As attention is drawn to Sunday night’s Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bright Paths Strong says this American ritual we know as the #SuperBowl enters its 55th year this Sunday, but its origins trace back 100 years ago — to an Olympian, a pioneer of professional football and the country’s first celebrity sports hero, the iconic Native American athlete Jim Thorpe.
Bright Path Strong was created to share and amplify authentic Native American voices and stories, past and present.
So, this Super Bowl weekend, Bright Path Strong is reminding football fans that the legendary Thorpe (Sac and Fox, Potawatomi) was unanimously elected president in 1920 of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which was the forerunner of the National Football League. Thorpe served as president of the APFA from 1920 to 1921. Incredibly, Thorpe served as president while still an active player for the Canton Bulldogs.Dues back then were only $100 per team. The APFA became the Natonal Football League in 1922.
Before there was the Lombardi Trophy there was the Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup, which mysteriously vanished after the first season.