For that very reason I voted for Jim Thorpe as one of my choices. He was voted as the top athlete of the first half of the 20th century (back in 1952) and that alone should be considered. He played pro baseball and football and was an Olympic star and probably had more athletic skills (all around) than anyone since.
Jim Thorpe was a tough one to keep off. He was a naturally gifted athlete, and also played basketball on a Native American team that barnstormed through the eastern USA.
A couple of points of trivia. His Carlisle Indian School won a college football national championship by routing Army in a game where Dwight Eisenhower was injured while trying to tackle Thorpe, who had a 97 yard touchdown run one play after a 92 yard td run was nullified by a penalty. He also had a twin brother, named Charlie, who died when he was 9 or 10.
