Singer Madonna Louise Ciccone is 65 years
young today.
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens
(September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980)
On this day at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, African American track
star Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal of the Games in
the 4×100-meter relay. His relay team set a new world record of
39.8 seconds, which held for 20 years. In their strong showing in
track-and-field events at the XIth Olympiad, Jesse Owens and
other African American athletes struck a propaganda blow
against Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, who planned to use the Berlin
Games as a showcase of supposed Aryan superiority.
Owens with Adolf Hitler.
Jesse Owens on the podium after winning the long jump
at the 1936 Summer Olympics. L-R, Naoto Tajima, Owens,
Luz Long.
One of Jesse Owens’ four gold medals won at the 1936
Olympics in Berlin.
On July 11, 1914, in his major league debut, George Herman “Babe” Ruth pitches seven strong innings to lead the
Boston Red Sox over the Cleveland Indians, now known
as the Cleveland Guardians), 4-3.
George Herman "Babe" Ruth
(February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948)
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and Pro Football Hall of Fame
member James Francis "Jim" Thorpe came into this world on
this day in history, May 28, 1888.
Born in a one-room cabin in the geographical area that is now
Oklahoma, Thorpe was raised by Hiram and Charlotte Vieux
Thorpe on the Sac and Fox reservation, according to the
Oklahoma Historical Society.
Thorpe was given the Native American name "Wa-tho-huck,"
meaning "Bright Path" in Sac and Fox language.
This name would quickly turn prophetic, as Thorpe would
establish himself as one of the athletic superstars of the
20th century.
James Francis Thorpe (1887 – 1953)
Jack Roosevelt Robinson
(January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972)
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson, who integrated Major
League Baseball in 1947, was born to a sharecropping
family in Cairo, Georgia, on this day in history, Jan. 31,
1919.
His fight for racial equality and his exploits on the field
of play made him the first athlete in North American
sports to have his jersey number (42) retired by every
team in his game. (FOXNEWS)