The INTEGRIS Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation Hospital Courage Awards were established in 1994 to recognize and honor individuals who have overcome disabilities caused by injury or illness by facing the physical and mental challenges of rehabilitation with courage and determination.
The awards are named after the man known as the World's Greatest Athlete. Jim Thorpe, a Sac and Fox Indian, won gold medals in the 1912 Olympic games in Stockholm, Sweden, in the pentathlon and decathlon events. Those medals were confiscated in 1913 on the grounds that Thorpe had been a professional athlete. The medals were presented again to the Thorpe family in 1983.
Thorpe went on to establish a career in professional football, and was a founding father of the National Football League.
The Courage Awards are presented yearly to one national and two local recipients (one adult and one child)
In 1995, INTEGRIS Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation Hospital was designated the rehabilitation facility of choice for retired and active NFL players by the National Football League Players Association.
The national award represents the ongoing relationship between the Jim Thorpe Association in Oklahoma City, INTEGRIS Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation Center and the National Football League Players Association.
National recipients are active or retired NFL players.
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