He died penniless and wasn't he also stripped of his Olympic Medals years after he was awarded them?
Yes. He was stripped of his medals because a reporter found out that prior to the Olympics, he had played in minor league baseball games for $2 a game. During summers college kids also played in these leagues, but preserved their collegiate amateur status by using pseudonyms.
The medals were reinstated to Thorpe's kids in the 1980s.
When King Gustav handed the gold medals to Thorpe in 1912, he declared, "You are the greatest athlete in the world,' to which Thorpe replied, "Thanks, King."
