Jesse Owens had a humble beginning

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31781, 11 September 1968, Page 15

Jesse Owens had a humble beginning

TESSE Owens was un- ° doubtedly the greatest athlete of this century. In his own way, he was one of the greatest Americans of the century. He won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games—in the 100 metres, 200 metres, long jump and

4 x 100 metres relay. He won them in front of Hitler, against the supposed superiority of the "Herrenvolk”; and he won them, in a sense, for the whole Negro population of his country. Owens was born the tenth of 11 children of a cotton share-cropper in Alabama. His earliest recollection is of his mother weeping after his father had come back from the end-of-year reckoning to announce that their share had come to nothing; there was not enough income, the land owner had said, to cover the expenses of the land. “This was near Christmas time, and there was nothing for the children, nothing for the family, nothing for my father’s labour for the year. I remember my mother crying, standing by her bed folding the meagre clothing that we had,” he said recently. He never forgot those days. As a 19-year-old in 1933 he equalled the world 100 yards record of 9.4 sec in an inter-collegiate championship. He returned home to a huge welcome from the city of Cleveland and offers of scholarships from 28 universities. He told them to stop all the soft-soaping and "give my dad a job.” He chose the Ohio State University where he could, himself, get a job.

He worked an elevator. He had classes from 8 a.m. until 2.50 p.m.. trained for an hour and then went to work. At his job, in a huge freight elevator, he studied in between moving and cleaning crews. He was home between 12.30 a.m. and 1 a.m.: up again at 6.30 a.m. for the new day. The charwomen used to bring him food. He took most of it back to his boarding house for the 18 other fellows who did not have much money for food. He was paid 150 dollars a month. He sent 50 to 70 dollars of that home to his parents.

At high school, Owens found a coach and mentor who was to remain at his side thereafter, a tall, gaunt, middle-aged Irishman, Charley Riley. In addition to technical tuition, Riley gave the boy fascinating discourses on physiology.

This is the second of a series of articles on great Olympians.

“He began to tell me that, favoured with many things, I would have to be just a little bit more humble—positive in thinking but always able to give the other guy the benefit of the doubt,” Owens said. “Many a time on coming to a city I would have to live at a Negro home or in a Negro section,, but I raised no fuss about it because on the field of competition you were equal.”

Jesse Owens was much more than equal in this sphere. On Saturday, May 25, 1935, at an inter-collegi-ate meeting at Ann Arbor in Michigan, he broke, or equalled, the world records for the 100 yards, long jump (26:8}, it lasted for 25 years), 220 yards and 220 yards hurdles. The 21-year-old Negro had given athletics history its most incredible hour. Owens had learnt, from Riley, that the secret of sprinting was relaxation, and the secret of relaxation

was to regard the sport as a pleasure and to retain a sense of humour. He was also told to run as if he had a glass of water balanced on his head. He was made to practise by running on the spot in a gymnasium, half-supported by ropes, pretending that the floor was like a hot brick. When Owens went to Berlin for the 1936 games he had in mind mainly one event, the world’s fastest running race. “The one race I wanted to win most was the 100 metres. And with the Olympic 100 metres of course goes the unofficial title of the world's fastest human being. This I wanted,” he said. After the games he retired from amateur ranks, and started to make money in show business and with exhibitions. The first 10,000 dollars he made during that following winter he spent on a home

and furniture for his mother and a car for Riley. He made a quarter of a million dollars within three years, then lost it all in speculation. He told his wife that they were broke. Then he set about re-establishing himself, which he did within another three years. “I educated my three children. They had all the luxuries they needed and we always lived well, and we were always accepted by people. This is a wonderful world. A lot of good things can happen,” he said.