N2807

Celebrate the Century - 1910s

Jim Thorpe Wins Decathlon at Stockholm Olympics, 1912

Winter 2026 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 26 N2807 — Jim Thorpe "All American" — 2/3/98

James Francis Thorpe was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, he was the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States in the Olympics. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, Thorpe won two Olympic gold medals in the 1912 Summer Olympics (one in classic pentathlon and the other in decathlon). Thorpe lost his Olympic titles after it was found he had been paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics, thus violating the contemporary amateurism rules. In 1983 (30 years after his death), the International Olympic Committee restored Thorpe's Olympic medals with replicas after ruling that the decision to strip him of his medals fell outside of the required 30 days. Official Committee records still listed Thorpe as co-champion in decathlon and pentathlon until 2022, when it was decided to restore him as the sole champion in both events.

The stamp for Jim Thorpe was released as part of Celebrate the Century 1910s. My handpainted cachet shows Thorpe in his football uniform as well as participating in the track and field event "discus." Also in the cachet is an American Flag. This is the first time this Jim Thorpe cover has appeared in one of my mail sales.