Jim Thorpe was a member of the Sac and Fox Indian tribe. His Indian name was Wa-tho-huck, which translated into English means Bright Path. As an athlete it was a name that he certainly lived up to. Jim Thorpe may have been the greatest athlete of all time. In college he was a star in both football and track. He had a brief career in major league baseball and was one of the early stars of professional football as the sport struggled for legitimacy. He was named league president when the American Professional Football Association (NFL) was formed in 1920. The position was largely symbolic but is an indication of his status as a player in the newly formed league. He helped form an all Indian team professional team, the Oorang Indians, made up mainly of former Carlisle players.

As a track athlete his exploits were both legendary and sad. Jim Thorpe dominated the Olympics of 1912, in Stockholm, Sweden. He won the gold medal in both the decathlon and the pentathlon. He finished first in nine of fifteen events. Thorpe would be forced to return his gold medals and his name was removed form the Olympic record after it was discovered that he had played semipro baseball. In 1909, after he had left school, thinking he was done with amateur athletics, he played semipro baseball in North Carolina, earning $15 a week.

Playing under the legendary coach ‘Pop’ Warner his college career was spectacular. Thorpe played for Carlisle 1907 - 08, left school and returned to play again for Carlisle in 1911 - 12. As a halfback and kicker for the Indians he played in 44 games, and scored 53 touchdowns, and scored 421 points. In 1912, he lead the nation in scoring with 29 touchdowns, and 224 points. That year Carlisle was the highest scoring team in the country. He lead the way as Carlisle dominated an Army team that had been the best defense in the nation. He left school after it was discovered that he had played semipro baseball.

Jim Thorpe was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.

Albert Exendine played end at Carlisle 1905 - 07. He was a b brilliant player on offense and defense. He went on to coached at Georgetown, Washington State, Occidental, Northeastern State, and Oklahoma State. He had a great offensive mind, and was highly respected by his peers. Known for his wide open approach to offense, his Georgetown team lead the nation in scoring in 1916. He was also a lawyer and an Indian activist.

Albert Exendine was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1970.

Joe Guyon played for two of football’s most legendary coaches: ‘Pop’ Warner and John Heisman. He played for ‘Pop’ Warner at Carlisle 1912 -1913. He was on Carlisle greatest team, where he played halfback along with Jim Thorpe, in 1912. He made second team All American at Carlisle in 1913, as a halfback, and was named first team All American at tackle when he played for Georgia Tech. Guyon played at Georgia Tech 1917 - 1918. He helped lead Georgia tech to a national championship in 1917. He ran for 344 yards on just 12 carries against Vanderbuilt in 1917. Between his years at Carlisle and Georgia Tech he attended Keewatin Academy. Joe Guyon went on to play professional football from 1919 - 1927. He played on several teams, including the Oorang Indians, an all Indian team made up primarily of former Carlisle players.

Joe Guyon was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971.

Jimmy Johnson was the quarterback on ‘Pop’ Warner’s first team at Carlisle. He played seven years of college football, at Carlisle 1899 - 1903, and he played for Northwestern 1904 - 05. He was small, at 5’ 7” and 138 pounds, but he was a natural leader. He captained the Carlisle team, and won All - American honors in 1903. He then played for Northwestern while earning a degree in dentistry. While at Northwestern he ran for 200 yards in a game against Beloit, in 1905. He served as an assistant coach at Carlisle in 1906 before beginning a career as a dental surgeon in Puerto Rico.

Jimmy Johnson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1969.

Eddie Rodgers was a Chippewa from Minnesota. An outstanding end, he played seven years of football, four at Carlisle and three at Minnesota. He served as team captain for both schools. During the 1900 season he was captain of the Carlisle team. In 1903 he captained the Minnesota team to a record of 11 - 0 - 1. As one of his final acts as superintendent at Carlisle, Richard Henry Pratt named Eddie Rodgers head coach of the Carlisle football team. Pratt also named former Carlisle players Bemus Pierce and Frank Hudson as assistant coaches. The move was controversial at the time. Some in the main stream media publicly questioned the move. The Washington Post wondered if Indian coaches would be up to the “brainwork” required to run the team, in spite of Eddie Rodgers law degree form the University of Minnesota. in 1904, Rodgers led the Carlisle Indians to a record of 9 - 2. The following year he return to Minneapolis to practice law. He continued to practice law until 1966, when he retired at the age of 90.

Eddie Rodgers was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968.

Gus Welch played quarterback on Carlisle’s most successful teams 1911 and 1912. He was Jim Thorpe’s best friend and room mate. Welch coached at Washington State, Randolf-Macon and American University. He played for the Canton Bulldogs 1915 - 17. Welch served with honor in WW I as the leader of an African American unit, the 808 Pioneers, combat engineers. He was promoted to Captain and placed in charge of 250 men. He was twice decorated for bravery.

Highly intelligent and a natural leader, Gus Welch was a positive influence in many lives. He lost most of his family to tuberculosis and became a lifelong advocate of physical fitness and outdoor activities. He built Camp Kewanzee, named after his grandfather Chief Kewanzee. He taught healthy life styles and Indian lore to Indian youth. When the government took part of his camp for the Blue Ridge Parkway he fought it in court, telling the judge: “The white man has been taking land from the Indians so long that it has become a habit with him.”

Gus Welch was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975.

Delos Lone Wolf one of the stars of the first Carlisle football teams. His famous name brought him attention from the spectators, and his play on the field made him a star. His play was key to the development of Carlisle’s reputation when they faced the Ivy League’s Big Four in 1896. A tough player, at 180 pounds, he was also a natural leader. He was a star on the debate team, as well as an athlete. He served as an interpreter for his uncle, Lone Wolf II, as he fought a legal battle to keep his tribes land. The case was argued all the way to the Supreme Court. The court rule against them.

Adopted by his uncle, the famous warrior Lone Wolf II, Delos Lone Wolf carried a famous name. Lone Wolf II was given his name by another famous warrior, the Kiowa chief Lone Wolf. Lone Wolf was in grief over the death of his son, when Lone Wolf II killed a Texas ranger. As a reward for his bravery in battle Lone Wolf gave him his name. Lone Wolf II, was a fierce warrior, but he was also a pragmatic leader who believed that his people’s best chances were to learn the ways of the white man.

During his time at Carlisle, Delos Lone Wolf would make frequent trips to Washington, to serve as an interpreter for his uncle. He later worked on Indian causes, and became active in the Native American Church, blending Christian and Indian beliefs.

The Sioux chief American Horse was brave warrior, who earned his name on the battlefield by capturing a large army horse. His most famous feat was acting as a decoy, along with Crazy Horse and a small group of Indians, during the Fetterman Massacre. The decoys baited Captain Fetterman into pursuing them away from the safety of Fort Phil Kearny, while hundreds of warriors hid in waiting. Fetterman and all of the eighty men under his command were killed. It was a key victory in the Indian’s campaign to close the Bozeman trail. In the end the trail was closed and the forts along it abandoned. It was the only time that the Indians won a war with the U. S. Army.

Although he was a brave warrior, American Horse was also a pragmatic leader who came to see that his people could not defend their way of life with violence. He became convinced that the Sioux had to become knowledgeable in the ways of the white man. American Horse was among the first to send his children to Carlisle, and he remained a supporter of the institution. He sent several of his children to Carlisle. His son, Ben American Horse, would play on the first Carlisle football team.

Vance McCormick was the captain, and a star on the national champion Yale team of 1893. He helped to establish the program at Carlisle and served as their coach. He taught them the fundamentals and helped to mold their personality as a team. He also established a link to the Ivy league teams in the area. Playing the heavyweights of the Ivy League served as a foundation for the teams legitimacy and growth.

McCormick was a very enthusiastic teacher. He won over Indians by leading by example. In their first practice the Indian players were tentative. They were unsure of what he wanted them to do when he instructed them to go after a loose ball. McCormick showed them by running down field and diving onto the ball, on the muddy, rain soaked field, ruining a new suit in the process.

McCormick later he went into politics, he was the mayor of Harrisburg, PA. and a newspaper publisher. He was the manager of Woodrow Wilson’s reelection campaign, and was a member of the American delegation to Paris to negotiate peace at the end of World War I.

Richard Henry Pratt was the man behind the founding of the Carlisle. Pratt was a battle hardened cavalry officer who served in the Civil War, as well as eight years on the frontier. He was one of the officers of a unit of African American soldiers known as the Buffalo Soldiers. As a Lieutenant Pratt was assign to take a group of militant Indians east and to oversee their imprisonment

While at Fort Marion, Florida, Pratt devised a plan to bring Indians into the main stream of American life. His efforts to educate Native Americans in the ways of the white man would eventually lead to the founding of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. He believed in full American citizenship for Native Americans. He would eventually see football as a way to advance that cause. The end result was the formation of the football team at Carlisle.

Richard Henry Pratt active into his eighties. He continued to crusade for Indian citizenship but he did not live to see it. His final thoughts were of his Indians, and his wish that he had done more. His pall bearers were former Carlisle players. His monument reads “Erected in Loving Memory by His Students and Other Indians”