Two-time Olympic gold medalist and Pro Football Hall of Fame
member James Francis "Jim" Thorpe came into this world on
this day in history, May 28, 1888.

Born in a one-room cabin in the geographical area that is now
Oklahoma, Thorpe was raised by Hiram and Charlotte Vieux
Thorpe on the Sac and Fox reservation, according to the
Oklahoma Historical Society.

Thorpe was given the Native American name "Wa-tho-huck,"
meaning "Bright Path" in Sac and Fox language.

This name would quickly turn prophetic, as Thorpe would
establish himself as one of the athletic superstars of the
20th century.         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         

John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979)

Born Marion Robert Morrison, Wayne’s family moved to
Glendale, California, when he was six years old. As a teen,
he rose at four in the morning to deliver newspapers, and
after school he played football and made deliveries for local
stores. When he graduated from high school, he hoped to
attend the U.S. Naval Academy. However, after the school
rejected him, he accepted a full scholarship to play football
at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

In the summer of 1926, Wayne’s football coach found him a
job as an assistant prop man on the set of a movie directed
by John Ford. Ford started to use Wayne as an extra, and he
eventually began to trust him with some larger roles. In 1930,
Ford recommended Wayne for Fox’s epic Western The Big
Trail. Wayne won the part, but the movie did poorly, and Fox
let his contract lapse.

John Wayne in a scene from his last movie, "The
Shootist," 1976.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

Peter (Pete) Dennis Blandford Townshend is 78 years
old today.

Pete Townshend is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead
vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most
influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.

Due to his aggressive playing style and innovative songwriting
techniques, Townshend’s works with the Who and in other
projects have earned him critical acclaim.

Townshend has written more than 100 songs for 12 of the
Who’s studio albums.

EAST GREENWICH, R.I. (WJAR) — A World War II veteran
was honored Saturday at a chess tournament in East
Greenwich, Rhode Island.

Lou Giarrusso (above) celebrated his 100th birthday at the
Once-in-a-Lifetime Inaugural Championship Cup Event at the
New England Institute of Technology.

Giarrusso started playing in 1963, and he is a Guinness
World Record holder for the oldest chess player to
compete.

Giarrusso was presented with a chessboard birthday 
ake (below), plaques and certificates, and a trophy
for his achievements in chess.

Berlin at his first job with a music publisher,
aged 18.

Irving Berlin (Israel Beilin)
(May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989)

Russian born Irving Berlin’s music forms a large
part of the Great American Songbook.