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Article: Body and sold Jim Thorpe's 3rd wife auctioned his remains; his sons want proper burial
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- January 24, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2001 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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JIM THORPE, Pa. Jim Thorpe's once-quiet boys are proud old men
now. They say simple dignity prohibits them from visiting the town
that carries their father's name and holds his remains.
The football, baseball and track star, whose two gold medals from
the 1912 Olympics were taken back because he had played professional
baseball, never set foot in the town, at least not willingly.
He arrived for the first time in death, his body marketed by his
third wife to civic boosters desperate for a tourist attraction.
Behind the deal was the dream of big money, both for townspeople
and for the widow, Patricia Thorpe. In what amounted to the auction
of a legend's corpse, the depressed Carbon County ...