African-American/All-American Hero of the Olympic Games
 
The Legend of Jesse Owens

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Book Description: "The Legend of Jesse Owens"by Hank Nuwer
 (Franklin Watts/Grolier Biography, 1998)

At the 1936 Summer Olympics, American track-and-field star Jesse Owens electrified the world by winning four gold medals. He set Olympic records in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and the long jump; he also shared with fellow runners a new world record in the 400-meter relay.  Although the record-breaking performances made hima legend in his own time, Owens struggled to translate his immense fame into a modest living.

In "The Legend of Jesse Owens," I have tried to provide a compelling look at the life of Jesse Owens. Born into a poor sharecropping family in Alabama, Jesse was a sickly child who barely survived several  illnesses. In 1919, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he became  a schoolboy runner. Owens received an athletic scholarship from Ohio State University. At a 1935 collegiate meet he established world records in three events and tied the world record in another. At the Berlin Olympics, Jesse’s miraculous victories defeated the German teamin front of Chancellor Adolf Hitler, who wanted to use the Games as a showcase for Aryan superiority.

Returning home to a hero’s welcome, the athlete found crowds wanting his autograph but few people willing to give him a job. He began accepting offers for various stunt races, including running  against horses. Jesse eventually scored good jobs, but he mainly supportedhis family by giving speeches year after year on the grueling lecture circuits. He inspired crowds wherever he went, always taking the time to chat and sign autographs.

Jesse Owens used his notoriety to fight for improvement of race relations. Conservative in his views, for years he stated that  African-Americans could improve their lives by taking advantage of the opportunities provided by America’s free enterprise system. Many whites embraced him for these views, but some black leaders and activists regarded him as an appeaser. Significantly, near the end of his life, Jesse Owens changed his stance, advocating a more aggressive approach to achieving racial equality.

By earning a last place in sports history, Jesse Owens helped open the door for black athletes in other sports. He also—most of his
 life—set a worthy example for youth of all ages and races. When faced with his toughest battles, he gave his best effort.
 

Commentary: from The Indianapolis Newspapers,Inc;  THE INDIANAPOLIS NEWS:  January 27, 1999

 - In his new bookThe Legend of Jesse Owens,
 Anderson author  Hank Nuwer  describes the legendary athlete as a complex man.

In his personal life, Owens' weakness for women led to
extramarital affairs, and his weakness for cigarettes is believed
responsible for the lung cancer that killed him in 1980 at age 66. But Jesse Owens, one of history's greatest track stars, also was
such a gifted public speaker that he was able to accumulate
considerable wealth late in life.

   "Jesse Owens had a lot of self-denial," said Nuwer, who has
authored 18 other books.

   "He stumbled and fell and came back many times.  He somehow
always managed to recognize the mistakes he hadmade.

   "But his life went beyond being great athlete.  Jesse Owens was
a great person. "

   Born in rural Alabama in 1913, the son of sharecroppers and
grandson of former slaves, Owens made the most of his talents to
escape poverty.  After his family moved to Cleveland, he became a
sensation as a schoolboy runner.  This brought him a scholarship to
Ohio State University, and he became America’s great track and
field hope for the 1936 Olympic Games.

   "Adolph Hitler wanted mass victories at the '36 Olympics," Nuwer
said, "so he could show the world how superior his race was.  What
really happened was the coming together of America for both blacks
and whites.

   "This was because of Jesse Owen sand his great performance at
those Olympic games. "

   Unable to eat in downtown Berlin because of his race, Owens
munched on sandwiches and drank milk before competition.  He
proceeded, at age 23, to win gold medals in the100- and
200-meter-dashes, in the long jump and as a member of the
400-meter-relay team.

   His outstanding performance did nothing to impress German leader
Adolf Hitler.  Or did it?

   "It's like the story of Babe Ruth calling his home run shot,"
Nuwer said.  "Did it really happen, or digit not?

   "Some said Hitler waved to Owens after Owens supposedly waved to
him.  Others said that Hitler flat-out snubbed Owens and never
acknowledged his presence.  No one is really sure what happened.
After all, we didn't have ESPN back then! "

   After a hero's welcome back home in the United States, Owens
tried to cash in on his fame.  Though many white Americans were
quick to ask Owens for his autograph, few were willing to offer the
Olympics star a job.  He settled for a $1,560 a year position as
recreational counselor and bathhouse attendant at a Cleveland
playground.

   "It was a bad time for Owens," Nuwer said.  "For money, he could
race horses or race against the world's fastest woman.  People took
advantage of Jesse, but he did make some money."
Owens, believing he had been made the butt oaf joke by
promoters, then used his notoriety to speak out on civil rights.  He
urged young blacks to get an education and to work with the system
instead of rebelling against it.

   Some radical blacks looked down on Owens, considering him an
Uncle Tom.

   But to Johnny Wilson, a standout basketball and track star at
Anderson High School and Anderson College, Owens was an inspiration.
"When I was a kid, I wanted to be Jesse Owens,” Wilson said in
an interview.  I ran some of the same races that Jesse did, and that
really inspired me to do well.

   "I was fortunate enough to meet him twice in my life.  Once in
Chicago, when I was playing with the Harlem Globetrotters, and at a
teachers' convention in Indianapolis.  Hews a great man, very
friendly and very intelligent.  And Jesse was the greatest of
speakers.      He could really captivate an audience. "

   Though he never met him, Nuwer, 52, considers Owens one of the
greatest Americans of our time.  His admiration led to writing the
book.

   "Jesse Owens excelled at life long after his athletic abilities
were gone," Nuwer said.  "He learned to manage his money and became
quite wealthy from his speaking engagements. More than that, he was
a positive influence on many young people in this country.  The
memory of Jesse Owens will last forever. "

   The Legend of Jesse Owens is 176pages and is
distributed by Franklin Watts/Grolier Publishing.
 
 
 
 

Excerpt from "The Legend of Jesse Owens":

In 1935], the track world was abuzz with rumors that the United States might refuse to participate in the German Olympics to protest the ill treatment of Jewish citizens under German ChancellorAdolf Hitler’s regime. The AAU, in particular, supported a boycott, particularly after Hitler no longer recognized Jews as citizens and had deprived them of virtually all civil rights. The International Olympic Committee (IOC)and the American Olympic Committee were opposed to a boycott. Members arguedthat politics had no place in sport.
 Across the ocean, the ruling Nazis in Germany had angry discussions about participating in the Games. They objected to mingling with Negroes, saying that blacks belonged to an inferior "primitive" race. The vehemence of many Nazis toward blacks rivaled that of the American Ku Klux Klan. Germany’s relatively small black population suffered large-scale discrimination during the mid-thirties, according to historian Robert Waite.

Except from "The Legend of Jesse Owens":

From Chapter Nine:

 During the 1936 Olympics, Jesse couldn’t afford to let the press entangle him in a political controversy. His third day of competition was his most demanding yet. In the morning, he was scheduled to run in two 200-meter qualifying heats, followed by the preliminary eliminations in the long jump.
 Once again Jesse was flawless on the track. He established new world and Olympic records in the 200-meter events, this time with postings of 21.1 seconds in each heat. But while the other qualifier’s, Mack Robinson (brother of baseball future star Jackie Robinson) and Bobby Packard went back to the village to rest, Jesse kept limber for the long jump event, fearing he might tear a muscle if his muscles were allowed to cool. Larry Snyder, his Ohio State Coach who accompanied him to the Games, kept a close sign on the athlete for signs of fatigue.
 Instead, Jesse lost focus and forgot temporarily the fundamentals that Snyder had taught him. In the qualifying trials for the long jump, Jesse botched his first two attempts, although the distance required was merely 23 feet 5 inches and Jesse held the world record in that event.
 The first poor jump was the result on an international misunderstanding. In the United States, at the time, competitors were allowed one practice jump to get accustomed to the take-off board. However, the Olympics in Germany allowed no free attempts. Without even removing his sweat suit, Jesse took what he thought was a practice jump, his take-off foot partially hitting the foul line. When an official flourished red flag, Jesse blinked in confusion, suddenly realizing that his half-hearted" practice" attempt had counted as a scratch.
 Jesse made no protest, but the call shook his composure. He removed his sweatsuit for the second attempt, took off with perfect form, and leaped high across the sand. Jesse and a reporter for The New York Times covering the event thought he had qualified, butte German official disagreed. Perturbed, Jesse gave one of the judges long, lingering look. After all the reports he had heard of the hatred of Jews for Jews and blacks, was it possible that the judge had blown the call on purpose to give a victory to the German long jumper Luz Long?
 Jesse’s head raced with negative thoughts, disrupting the concentration he needed for a third jump.
 

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