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Appreciating Jesse Owens as Film Race is Released

By Joe Russo

Sep 3, 2015; Green Bay, WI, USA; The American flag flies prior to the game between the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Green Bay won 38-10. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2015; Green Bay, WI, USA; The American flag flies prior to the game between the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Green Bay won 38-10. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /
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As a new generation meets Jesse Owens through the new biopic about his life, in a film titled Race, Factory of Sadness writer Joe Russo reminds us all that Owens was really that good…and then some.

Friday will be a special day for Cleveland sports fans, and not because the Cavs will be riding high off of the trade deadline and a win over the Bulls. The film Race, a biopic about Cleveland’s own Jesse Owens, makes it nationwide release in theaters.

Aside from looking like a solid movie that has been well received by critics thus far, Race is more than just a celebration of Owen’s achievement in the 1936 Olympics. It is a crucial view into the era in which he competed, including the racial and political obstacles in the way of Owens most famous achievements. We’ll let you all see the film and gather your own thoughts around those ideas, but it is important to appreciate Jesse Owens, a native Clevelander, Ohio State Buckeye, and U.S. Olympian, who is often overlooked in the pantheon of greats in the teams we cover here at Factory of Sadness.

Before Owens even stepped foot on the campus of Ohio State, he had tied what was then the accepted world record in the 100 meter dash, 9.4 seconds. The former East Tech High School star then continued his record pace in Columbus, where he swept each of his events en route to winning a total of 42 events between collegiate, AAU, and Olympic Trial competitions. All the while, Owens was barred from living on campus in the dorms due to his skin color.

His best moment as a Buckeye came during the 1935 Big Ten Championships. At the meet, Owens tied the world record for the 100-yard dash and then set a world record in the long jump by six inches. Later in the meet, Owens set world records in the 220-yard dash and 220-yard hurdles. There’s a reason the track and field facility at Ohio State bears his name.

No conversation about Jesse Owens isn’t highlighted by the 1936 Olympics, also known as “The Hitler Olympics.” Hitler and the Nazi’s had begun their conquest of Europe. The Olympics that year in Berlin were supposed to be Hitler’s chance to show the world the dominance of Germany and his believed supremacy of the Aryan race. Hitler had limited participation by Jewish competitors, which should come as no surprise, but he had also criticized the United States for their inclusion of African-Americans in the games.

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To say Owens was dominant in the 1936 games is an understatement. He became the first athlete to win four gold medals in the same Olympic Games, winning the 100-meter dash, long jump, the 200-meter relay, and the 400-meter relay, setting a world record at the time in the long jump. At an event specifically designed to show the world the dominance of Germany, they were beaten by an American of color.

Owens unfortunately was not received at home with the ticker tape parades and fanfare we see in modern times. Upon his return from Berlin, all four gold medals in tow, Owens was not recognized by then President Franklin Roosevelt. In fact, he was not recognized by any President until Gerald Ford in 1976, when Owens was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It’s ironic given the fact that a street outside of the Olympic Stadium was named after Owens in Berlin in 1984.

Ask most Buckeye fans who the greatest athlete in Ohio State history is, and most will pivot immediately to Archie Griffin. John Havlicek or Jack Nicholas might be a close second for many others. I’d wager a guess that even Orlando Pace, Sid Gilman, Paul Warfield, or any one of the Heisman winners would get consideration.

Next: 10 Most Controversial Cleveland Athletes Of All-Time

It shouldn’t take a movie to remind us that Jesse Owens was not just arguably the greatest athlete in Buckeye history, but one of the greatest in the history of American sport. While he only ran in one Olympic Games, Owens made an impact far beyond the racetrack, pavingthe way for the like of Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson. He is a local hero who deserves every bit of celebration that the movie Race brings along.

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