Monday, December 10, 2007
The Life of Jesse Owens
Athlete Paper: Jesse Owens
Written by: Leanne Kerekes
Jesse Owens was a world-famous Track & Field star, best known for his performances in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. James Cleveland Owens was born on September 12th, 1913 in Oakville, Alabama. When J.C. was nine years old, his family moved to Cleveland in hopes of better employment opportunities. On his first day of school in Cleveland, he told the teacher his name was J.C., but because of his southern drawl, the teacher thought he said Jesse, and the mistake stuck.
As Jesse got older, he took after school jobs to help his family make ends meet. At times his schedule was so hectic that he literally had to run from school to work, and from one job to another. It was in running between school and these jobs that Jesse realized he quite enjoyed running, and that he was remarkably good at it. His high school gym teacher, Charles Riley, couldn’t help but notice Jesse’s impressive talents. Riley also happened to be the school’s track coach, and he invited Jesse to join the team. Because of his after school jobs, Jesse would have been unable to attend the practices with the rest of his team. Coach Riley solved this problem by offering to train Jesse, one on one, in the mornings before school. Thus, Jesse’s commitment to helping his family financially inadvertently resulted in him getting what amounted to be a daily personal trainer. This intimate, focused conditioning was undoubtedly a factor in honing Jesse’s innate ability as a runner into his glowing success as an athlete.
The success of the team, and more importantly, Jesse’s personal record-breaking performances, got the attention of more than a few collegiate athletic associations. He was even courted by several of the Big Ten schools. However, in the 1930s there were very strict laws pertaining to amateur athletics, and athletic scholarships simply did not exist as we know them today. His choice was, therefore, dictated by where and how his family could best earn a living while he was in school. Ohio State University ultimately offered the best opportunity, and Jesse began attending classes there in 1933. During this time period the United States was still segregated, so when traveling to track meets, he had to stay separate from his team in “black-only” hotels and get take out food instead of eating with the team at restaurants. Ohio State’s track coach was involved in the school’s public relations initiative, and encouraged his athletes to take part. Owens took speaking engagements at area schools and other organizations, giving him his first real experience as an orator. Although his academic performance left much to be desired, his athletic prowess showed no sign of dimming. At a Big Ten meet on May 25th, 1935 Owens set three world records.
Emboldened by these achievements he decided to enter the 1936 Summer Olympics on his own. These games happened to be scheduled in Berlin at the height of Hitler’s Third Reich and have often been referred to as “The Nazi Olympics.” During the
Olympics, Nazi propaganda flooded Berlin, touting the superiority of the “perfect” Aryan race, and in contrast, the inferiority of other races, often specifically Africans. Owens won four gold medals in Track and Field at the games, becoming the first American of any race to do so. On the first day of competition, Hitler only shook hands with German medalists and then left, snubbing the victories of other nations’ competitors. For successive days of competition, he was told to greet all medal winners or none at all, and he chose the latter, avoiding the ceremony altogether. The world press made much ado about Hitler’s snub, but Owens took issue with the hypocrisy of selectively condemning racism abroad, while embracing it at home. “When I came back to my native country, after all the stories about Hitler, I couldn’t ride in the front of the bus,” Owens said. “I had to go to the back door. I couldn’t live where I wanted. I wasn’t invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn’t invited to the White House to shake hands with the President, either.” (ESPN.com) In fact, Owens never received as much as a telegram from the sitting president, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
After the Olympics concluded, the entire American team was invited to compete in Sweden. Owens, disillusioned with nationalist athletic competition, decided to return to the states to cash in on lucrative endorsement offers that came along with his new-found success and fame. When officials found out about his plan, his amateur status was revoked by the American Athletic Union and with that went most of his endorsement deals. This decision effectively ended his career as a professional competitive athlete. In an effort to maintain a viable income through racing, Owens became a runner-for-hire.
He took invitations to run against other runners, athletes from other sports (always ceding a significant head-start), and even thoroughbred horses. He made frequent appearances racing before Negro League baseball games, and later entertained at Major League Baseball games as well.
Given his college experience as a public speaker, Owens found a new career, using his fame as an athlete to acquire speaking engagements. His success was so great that he eventually founded a public relations firm. Owens traveled around the world, speaking on behalf of giants such as Ford Motor Company and the U.S. Olympic Committee. He also devoted a great deal of his time to sponsoring and participating in youth sports programs in under-privileged neighborhoods. In the 1950s, the U.S. State Department asked Owens to tour Asia as a Goodwill Ambassador, with emphasis on advancing the Olympic cause. Also, in 1973 he was appointed to the U.S. Olympic Committee’s board of directors, where he pushed for funding to equip and train American athletes. He later devoted his efforts to charity groups, including the Boys’ Club of America.
Though he never finished his bachelor’s degree studies at Ohio State, the University awarded him an honorary degree as a Doctor of Athletic Arts in 1972. Owens was inducted to the Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1974. In 1976, he was presented the highest honor afforded to civilians, the Medal of Freedom, by President Gerald Ford. On March 31st, 1980, Owens, a long time cigarette smoker, succumbed to lung cancer the age of 66. After his death, his family and friends created the Jesse Owens Foundation. It “is a non-profit organization whose goal is to promote the development of youth to their fullest potential.” (The Jesse Owens Foundation) In 1990 he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President George H.W. Bush.
Jesse Owens exemplified the merits of hard work and perseverance, and of their ability to overcome financial hardship. Though he came from meager means, he applied himself to supporting his family, committed himself to success, and always overcame obstacles and disappointments with courage and grace. When his greatest achievements elevated him to fame, he utilized his popularity by championing causes that he deeply believed in. His unquenchable thirst for greatness, his unshakable duty to his family, and his devotion to giving back to his community and to humanity make him a role model of a quality we rarely see in our times.