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. 

      James Francis Thorpe (1888 – 1953)

ROSS SIMPSON

Merle Haggard received many honors and awards for
his music, including a Kennedy Center Honor (2010);
a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2006); a BMI
Icon Award (2006) and induction into the Nashville
Songwriters Hall of Fame (1977), Country Music Hall
of Fame (1994) and Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
(1997). He died on April 6, 2016—his 79th birthday—
at his ranch in Shasta County, California, having
recently suffered from double pneumonia.

Tony Dungy (68) of the Indianapolis Colts became the first Black
NFL head coach to win a Super Bowl (XLl). The victory marked
the first time a Black head coach had reached the National
Football League’s championship game—one that featured not
just one, but two Black head coaches.        

    
Hall of Fame head coach and NBC Football analyst Tony
Dungy.

Green Bay QB and game MVP Bart Starr, Super Bowl I, 1967.

As NBC and CBS had held the rights to nationally televise
AFL and NFL games, respectively, it was decided that both networks were allowed to broadcast the game.

Kansas City QB Len Dawson.