won gold in the pentathlon and the decathlon. After the Olympics he "gained 1,869 rushing yards in his final season at Carlisle. One four-game stretch included 200-yard days against Army, Springfield and Brown, and a 362-yard effort against Pennsylvania."

Here's the interesting part: in the Carlisle-Army game, a player missed a crucial tackle on Thorpe, and Carlisle went on to win 27-6. The person who missed that tackle became far more famous than Jim Thorpe. Who was he?

Answer in the comments section.

Source: A Book of Ages: An Eccentric Miscellany of Great Moments in the Lives of the Famous and Infamous, Ages 1 to 100, by Eric Hanson, Harmony Books. Excerpts reprinted in The Atlantic, October 2008.

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