John Woodruff deserves more than a footnote in history as Jesse Owens' teammate at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. The tall college freshman, after his amazing win at the Olympics, went on to a life of service, both in the military and in the private sector, as noted in the obituaries that ran in the national press today.
But perhaps the most newsworthy item was left out of the brief obsequies: The shame of racism inflicted on a national hero. Mr. Woodruff, a native of the Western Pennsylvania town of Connellsville, was a student at the University of Pittsburgh when he reached both the heights and depth of his athletic career. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains
Pitt was scheduled to compete in a multi-team meet at Annapolis, Md., in 1937, but the track coach from the Naval Academy told both Pitt and New York University that their African-Americans were not welcome because there were no accommodations available for blacks at the school.
New York University pulled its team out of the meet, but Pitt coach Carl Olson made the decision to go to the meet and compete without [team captain] Mr. Woodruff.
According to Pitt Emeritus Trustee Herbert Douglas, who was a bronze medalist in the long jump at the 1948 Olympics and a longtime friend of Mr. Woodruff, this snub by the Pitt track team troubled Mr. Woodruff for a long time.
"John was angry about the incident and how it was handled and rightfully so," said Mr. Douglas. "Here is this kid who is an Olympic gold medalist and he's being told he can't compete for his own team in his own country, at the Naval Academy no less. And really, if you read anything about John or you knew him, you'd know he never faced that kind of racism in Berlin -- he'd always say, nobody ever treated him badly during the Olympics.
[Emphasis added.]
Pitt finally did apologize. Last year.
For more on Mr. Woodruff's accomplishments, check pages 1 and 6 of this pdf.