Sports Then and Now

Jesse Owens’ performance at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin remains one of the most significant and memorable moments in sports history. Against the backdrop of Nazi propaganda and racial tension, Owens not only showcased extraordinary athletic prowess but also delivered a powerful blow to Adolf Hitler’s ideology of Aryan supremacy. This article delves into Owens’ remarkable achievements in Berlin, the context of the era, and the lasting impact of his victories.

Background and Context

The 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Berlin, Germany, were intended by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime to be a showcase of Aryan superiority. The games were heavily propagandized, with the Nazis aiming to demonstrate the dominance of the “master race.” However, the stage was set for an African American athlete from Alabama to challenge and ultimately dismantle these notions through sheer athletic excellence.

James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens was born on September 12, 1913, in Oakville, Alabama. Growing up in a segregated America, Owens faced significant racial discrimination but found solace and opportunity in athletics. His talent was evident from a young age, and he went on to set multiple world records in high school and at Ohio State University. By the time the Berlin Olympics arrived, Owens was already a formidable competitor on the international stage.

The Olympic Games

100 Meters Dash

The 100 meters dash was the first event in which Owens competed, and he quickly set the tone for his Olympic campaign. On August 3, 1936, Owens won the gold medal with a time of 10.3 seconds, tying the world record. His victory was a direct challenge to the Nazi propaganda, as he bested Germany’s own athletes in front of Hitler and a partisan crowd.

To celebrate Martin Luther King Day, allow me to acknowledge one of the greatest athletes of all-time.

This extraordinary man helped initiate racial dialogue in America way back then in 1936 and will unwittingly do so now 80+ years later when a major motion picture about his life entitled Race releases next month.

Before MLB’s Jackie Robinson, the NFL’s Jim Brown, the NBA’s Wilt Chamberlain or boxing’s Joe Louis, track star Jesse Owens was regarded as the USA’s first ever African American sports icon.

On our country’s national holiday, let’s remember this great American who flew past his competitors on the track and soared above the hate and discrimination that he faced away from it.

The son of an Alabama sharecropper, James Cleveland Jesse Owens battled pneumonia as a sickly child before his family moved north to Cleveland, Ohio.

Years later, a much stronger and healthier 5’10” and 165 lb. Owens blossomed as an outstanding track and field athlete at Ohio State University. Read the rest of this entry →

Jesse Owens became an American hero at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

Perhaps you have heard of Jesse Owens.  Back in 1936, he won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, becoming the first American to do so.

Not only did he become the first American to accomplish this feat, he also sent a loud message to Adolph Hitler and his ideology.

Hitler was convinced that the white race (Aryan) was superior to all others.  This became all too evident in the horrifying discoveries of concentration camps near the end of the war.

In what sounds almost like a cliché, James Cleveland Owens was born on Sept. 12, 1913 to a poor sharecropping family, the grandson of slaves.

In trying to do what was best for the family, Owens’ parents (Henry and Emma) moved the family from Oakville, Alabama, to Cleveland, Ohio, when Owens was just nine years old.

Two things that would shape Owens’ life occurred from the move to Ohio.

The first being how he arrived at his moniker.  As a young boy growing up in the South, everyone simply called James by his first two initials, “J.C.”

Upon his arrival to the Cleveland public school system, his name quickly changed.

Apparently, when one of his teachers asked him what he preferred to be called, Owens replied, “J.C.”  His teacher mistakenly thought he had said, “Jesse” and James Cleveland Owens from that day forward became known as Jessie Owens.

Read the rest of this entry →