By Larry Phillips

Gannett Ohio

No athlete anywhere at any time has faced a road game as tough as Jesse Owens.

Competing amid rampant racism and the overtone of dangerous politics, Owens took the track against the world's best athletes in front of its most controversial leader at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

It's hard to imagine the conditions today, or anyone overcoming them as easily. The Ohio State product, a grandson of slaves, overwhelmed everyone by winning four gold medals (in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and 4x100 relay).

That performance has long been considered one of the greatest showings by any athlete in any sport. It was hailed as a watershed moment in lieu of Hitler's doctrine advocating Aryan supremacy.

"Hitler was highly annoyed by the series of triumphs by the marvelous colored American runner, Jesse Owens," noted his chief architect Albert Speer in the work "Hitler, Nazi Philosophy and Sport," by Emma Anspach and Hilah Almog. "People whose antecedents came from the jungle were primitive, Hitler said with a shrug; their physiques were stronger than those of civilized whites and hence should be excluded from future games."

A decade after Owens' death, President George H. Bush posthumously awarded him the Congressional Medal of Honor.

"(His Olympic achievements were) an unrivaled athletic triumph, but more than that, a triumph for all humanity," the president stated.

Owens was born in Alabama in 1913, but came north with his family at age nine during the Great Migration. They settled in Cleveland where Jesse became president of student council and a national track star at Cleveland East Tech.

He flourished under the tutelage of junior high coach Charles Riley, who emphasized the importance of constant training for long-term gains. Owens was a natural, and by the time he graduated owned or shared national high school records in the 100- and 220-yard dashes and the broad jump.

He enrolled at Ohio State in 1933, and as a sophomore authored the greatest 45 minutes in track and field history. On Oct. 25, 1935 at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., the Buckeye Bullet set or tied four world records.

At 3:15 p.m. he tied the world record in the 100-yard dash (9.4 seconds).

At 3:25 p.m. in his only long jump attempt, Jesse leaped 26-8 1/4, a world record that stood for 25 years.

At 3:34 p.m. he shattered the world record for the 220-yard dash (20.3 seconds).

At 4 p.m. Owens became the first person to crack the 23-second barrier in the 220 low hurdles (22.6 seconds).

Some also claim Owens actually set five world records, bettering marks for the shorter 200 meters and 200-meter low hurdles.

Whatever the case, it was a mere warmup to Berlin, where the track phenom evolved into celebrity. He won over the crowd at the Berlin Stadium, too, fans who were mesmerized by his smooth running style and charismatic demeanor chanted "Yesseh Oh-vens" or just "Oh-vens."

He was mobbed by autograph seekers, and was unnerved by the attention in a foreign land. After his track triumph, some claimed Hitler snubbed Owens, refusing to acknowledge his achievements, yet at least one reporter said the Buckeye Bullet had a picture of The Feuhrer shaking hands with him.

Owens did not complain about Hitler, but was dismayed by his own president.

"Hitler didn't snub me — it was (FDR) who snubbed me," Owens said in the book "Triumph," by Jeremy Schapp. "The president didn't even send me a telegram."

Ironically, in 1984, a street south of the Olympic Stadium in Berlin was renamed Jesse-Owens-Allee. A memorial plaque for Owens is also located at the stadium. The Jesse-Owens-Realschule/Oberschule secondary school is in Berlin-Lichtenberg.

But Owens was unable to capitalize economically on his track performance via endorsements, and struggled with racism after returning 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."

Owens was not an antagonist, but like his contemporary Joe Louis, tried to shed light on the plight of his people. After the Olympics, Owens struggled through a variety of odd jobs and sports gimmicks and declared bankruptcy. In 1966 he was prosecuted for tax evasion.

Eventually, the U.S. government appointed him a goodwill ambassador and Owens traveled abroad as a motivational speaker.

His celebrity never waned. In a 1950 Associated Press poll, Jesse was voted the greatest track and field star for the first half of century, outpolling Jim Thorpe. Only Carl Lewis at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, has enjoyed a similar performance, albeit that was in front of a highly partisan home crowd.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford presented Owens with the Medal of Freedom, the highest honor the U.S. can bestow upon a civilian. Owens died at age 66 of lung cancer on March 31, 1980.

lbphillips@nncogannett.com

419-521-7238

Twitter:@OhioPrepLegends

Trailblazers

Today is the first of a six-part series looking at Ohio's critical role pioneering racial equality in athletics.

Part 1: Jesse Owens.