ON THIS DAY: March 9, 1922, Olympic medalist Herb Douglas born

PITTSBURGH — Herbert Paul Douglas Jr. was born in Pittsburgh on March 9, 1922. The future Olympian attended Gladstone Elementary School in Hazelwood.

When he was 5-years-old, Douglas’ father, Herbert Sr., went blind and became one of the first people and the first African-American to obtain a Seeing Eye dog from Seeing Eye Inc. in 1932. With dogs by his side until his death, Herbert Sr. didn’t let his disability stop him from growing his business to three parking garages that also provided chauffeurs, repairs and rentals to wealthy clients.

“My dad taught me how to be positive. He taught me how to be independent and that’s the way I was,” said Douglas.

When he 14 years old, Douglas’ mother took him to meet four-time Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens. Owens was visiting Watts Elementary School and made a huge impression on young Douglas, who recalled, “When he left, Jesse put his arms around me and told me to get an education.”

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Douglas took Owen’s advice to heart and earned an athletic scholarship to Xavier University of Louisiana on the strength of his Taylor Allderdice High School basketball record. At Xavier, Douglas was the leadoff runner on the 4x400 relay team which became the first historically black school (HBCU) to win a national title in 1942.

As he ramped up his training to achieve his dream of going to the Olympics, 22 years old and in his prime, Douglas instead watched the 1944 games get canceled. As the war raged, there was no way of knowing if he’d ever get his chance.

Herbert Sr.’s medical condition kept Douglas out of the draft for World War II, so he returned home to help in his father’s business and continued to train. After the war, he was recruited by the University of Pittsburgh in 1945 and became the second African-American to score a touchdown against Notre Dame.

“I was no football player, but I was fast. I really couldn’t be covered. I think that taught them to work toward getting sprint guys as receivers and to guard in the defensive backfield,” said Douglas.

Douglas refocused his athletic efforts to align with his dreams of becoming an Olympian like Owens. His induction into the inaugural class of athletes in the Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame speaks to his prowess: four intercollegiate championships in the long jump, one intercollegiate championship in the 100-yard dash and three National Amateur Athletic Union championships in long jump.

As Douglas was finishing his master’s degree in education, he qualified for the Olympics and set a Pitt record in the long jump of 25 feet, 3 inches. The school record would stand for 33 years, but placed him in second at the trials and, in 1948, Douglas found himself on the way to London by boat. Of the 300 American athletes on the team, only eight were black.

Douglas’ 24-foot, 9-inch leap made him the third-best long jumper in the world, and he returned home an Olympic medalist.

A mural commemorating his bronze medal jump is painted, newspaper-style, on the corner of Second Avenue and Tecumseh Street in his native Hazelwood.

He became friends with Jesse Owens, with whom he shared a desire to fix the social problems that plagued the world. In tribute to the athlete that had most inspired him, Douglas founded the International Amateur Athletic Association, which administers the Jesse Owens International Trophy Award, honoring the most outstanding amateur or Olympic athletes in the world. He also co-founded the Jesse Owens Global Award for Peace with his friend, which honors athletes who transcend sports to better their world.

“More than anything, I wanted to be a coach,” Douglas said of his plans after graduation from Pitt in 1950. “But Pittsburgh was not employing in the public school system African-Americans to be coaches. As a result, I went into corporate. The corporate community was a blessing in disguise.”

Douglas became a successful businessman in the adult beverage industry. He was one of the first African-American vice presidents of any North American company. He was instrumental in marketing Hennessy and other brands to African-American consumers nationwide and expanding the ranks of minorities in executive roles at Schieffelin & Co. (now Moët Hennessy USA, Inc.) before his retirement in 1987.

He currently lives in Philadelphia and is the oldest living African-American Olympic medalist.

OTD: Herb Douglas inducted into Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame

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