On January 27, 1913, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) declared that Jim Thorpe, the Winnebago (Sauk and Fox) athlete who had won the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, had violated contemporary amateurism rules and annulled his victories. The decision followed an inquiry prompted by reports that Thorpe had taken pay for playing professional semi‑professional baseball in 1909 and 1910. Under the Olympic rules of the time, receiving money for athletic participation disqualified an athlete from amateur competition. Background Thorpe, already celebrated for his dominance in multiple sports, entered the 1912 Games as a late addition to the U.S. team. He won the pentathlon and decathlon decisively, earning acclaim internationally and quickly becoming one of the most famous athletes of the era. At that time, the Olympics and many national sporting organizations enforced strict definitions of amateurism: athletes who had accepted payment for athletic performance were deemed professionals and ineligible for amateur contests. Investigation and Decision Following press reports that surfaced after the Stockholm Games, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States examined Thorpe’s past. Evidence showed that Thorpe had played baseball for a small amount of pay with several minor and semi‑professional teams in the years before 1912. Those payments were enough, by the standards then enforced, to classify him as a professional. The AAU recommended action, and the IOC subsequently accepted the determination. On January 27, 1913, the IOC announced that Thorpe’s pentathlon and decathlon titles were to be vacated and his medals withdrawn. Official records were adjusted to remove Thorpe as the winner; newspapers and sports authorities of the time reported that his results had been annulled. Aftermath and Historical Context The ruling had immediate personal and symbolic consequences. Thorpe had become an international sporting symbol, and the decision tarnished his Olympic legacy for decades. Contemporary standards of amateurism were strict and often inconsistently applied; many historians note that definitions and enforcement of amateur status in the early 20th century could be arbitrary and were influenced by social and class biases. Thorpe’s status as a Native American and his need to earn income have been cited in later discussions of the fairness of the ruling. Thorpe continued to compete in professional sports after 1913, playing Major League Baseball and professional football. He also pursued other work to support his family. Debates about the fairness and cultural context of the 1913 decision persisted through the 20th century. Reassessment Decades later, advocates and historians campaigned for a formal reassessment of Thorpe’s case. The IOC in 1982 restored Thorpe’s Olympic records by listing him as co‑winner in the pentathlon and decathlon; in 2022 the IOC further recognized him as the sole winner of both events. These later actions reflect changing attitudes toward amateurism and a reassessment of historical fairness, but they do not change the fact that the official stripping of Thorpe’s medals occurred on January 27, 1913. Significance The 1913 decision is a notable episode in Olympic history, illustrating the rigid amateurism rules of the era and the consequences those rules could have for athletes who needed to earn money. It also shaped the long public and institutional debate over how to treat past athletes whose careers straddled amateur and paid competition. Thorpe’s case remains a touchstone in discussions about equity, historical rehabilitation, and the evolution of sports governance.