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Jesse Owens

American track and field athlete (1913-1980) · United States · Athletes · Died at 66

Jesse Owens is read about 1,763 times a day, in 86 languages.

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Four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, won by a Black American athlete in front of Hitler, turned a track meet into a referendum on race and supremacy that still echoes.

AthletesAthleteUnited StatesAmericas20th Century

A life in dates

2012IAAF Hall of FameAward1980Died31 March 1980“Joe Louis and I were the first modern national sports figures who were black... But neither of us could do national advertising because the South wouldn't buy it.”In their words1 April 1980The Tampa Tribune (April 1, 1980)

1976Presidential Medal of FreedomAwardSilver Olympic OrderAward1974Theodore Roosevelt AwardAward1971“People say that it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do? I had four gold medals, but you can't eat four gold medals.”In their wordsInterview (1971); also quoted in "Owens pierced a myth" by Larry Schwartz in ESPN SportsCentury

1970“The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself - the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us - that's where it's at.”In their wordsAs quoted in Blackthink: My Life as Black Man and White Man (1970)

1960“I'm old now. It's all right.”In their wordsIn response to Armin Hary's comment, "You smoke? That's no good. No good!" at the 1960 Olympics in Rome; as quoted in Rome 1960 (2008) by

1936“Mr. Hitler had to leave the stadium early, but after winning I hurried up to the radio booth.”In their words25 August 1936Quoted in "Owens, Back, Gets Hearty Reception" by Louis Effrat, The New York Times, (August 25, 1936), p.25. Online for subscribers only.

Associated Press Athlete of the YearAward1913Born12 September 1913

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Jesse Owens 1936Jesse Owens 1936(Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe at the 1936 Randall's Island Olympic trials, New York, NY) - Flickr - SMU Libraries Digital Collections(Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe at the 1936 Randall's Island Olympic trials, New York, NY) - Flickr - SMU Libraries Digital CollectionsJesse Owens 1936 (cropped)Jesse Owens 1936 (cropped)Olympic sprinters Owens Metcalfe and Wykoff 1936Olympic sprinters Owens Metcalfe and Wykoff 1936Bundesarchiv Bild 183-G00630, Sommerolympiade, Siegerehrung Weitsprung-2Bundesarchiv Bild 183-G00630, Sommerolympiade, Siegerehrung Weitsprung-2Bundesarchiv Bild 183-G00630, Sommerolympiade, Siegerehrung WeitsprungBundesarchiv Bild 183-G00630, Sommerolympiade, Siegerehrung WeitsprungLuz Long and Jesse OwensLuz Long and Jesse OwensArchWardTreasureChestArchWardTreasureChest

In their own words 10

,
Jesse Owens
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. Joe Louis and I were the first modern national sports figures who were black... But neither of us could do national advertising because the South wouldn't buy it.

    Apr 1, 1980, The Tampa Tribune (April 1, 1980), Own words

  2. People say that it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do? I had four gold medals, but you can't eat four gold medals.

    1971, Interview (1971); also quoted in "Owens pierced a myth" by Larry Schwartz in ESPN SportsCentury, Own words

  3. The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself - the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us - that's where it's at.

    1970, As quoted in Blackthink: My Life as Black Man and White Man (1970), Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

IAAF Hall of Fame2012
Presidential Medal of Freedom1976
Silver Olympic Order1976
Theodore Roosevelt Award1974
Associated Press Athlete of the Year1936
Congressional Gold Medal
Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

In their orbit

Spouse: M. Ruth Solomon

About this person

James Cleveland Owens was born September 12, 1913, and became a sprinter and long jumper who rewrote what seemed possible in a single afternoon. At the 1935 Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he won four events, set five world records, and tied another in less than an hour - a stretch still called "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport." He collected eight NCAA titles across 1935 and 1936, a mark no one has matched. Then came Berlin: the 1936 Summer Olympics, where he swept the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump, and 4 × 100-meter relay, setting Olympic records in each and becoming the Games' most decorated athlete. The Jesse Owens Award now honors the year's best American track and field performer, and in 1950 the Associated Press named him the greatest in his sport for the first half of the century. He died March 31, 1980.

Country
United States
Category
Athletes
Type
Athlete
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1913 to 1980 · aged 66

In common with Jesse

Frank CapraAlso in The Negro Soldier (1944)Rafer JohnsonAlso in The Grand Olympics (1961)Hardie AlbrightAlso in Mom and Dad (1945)Bud GreenspanAlso in Jesse Owens Returns to Berlin (1966)William BeaudineAlso in Mom and Dad (1945)Stuart HeislerAlso in The Negro Soldier (1944)

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