Photos: Olympic gold medal that reportedly upset Hitler is for sale
At SCP Auctions, there's a piece of sports memorabilia that speaks to more than athletic prowess: an Olympic medal won by track star Jesse Owens at the 1936 Games in Berlin. The medal — being auctioned online — recalls both the Nazi propaganda myths that Owens busted with his world record-setting 100-yard dash, and the American segregation that he came home to when he returned to the U.S. after the Games, which Adolf Hitler had orchestrated to showcase his ideas of Aryan supremacism. "Almost singlehandedly, Owens obliterated Hitler's plans," SCP Auctions partner Dan Imler said. "You've got an African American, son of a sharecropper, grandson of slaves who overcame these incredible circumstances and delivered a performance for the ages." - AP
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens is shown winning the 100-meter dash at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. His time was 10.3 secs. equalling the world record. Teammate Ralph Metcalfe was second, Martinus Osendarp of Holland won the bronze medal. American Frank Wykoff, left center, was fourth and German Erich Borchmeyer placed fifth.(AP Photo)
Berlin Olympic Games 1936
America won the men's Olympic Games 4 x 100 metres relay, in Berlin, Germany, Aug. 9, 1936, in a new World record time of 39.8 seconds. The team from left to right; Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalfe, Foy Draper and Frank Wykoff. (AP Photo)
1936 Olympic Track Team
United States track and field stars left to right: Cornelius Johnson, Los Angeles, high jump record breaker, Jesse Owens, Cleveland, 100-meter, 200-meter and long jump winner, and Glenn Hardin, Greenwood, Miss., 400-meter hurdles victor, are shown at their Olympic Village quarters as they receive congratulations from their U.S. Olympic teammates for becoming the first three Americans to win gold medals in the 1936 Summer Olympics. In the back row, left to right, are: Marty Glickman, Brooklyn, relay man; Gene Venzke, Pottstown, Pa., 1,500-meter runner; Albert J. Mangin, Lowell, Mass., 5000-meter walker; Foy Draper, Whittier, Calif., member of the 400-meter relay team; and Forrest G. Towns, Augusta, GA., 110-meter hurdles gold medalist.(AP Photo)
Olympic trials
Jesse Owens of Ohio State University, left, and Ralph Metcalfe of Marquette University are shown together before competing in the 100-meter dash at the U.S. Olympic trials in New York July 11, 1936. Owens beat his rival by a full yard in this event. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens of Cleveland, Ohio, is shown breaking the tape in the second heat of the quarterfinals of the 100-meter race on the opening day of competition in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Aug. 2, 1936. Owens finished with a wind-aided time of 10.2 seconds. Paul Haenni of Switzerland, comes in second. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens, Lutz Long, Tajiman
Jessie Owens, center, of the U.S.A. wears winner’s oak leaf laurel crown after he won Olympic broad jump event in Berlin on August 9, 1936. On right is Lutz Long of Germany who came in second and on left is Tajiman of Japan who won third place. Winning distance was 26 feet, 5 inches. (AP Photo)
Berlin Olympic Games 1936
American athlete Jesse Owens practices in the Olympic Village, in Berlin, Germany, Aug. 5, 1936. (AP Photo)
Berlin Olympic Games 1936
American athlete Jesse Owens, left, breaks the tape in a record time of 21.1 seconds in the elimination heats of the men's 200 metres Olympic Games race, in Berlin, Germany, Aug. 4, 1936. Canada's Lee Orr, centre, finished second. (AP Photo)
Adolf Hitler, Hermann Goering
Adolf Hitler and Colonel General Hermann Goering are on the grand stand in the stadium watching the events on the field, August 2, 1936 at the Olympics in Berlin. (AP Photo)
Hitler Berlin Games 1936
Fuehrer Adolf Hitler, in light suit , walks with a delegation as they arrive for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany on August 1, 1936. Spectators hail the German leader from the stadium balcony with salutes. (AP Photo)
Paula Mollenhauer; Gisela Mauermeyer; Jadwiga Wajs
The three winners of the ladies discus throw event of the Summer Olympic Games stand on the podium on August 4, 1936 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. German athletes from left to right: Paula Mollenhauer, who won the bronze medal and Gisela Mauermayer, who won gold, display the "Heil Hitler" Nazi salute when they received their laurels. At left Poland’s Jadwiga Wajs, who won the silver medal. (AP Photo)
Hitler Berlin Games 1936
German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, who attends the Olympics daily, seems pleased with the way the games are progressing as he watches events on August 14, 1936 at Berlin, Germany. At his left is Dr. Theodor Lewald, not in uniform, president of the German Olympic committee. The short man, second from Hitler's right, is Reich Sports leader Hans Von Tschammer. (AP Photo)
Olympics Opening 1936
This is a view of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, Aug. 1, 1936, at the Lustgarten in Berlin, Germany, showing Nazi leaders including Dr. Joseph Goebbels speaking. Behind him is the Reich's Minister Rudolph Hess; in back row, left to right are the leader of Hitler Youth, Baldur von Schirach and Reichs sports leader Hans von Tschammer und Osten. In second row, leader of the German auto racing Adolf Huehnlein, and standing behind him in dark suit is States Secretary Walther Funk. (AP Photo)
1936 Berlin Olympics
100,000 spectators are shown at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin Aug. 13, 1936. Adolf Hitler and members of the government were present. Shown are torch bearers lining the stadium while the army band are lined up in the center. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Mr. Jesse Owens in action in 1936, location unknown. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens at his home in Chicago, in his forties, showing his four gold medals in an undated photo, which he won in the 1936 Olympic Games. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Former Olympic gold medal winner Jesse Owens holds an enlargement of U.S. postal stamp August 17, 1972 in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the 1972 summer Olympic games in Munich, Germany. AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Cleveland, Ohio high school student Jesse Owens, is shown in 1933. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens, George Boone
Jesse Owens, African American ace of Ohio State, crosses the tape in the 100-yard event of the track meet with Southern California at Los Angeles on June 15, 1935. Owen’s time was 9.7 seconds – “slow” time for the star. George Boone, Southern California, was second. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens, Frank Wykoff
Jesse Owens, Ohio State’s stellar athlete, and Frank Wykoff, right, California sprinter, are shown working out in the Olympic village in Berlin on August 6, 1936. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
American Jesse Owens runs in 21.1 seconds to win his elimination heats in the Olympic 200-meter dash during the Berlin Olympics, August 8, 1936. He is followed by Orr of Canada and Neckermann of Germany. Owens later won this event finals. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens, winner of four gold medals in the Berlin Summer Olympics, waves to the crowd during a parade down Broadway in New York on Sept. 3, 1936. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens, 52, American athlete, is in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on June 8, 1964, where the British sector borders the Russian. Owens is helping with an American television film recalling his capture of three gold medals in the Berlin Olympics 28 years ago. (AP Photo/Reichart)
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens, U.S. Olympic sprint and jumping star, takes a practice broad jump aboard the S.S. Manhattan at sea, while en route to Berlin, Germany, for the summer Olympics on July 27, 1936. (AP Photo/Joe Caneva)
Jesse Owens
Olympic athlete Jesse Owens and his wife, Ruth, pose aboard a ship on their arrival from Berlin in New York City on Aug. 24, 1936. Owens won four gold medals in track and field events at the Olympic Games. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Olympic athlete Jesse Owens and his wife, Ruth, rush to catch the train home to Cleveland, Ohio, at Grand Central Station in New York City on Aug. 24, 1936. They arrived from Berlin, Germany, where Owens won four gold medals in track and field events at the Olympic Games. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Olympic athlete Jesse Owens and his wife, Ruth, are surrounded by admirers after returning home to Cleveland, Ohio, from the Olympics on Aug. 25, 1936. Owens won four gold medals at the 11th Olympiad held in Berlin, Germany. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens, Olympic star, gets ready to do his first turn as a professional by showing his toes, instead of his heels, to the field on September 1, 1936 in New York. Owens is in the center there, to the right of Bill Robinson, tap dancer, with both surrounded by a bevy of dancers, all rehearsing for the Cotton Club revue opening in New York, Sept. 24, 1936. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Olympic gold medal winner Jesse Owens waves from an open car during a ticker tape parade along Broadway in New York City on Sept. 3, 1936. The twenty-two-year-old won four gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Track star Jesse Owens is shown on the starting line just before he raced a horse at Tropical Park on December 26, 1936. Owens ran 100 yards in 9.9 finishing 20 yards ahead of the horse who was handicapped 40 yards at the start. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens and Satchel Paige Awarded Trophy
Jesse Owens, center, and Satchel Paige, Cleveland Indians pitcher, are congratulated August 19, 1949, by State's Attorney John Boyle, left, upon winning trophies for finishing first and fourth respectively in a nation-wide poll on outstanding Black athletes. Presentation was made at Comiskey Park in Chicago at Cleveland-Chicago White Sox game. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens in Germany
Legendary Track and Field athlete Jesse Owens from the U.S., left, shows a German boy on Aug. 22, 1951 at the Berlin Olympic Stadium where he won his four Gold Medals in 1936. Owen was in Berlin, Germany, to watch a basketball game between the Harlem Globetrotters and the Boston Whirlwinds. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens 1951
Dr. Walter Schreiber, acting mayor of West Berlin, right, congratulates American track star Jesse Owens telling him, "Hitler wouldn't shake your hands, I give you both hands," Aug. 22, 1951. (AP Photo/Hans von Nolde)
Jesse Owens Awarded on Ed Sullivan
Track star Jesse Owens was awarded Mercury's Second Championship Performance trophy on March 16, 1958 on the "Ed Sullivan Show". Owens was presented a trophy honoring him for the greatest individual athletic performance between 1930 and 1945. He also was given a set of gold keys to a new 1958 Mercury. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens, of Ohio State, competing in the Far Western AAU Championships in San Diego, Calif., on June 27, 1935. (AP Photo/Frank Filan)
Owens Solomon
Jesse Owens, Ohio State University's track star, and his high school sweetheart Minnie Ruth Solomon take their marriage vows in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 5, 1935. The man at left is not identified. (AP Photo)
Jesse and Ruth Owens Marriage
Jesse Owens, Ohio State University's track star, married Miss Minnie Ruth Solomon, of Cleveland, Ohio, July 5, 1935. The couple is pictured above as they applied to Frank Zizelman, Clerk, for their marriage license. (AP Photo)
Owens' styles of starting race
Sprinter Jesse Owens is shown in two different styles of starting a race. The old crouch type of start is shown in the top picture. Below he demonstrates the standing start. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalfe
Jesse Owens of Ohio State University and Ralph Metcalfe, right, of Milwaukee, formerly of Marquette University, two of the country’s star African Amercan athletes, talk about cinder affairs during the Central Intercollegiate Conference track and field meet in Milwaukee on June 5, 1936. Metcalfe looked on as Owens sped 100 yards in 9.7 seconds, 2/10 second slower than meet mark set by Metcalfe in 1933. (AP Photo/Paul Cannon)
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens of Ohio State University wins the broad jump with a leap of 25 feet, 10 7/8 inches as he won four events at the NCAA championships in Chicago, June 20, 1936. In addition to the broad jump, Owens won the 220-yard low hurdles, the 100 meters and the 200 meters, leading his team to second place in the final standings. (AP Photo)
Owens Metcalfe
Jesse Owens, right, of Ohio State University, crosses the finish line to win the 100-meter dash in the National A.A.U. Championships in Princeton, N.J., July 4, 1936. Ralph Metcalfe of Marquette University placed second. (AP Photo)
Jessie Owens
Jesse Owens of Ohio State University crosses the finish line in the 220-yard dash with a record speed of 20.3 seconds at the Big Ten Western Conference Track and Field meet at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., May 25, 1935. Owens, nicknamed "Buckeye Bullet," broke three world records, including the 220-yard hurdle, 22.6; and the long jump, 26 feet, 1/4 inches. He tied the 100-yard dash record, 9.4 seconds. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens of Ohio State is shown at Central Intercollegiate Conference Track and Field meet June 7, 1935 as he broke the accepted world broad jump record with a leap of 26 feet 2-1/2 inches. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens, Ohio State University track and field star, practices for an upcoming meet in Los Angeles, Calif., on June 11, 1935. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens, Ohio State University track and field wizard, is observed here in his first workout at Los Angeles on June 11, 1935, getting ready for the meeting on June 15, with the University of Southern California. Owens will compete in the 100-yard dash, 200-yard dash, broad jump, and the 200-yard low hurdles event. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens, Ohio State University, is shown jumping over the hurdle in the 220-yard low hurdles race at Berkeley, Ca., June 22, 1935. Owens swept the national collegiate speed events. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Owens in 1933
Jesse Owens, of East Technical High of Cleveland, Ohio, is shown in action in the 100-yard dash at the Interscholastic track meet in Chicago, Ill., June 17, 1933. Owens broke the record for the 220-yard dash with a time of 20.7 seconds; he ran the 100-yard dash in 9.4 seconds; and he leaped 24 feet, 9 and 1/4 inches in the broad jump for a new prep record. (AP Photo)
Jesse Owens
Outstanding track and field athlete Jesse Owens poses in his Ohio State University jersey, April 26, 1935. As a sophomore at OSU he held the world indoor broad jump record of 25 feet, 9 3/4 inches. (AP Photo)
Gerald Ford, Jesse Owens, Adrian Dantley
Gerald Ford, Jesse Owens
President Gerald Ford with Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens after presenting him with the Medal of Freedom in a White House East Garden ceremony in Washington on August 5, 1976. Ford feted United States Olympic teams with a reception inside the Executive Mansion following the presentation. (AP Photo)
Ruth Owens
