A Hearing for Jim Thorpe: An Exercise in Frustration

A Hearing for Jim Thorpe: An Exercise in Frustration by Michael Sheaffer follows Bud Murphy, a sports reporter covering the hearing to determine if the famous Olympic champion Jim Thorpe should keep the gold medals he won at the 1912 Stockholm Summer Games, or whether he should have his medals and Olympic records erased from history for competing under false pretenses. This is the trial that never occurred in real history, but thanks to author Sheaffer, any reader can now benefit from his extensive historical research and insider knowledge of Thorpe’s career, personal life, and the petty, behind-the-scenes machinations of sports history that denied one of its supreme stars his rightful day in the court of public opinion. Written with humor, pathos, and impeccably researched A Hearing for Jim Thorpe sets the record straight on one of the greatest travesties in Olympic history, while using masterful storytelling to educate, provoke, and above all entertain.

Michael L. Sheaffer is a freelancer, online editor, author, and national training instructor. It is no accident that he is the one to offer all the facts about Jim Thorpe in his riveting book entitled "A Hearing for Jim Thorpe, an Exercise in Frustration." Michael grew up in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and feels closely assimilated to the memoirs of this famous athlete, his childhood hero. In 1969, Mr. Sheaffer was appointed to chair a committee called "Project Jim Thorpe." The goal of this international organization was to have Jim Thorpe reinstated as the winner of the 1912 Olympic Pentathlon and Decathlon event. Michael spent years researching and gathering the facts revolving around the unfortunate situation with Jim Thorpe, as part of "Project Jim Thorpe". Mr. Sheaffer is retired and currently lives with his wife, Angela, in Alpharetta, Georgia.