Jim Thorpe on Doing Time & Getting Back to Golf

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As winter begins to recede and brighter days become more frequent, it's heartening to see Jim Thorpe, smiling, on the cover of the latest issue of GolfWeek magazine.

After almost a year in prison, he spoke with Golf Week's Jeff Rude about what life was like "on the inside"... and how it feels to be out. It's a video interview, Thorpe's first since being released from a Federal Prison Camp in Montgomery, Alabama into a Florida halfway house last month... and it's surprisingly candid.  ~ The affable golfer was pragmatic about his mistakes and reflective about what the future would bring. At 62, he's had a brilliant career. In addition to three PGA Tour wins he's chalked up thirteen victories on the Champions Tour... and he hopes add to that number once his suspension is finished.

The last tournament Jim Thorpe won was the 2007 Charles Schwab Cup. Shortly after that win, I made this video at a highly entertaining event he hosted at Foxwoods Casino. Watching it again I remembered just how graciousness and engaging Jim Thorpe was. He'll be free to play again in April and it looks like the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am will be where he starts... and I'm quite sure he'll receive a warm welcome back.
 

Golf Girl's Note: It's weird how much things have changed in the three-and-a-half years since this video was made:  In November 2007 Tiger Woods had reached an other-worldly plateau of perfection; as an athlete, a role-model, a multicultural symbol and a global brand. Lorena Ochoa had won 7 times that season, including her first major championship, the Women's British Open, on the Old Course at St. Andrews.  Wages and salaries were still going up and many of us were still happily living beyond our means.  ~ And we were I was proudly documenting it all in these long, corny, over-edited, low-definition videos with crappy sound quality.  Life was sweet back in the day.