This offered watch is a pristine artifact from quite possibly the greatest athletic career of the 20th century. It was presented to Jim Thorpe in 1910, when the young man from the Sac and Fox Nation competed in numerous sports for the Carlisle Indian School of Central Pennsylvania. Within two years Thorpe would be known worldwide as a star athlete thanks to his world record-setting performances in both the decathlon and pentathlon in the Stockholm Olympics. The track meet where this watch was earned took place before his awe-inspiring Olympic performance (and before his medals would be stripped in an extremely controversial ruling), on April 1st of 1910. This win happened two years before he almost single-handedly led the Carlisle football team to a historic 27-6 victory over future president Dwight Eisenhower and his Army eleven.

     This Elgin pocket watch was awarded to Thorpe and his teammates for their performance in the Medley Relay race on April 1st, 1910. The backing of this watch is detachable, and features the engraving “Medley Relay Race / Carlisle Indians vs 65 Reg. AA / Won by Carlisle / April 1st 1910”. The watch measures 1 ¾ inches in diameter, and is in good condition despite several slight imperfections due to aging. This veritable treasure is accompanied by a LOA from William Thorpe, a son of Jim.

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