(About the Series: Based upon my Conversation with guest Derek Meinecke, I’m going back in time to be in the stands at 10 sporting events. This week, it’s #9. You’re able to find links to the previous installments below.)
If you’ve read my work – even a little bit – these past 18 months, I feel as though you should be aware I have a fascination with history as well as sports. Therefore, it should come as little surprise that I’d want go back nearly a century to one of the most politically charged sporting events in history: the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. These Games, and the lead up to them, were a giant propaganda machine on the part of the German’s Nazi Party under the leadership of dictator, Adolf Hitler.
While the entirety of the Games would be fascinating to take in, I’m really climbing into the wayback machine to see one man compete. That man? Jesse Owens.
By the time Owens arrived in Berlin he was an 8-time NCAA Track & Field Champion running for Ohio State University. And, perhaps even more impressive than that feat, was his May 25, 1935, performance at Ferry Field on the campus of the University of Michigan when he equalled or tied four world records on single day at the Big Ten Championships (100-yard, 220-yard, 220-yard low hurdles, and long jump).
To review what Owens accomplished:
August 3, 1936
Owens won the first of his three individual gold medals over a 3-day stretch when he ran the 100-meter dash in 10.3 seconds to edge USA teammate and 2-time Olympic runner-up, Ralph Metcalfe, by a tenth of a second. Following the win, was there or was there not an acknowledgement by Hitler? Several observers, including Owens, indicated there was, but it was neither formal or overly public.
August 4, 1936
For years, Owens had some struggles with the long jump, often times missing his mark and launching too early or fouling out. The struggles continued in Berlin, nearly not qualifying for the final. Once there, he leapt 26-feet, 5-inches to defeat his German opponent, Luz Long, who ran a victory lap arm-in-arm with Owens afterward (in front of Hitler!).
It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler… I would melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating on the twenty-four karat friendship that I felt for Luz Long at that moment
Jesse Owens
August 5, 1936
Another day, another gold medal. This time it was the 200-meter dash in which Owens ran a 20.7 seconds to best USA teammate Mack Robinson by four tenths of a second. A terrific athlete in his own right, Robinson (a member of the University of Oregon’s Hall of Fame) was slightly overshadowed in his own family as the older brother of Jackie Robinson; the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball.
August 9, 1936
Owens was not supposed to participate in the 4×100-meter relay, but a late switch by Team USA coach Lawson Robertson benched Jewish-American sprinters Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller in favor of Owens and 100-meter runner-up, Metcalfe. The Americans won in world record time of 39.8 seconds. The decision to bench Glickman and Stoller was not without controversy. Glickman (who went on to do radio sportscasting in New York City) long asserted it was racially motivated and came from Hitler’s staff to U.S. Olympic Committee Chair Avery Brundage who’d passed it on to Robertson. Incidentaly, August 9th was Stoller’s 21st birthday; he did not attend the event. Also worth noting, Glickman and Stoller were the only two healthy Team USA track athletes to not compete in the Berlin Games. Coincidence?
Owens’ four gold medal track and field performance in the 1936 Olympics was not duplicated until Carl Lewis earned gold in the same four events at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games.
As we noted at the top, these Games were as much about pro-Nazi propaganda as they were about competition. Other things worth noting, in addition to various nation boycotts and threats thereof (including from the U.S.), it also featured a 100,000-seat stadium that was constructed to one-up the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum used in 1932. The 1936 Berlin Games also were the first modern games with an Olympic Torch relay (to showcase the nation and the Aryan people), the first modern cinematographer (Leni Riefenstahl) chronicled the Games for propaganda purposes, and the famed Hindenburg zeppelin was seen overhead regularly after being initially launched in the spring of 1936.
From left, the Hindenburg was spotted over the massive stadium frequently and the torch relay provided plenty of opportunities to promote the Nazi Party.
In short, being present to see Owens’ performance, soak up the historical significance of the moments, and get a feel for what it was like in the stadium (and maybe even enjoy wurst or two along with a pint).
Previous Installments
Number 10 – 1972 NLCS Game 5