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Living Legends
- Jim Thorpe
Golfer Jim Thorpe shifts his focus to
helping others
By CARY ESTES
Scripps Howard News Service
May 18, 2005
- Jim Thorpe has given away a quarter-million
dollars before. But it was usually in $50 and $100 increments. And it was not a
particularly beneficial donation, unless you owned a horse track or a casino.
That was the Thorpe whose idea of curling up
with a good book was to read the Daily Racing Form. The Thorpe whose concept of
being generous was leaving a big tip for the blackjack dealer. The Thorpe who
would win $50,000 during the day at a PGA Tour event, then lose half of it that
night at a casino.
"My life was focused on so much nonsense,"
Thorpe said recently as he prepared for this week's Bruno's Memorial Classic
Champions Tour event at Greystone Golf and Country Club near Birmingham, Ala. "I
never gave (money) to where it really made a difference. If somebody had said I
was going to donate a quarter of a million dollars to any organization, I'd have
said there was no way."
But that is exactly what Thorpe did on May 1,
when he announced he was giving his church in Heathrow, Fla., every cent of the
$247,500 first-place check he earned for winning the FedEx Kinko's Classic in
Austin, Texas. Thorpe said the church is extremely active in helping troubled
children.
"It was the first time in my life that I felt
like I did something that really made a difference," Thorpe said. "It makes you
feel good to be a part of that."
In the old days, Thorpe often would spend
Tuesday and Wednesday of tournament week hunting out the closest gambling
facility, at the expense of practicing. Thorpe said that lack of commitment to
the game is one of the main reasons he won only three times on the PGA Tour.
"I could have won more, but I spent time
doing other things," Thorpe said.
Thorpe has not completely broken his old
gambling habits. After all, his primary sponsor is Foxwoods Resorts and Casinos.
"I'm not as deep into it as I used to be, but
I still enjoy the race tracks and the casinos. That's my way of relaxing,"
Thorpe said. "It's just not my first priority anymore.
"Now I see another side of giving. You reach
a point in your life where you want to do something positive and try to make a
difference in somebody else's life. For once, I feel really good about doing
something."
Thorpe said his change in attitude has been
gradual, though it quickened in recent years as his two daughters reached
adulthood.
"I wanted them to be able to read something
positive about me," Thorpe said. "Something that didn't talk about casinos and
race tracks and stuff like that."
Thorpe, who has won more than $11 million in
six seasons on the Champions Tour, told his pastor in early April that he
planned to contribute the $250,000 to the church's building fund, but that the
donation was going to be over a three-year period.
A few weeks later, Thorpe entered the final
round of the FedEx Kinko's Classic tied for the lead. Suddenly, it occurred to
him that if he won the tournament, the winner's check was almost exactly the
amount of his pledged donation.
"You're not going to believe this, but I do
pray," Thorpe said. "And I said in my prayers that night if I get lucky and can
be victorious here, I can pay my donation tomorrow.
"When I woke up Sunday morning, I felt real
good. Everything was just peaches and cream. There was no traffic jam going to
the course, breakfast was good, my warm-up was perfect. When I got to the first
tee, I knew they couldn't beat me that week."
Thorpe birdied four of the final five holes
to win by four strokes. His good feelings continued Monday, as he prevailed in a
playoff with Morris Hatalsky to win the Blue Angels Classic in Milton, Fla., for
his 11th career Champions Tour victory.
Thorpe picked up $225,000 for his Blue Angles
victory, and said afterward, "I think the wife might hold on to this one a
little bit."
But he said his days of giving back to the
community, both in terms of money and time, are far from over.
"I'm really trying hard to make a transition
and do something positive, do something that will enhance and help others,"
Thorpe said. "There are a lot of kids out there who are looking for direction.
We can make a major difference in these kids' lives.
"We can't save the world.
But with the money a lot of us make today in sports, if we just do a little
something here and there, we can make a difference. We can make it a better
world."
Previous Thorpe story - click
here.
Living Legends
     
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