1916 M101-5 Sporting News Jim Thorpe BLANK BACK

Long before Jackie Robinson, Bo Jackson, and Deion Sanders, Jim Thorpe became the world’s most versatile and celebrated athlete. The Native American won gold medals for the United States in the pentathlon and decathlon in the 1912 Summer Olympics. No Olympic athlete has competed in more events (17) than Jim Thorpe. The first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal, Thorpe captured the titles a decade before the American government even recognized Native Americans as American citizens. But Thorpe’s athletic skills were not confined to track and field, the discus throw, fencing, shooting, and swimming. He played football, basketball, and baseball at a professional level. He also excelled at golf, tennis, lacrosse, rowing, archery, bowling, billiards, boxing, and wrestling. Following the Olympics, the star athlete continued to captivate the world with his talent. Thorpe played football for legendary coach Pop Warner and won three world championships as a running back and occasional quarterback, punter, and field goal kicker. He later became the first president of the NFL when it launched in 1920. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined him in 1951. Fulfilling his dream to join the big leagues, Thorpe signed a contract to play for the New York Giants baseball team (later the San Francisco Giants) in 1913. He played against Shoeless Joe Jackson in the 1917 World Series. The American government sought to Americanize Native Americans by stripping them of their culture and indoctrinating them in American schools. These actions caused tremendous grief among their populations. Thorpe never forgot his roots. Like Jackie Robinson for the Black community, Thorpe became a trailblazer, humanitarian, advocate, and philanthropist for Native American causes. He helped preserve Native American heritage and developed a reputation for helping the less fortunate in his community, even performing physical labor late in his life to help the needy. As a result, the Sac and Fox Nation gave him the Native American tribal name “Akapamata,” which means “caregiver.” Established in 1886 to provide “sporting news and gossip,” the Sporting News featured points of view on players and teams and included box scores and team schedules that they called “schedule hangers” because fans could hang them on their wall. They sold the publication at newsstands for five cents. Fans could submit a coupon in the paper in exchange for a free baseball card. Many of them contained an advertisement on the back for the newspaper, which read “The Baseball Paper of the World.” Fans could also submit the card for a free copy of the paper. The 1916 M101 set is best known for housing the Babe Ruth rookie. Manufactured by C.C. Spink and Son to promote their sports publication, the Thorpe issue that pictures him on the Giants barely still exists. There are two versions of this card: a blank back and a back with an advertisement. PSA has graded three examples with the advertisement and only 11 examples with the blank back. This example is one of the eleven. PSA has graded one 8.5. This is it. There are no examples of this card graded higher by PSA. Beautifully centered, the card features Akapamata in his prime. Knowing Thorpe’s history, cultural significance, and athletic success, we hope this treasure finds a home where it will be cherished.