November 12, 1994 Wilma Glodean Rudolph, the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympic Games, died. Rudolph was born prematurely on June 23, 1940 in Clarksville, Tennessee. Despite a childhood filled with medical problems, she became an accomplished athlete by high school. In high school, she […]
"Olympic"
October 30th in African American History – John Youie Woodruff
October 30, 2007 John Youie Woodruff, Olympic champion, died. Woodruff was born July 5, 1915 in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. As a 21 year old college freshman, Woodruff won the 800 meter Gold Medal at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Games.
October 29th in African American History – Vonetta Flowers
October 29, 1973 Vonetta Flowers, the first Black person to win a Gold Medal in the Winter Olympic Games, was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Flowers was a sprinter and long jumper at the University of Alabama and aspired to make the United States Summer Olympic Team. After several failed attempts, she turned to making the […]
October 25th in African American History – Abebe Bikila
October 25, 1973 Abebe Bikila, two-time Olympic marathon champion, died. Bikila was born August 7, 1932 in the village of Jato, Ethiopia. At the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, Bikila won the marathon in world record time, becoming the first Black African to win an Olympic Gold Medal.
October 11th in African American History – Malvin Greston Mal Whitfield
October 11, 1924 Malvin Greston “Mal” Whitfield, track athlete and diplomat, was born in Bay City, Texas. In 1943, Whitfield joined the United States Army Air Force and became a member of the Tuskegee Airmen with whom he flew 27 combat missions during the Korean War. After World War II he enrolled at Ohio State […]
September 21st in African American History – Florence Delorez “Flo-Jo” Griffith-Joyner
September 21, 1998 Florence Delorez “Flo-Jo” Griffith-Joyner died as the result of suffocating during a severe epileptic seizure. Griffith-Joyner was born on December 21, 1959 in Los Angeles, California. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Griffith-Joyner won the Silver Medal in the 200 meter race. At the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, she won the […]
September 12th in African American History – James Cleveland Jesse Owens
September 12, 1913 James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens, Olympic track and field athlete, was born in Oakville, Alabama. Owens first came to national attention while in high school in Cleveland, Ohio when he equaled the world record of 9.4 seconds in the 100 yard dash and long jumped 24 feet 9 ½ inches at the 1933 […]