OWENS, JESSE (James Cleveland) (9 Sept. 1913-30 Mar. 1980), track-and-field athlete, was born in northern Alabama to Henry and Emma Alexander Owens. He moved to Cleveland as a child. His athletic talent was first noted at Fairmount Jr. High School. His track coach, Chas. Riley, was amazed when he ran the 100-yd. dash in 10 seconds flat, a new junior high school record. As a high school senior at E. Technical, he equaled the world's record of 9.4 in the 100-yd. dash.
At Ohio State University, Owens, on 25 May 1935, equaled or bettered 6 world records within 1 hour in Ann Arbor Mich., the only athlete to establish new track and field world records on the same day. His long-jump record of 26 ft 8 1/4 inches stood for 33 years. The Cleveland track star gained his greatest fame at the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936, where he won 4 gold medals. In the 100- and 200-meter sprints, he set records of 10.3 and 20.7 seconds respectively. In the long jump he set an Olympic record of 26 ft 5 & 5/16 inches. Owens then joined with Ralph Metcalfe, Floyd Draper, and Frank Wycoff to set a new world record of 39.8 seconds in the 400-meter relay.
After graduating from Ohio State University in 1937, Owens became a "professional entertainer," tap dancing with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. After trying several occupations, Owens's dry-cleaning business failed. From 1940-42, the office of Civilian Defense employed Owens as national director of physical education for Negroes. From 1942-46, Owens was director of Negro personnel for the Ford Motor Co. in Detroit. In 1946 he moved to Chicago as a sales executive. Noted for his inspirational addresses, Owens served on the Illinois Athletic and Illinois Youth commissions, and was on the board of directors of Up with People, centered at Tucson, Ariz., where he lived at the time of his death. He married Ruth Solomon in 1931, and had 3 daughters, Gloria, Beverly, and Marlene.
Baker, William J. Jesse Owens (1986).
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