Wheaties chooses Thorpe

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The Breakfast of Champions has finally decided to honor one of the greatest athletes of all time.

Native American Jim Thorpe, who was an Olympic double gold medallist, as well as a pro baseball and football player, has made it to the cover of Wheaties; the popular cereal dubbed The Breakfast of Champions.

Canadians, however, will have to travel south of the border if they wish to buy a box with Thorpe's mug on the cover. These particular Wheaties boxes will only be sold in the United States.

A spokesperson for General Mills, the company that produces Wheaties, said the firm never publicly reveals the number of any cereal boxes it makes with any athlete on its cover. And the length of the campaign is not being released either.

Thorpe's family, however, is thrilled with the honor.

"My dad had a bowl of cereal almost every day for breakfast and, of course, we had Wheaties," said Thorpe's 80-year-old daughter Grace. "He was very modest and humble when it came to all of the attention. But he would be very honored to be recognized by The Breakfast of Champions."

The Wheaties announcement in November was timed to coincide with National American Indian Heritage Month.

The announcement was also made in the Pennsylvania town named after Thorpe. And it was made at Jim Thorpe High School. Afterwards a parade was held to celebrate the occasion. Among those who marched in the parade were a number of children who had written letters to Wheaties' officials asking them to honor Thorpe.

Brian Immel, Wheaties' marketing manager, is pleased the honor finally came to fruition.

"Jim Thorpe is the archetypal Wheaties champion and it is easy to see why his story is so inspiring to school-age children in America," he said. "Wheaties is honored to have a role in keeping the legend of Jim Thorpe alive."

There were attempts in the past to have Thorpe honored on a Wheaties box. Company officials said he was on a list of possible athletes they would honor. He moved to the top of that list after thousands of children wrote in favor of such a move.

"Jim Thorpe is a hero among school children and this Wheaties box is dedicated to every child in America who, like Jim Thorpe, is inspired to pursue a dream," Immel said.

Anna McKibben can also take plenty of credit for the fact Thorpe is now on Wheaties' boxes. The Oklahoma native-the same state Thorpe was born in -sparked a huge letter-writing campaign.

When she was crowned Miss Indian USA in 1998, McKibben said she was inspired by Thorpe's story. And she wanted to offer some payback by campaigning to have Thorpe on Wheaties' boxes. She wrote to every American Indian newspaper, to tribal headquarters and to Native Web sites in 35 states. The response was tremendous.

"I've received hundreds of letters of encouragement from people who are passionate in their support of Jim Thorpe and my cause," she said. "Jim Thorpe has a special place in the heart of all Native American Indians. And now Wheaties has a special place in my heart."

Besides playing both pro football and baseball, Thorpe won gold medals in both the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.

A who's who list of sporting greats have previously adorned Wheaties' boxes. That list includes Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.