Editing Jim Thorpe (section)

=== Football ===
Thorpe had not abandoned football either. He first played professional football in 1913 as a member of the Indiana-based [[Pine Village, Indiana#Professional football|Pine Village Pros]], a team that had a several-season winning streak against local teams during the 1910s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NFL History by Decade, 1911–1920 |url=http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1911-1920 |access-date=September 7, 2009 |publisher=[[National Football League]]}}</ref> He signed with the [[Canton Bulldogs]] in 1915. They paid him $250 (${{Inflation|US|250|1915|r=0|fmt=c}}) a game, a tremendous wage at the time.{{Sfn|Neft|Cohen|Korch|1994|p=18}} Before signing him Canton was averaging 1,200&nbsp;fans a game, but 8,000 showed up for Thorpe's debut against the [[Massillon Tigers]].{{Sfn|Neft|Cohen|Korch|1994|p=18}} The team won titles in 1916, 1917, and 1919. Thorpe reportedly ended the 1919 championship game by kicking a wind-assisted 95-yard punt from his team's own 5-yard line, effectively putting the game out of reach.{{Sfn|Neft|Cohen|Korch|1994|p=18}}

In 1920, the Bulldogs were one of 14&nbsp;teams to form the [[American Professional Football Association]], which became the [[National Football League]] (NFL) two years later. Thorpe was nominally [[History of the NFL Commissioner#Jim Thorpe (1920–1921)|their first president]], but spent most of the year playing for Canton; a year later, he was replaced as president by [[Joseph Carr]].{{Sfn|Neft|Cohen|Korch|1994|p=20}} He continued to play for Canton, coaching the team as well. Between 1921 and 1923, he helped organize and played for the [[Oorang Indians]] ([[La Rue, Ohio]]), an all-Native American team.<ref>{{Cite book |last=C. Richard King |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TIr7zpw7B8C&pg=PA11 |title=Native athletes in sport & society: a reader |publisher=Bison Books |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8032-7828-8 |pages=11–12}}</ref> Although the team's record was 3–6 in 1922,{{Sfn|Neft|Cohen|Korch|1994|p=34}} and 1–10 in 1923,{{Sfn|Neft|Cohen|Korch|1994|p=40}} Thorpe played well and was selected for the ''[[Green Bay Press-Gazette]]''{{'s}} first All-NFL team in 1923. This was later formally recognized in 1931 by the NFL as the league's official All-NFL team.{{Sfn|Neft|Cohen|Korch|1994|p=41}}

Thorpe never played for an NFL championship team. He retired from professional football at age&nbsp;41,<ref name="cgm" /> having played 52&nbsp;games for six teams from 1920 to 1928.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jim Thorpe |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/ThorJi20.htm |access-date=July 23, 2013 |publisher=Pro Football Reference}}</ref>