Undated image of Native American Olympian and athlete Jim Thorpe. James Francis "Jim" Thorpe (1888-1953) was an American athlete of mixed ancestry (Caucasian and Native American). One of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, he won Olympic gold medals for the pentathlon and decathlon (1912), played American football (collegiate and professional), and professional baseball and basketball. He lost his Olympic titles after it was found he was paid for playing two seasons of semi-pro baseball before competing in the Olympics. After his athletic career, Thorpe struggled to provide for his family. By the 1950s, Thorpe had no money left. When he was hospitalized for lip cancer in 1950, he was admitted as a charity case. Thorpe suffered his third heart failure and died at the age of 64. In 1983, 30 years after his death, the International Olympic Committee restored his Olympic medals.