1. Ralph Metcalfe jointly held the world record in the 100-meter dash and placed second in that event in two Olympics, first to Eddie Tolan in 1932 at Los Angeles and then to Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany.
17 Facts About Ralph Metcalfe
1. 2.
Ralph Metcalfe later went into politics in the city of Chicago and served in the United States Congress for four terms in the 1970s as a Democrat from Illinois.
3.
Ralph Metcalfe earned a bronze medal at these games, in the 200 meters.
4.
Ralph Metcalfe competed again at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, and again took silver in the 100 meters, this time behind four-time gold medalist Owens.
5.
Whilst all world attention was on Jesse Owens winning the gold in the 100m it is often ignored that Ralph Metcalfe won the silver in an equally outstanding performance.
6.
Ralph Metcalfe was United States Champion at 100 m between 1932 and 1934 and at 200 m between 1932 and 1936.
7.
Ralph Metcalfe taught political science and coached track at Xavier University in New Orleans, recruiting athletes to the university like Jimmie McDaniel and Herb Douglas.
8.
Ralph Metcalfe served in the transportation corps of US Army in World War II, rising to the rank of first lieutenant and awarded the Legion of Merit medal.
9.
In 1955, Ralph Metcalfe won the first of four elections as an alderman representing the South Side of Chicago.
10.
Ralph Metcalfe ran for an open seat in Congress in 1970 as a Democrat and was easily elected from Illinois' first district.
11.
Ralph Metcalfe was a co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971 and later was noted for breaking ranks with Chicago mayor Richard Daley after incidents of police brutality.
12.
Ralph Metcalfe had previously had a heart attack in 1967.
13.
Ralph Metcalfe married Gertrude Eva Pemberton on June 9,1937, at St Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Dallas, Texas.
14.
Ralph Metcalfe was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Alpha Sigma Nu honor society, the Knights of Peter Claver, and Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood.
15.
Ralph Metcalfe had converted to Catholicism in 1932, while an undergraduate at Marquette.
16.
Ralph Metcalfe was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1975 and named a member of the President's Commission on Olympic Sports.
17.
In 2016, the 1936 Olympic journey of the eighteen Black American athletes, including interviews with Ralph Metcalfe's son, was documented in the film Olympic Pride, American Prejudice.