Captain of United States 1972 Olympic Fencing Team and 1971 Pan-American Games Team. Won gold medal as member of 1956 national championship epee team and silver medal as member of runner-up team in national three-weapon championship tournament on same day. Set University of Pennsylvania record for most consecutive victories in one season.
Earned two gold medals in the 1963 Pan-American Games, winning the 200-meter dash and running on the victorious 400-meter relay team. Won her first U.S. championship gold medal in 1960 as the leadoff runner on a 440-yard relay team representing the City of Cleveland. Competed in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, running in the 200-meter dash.
First American to win an Olympic medal in the javelin, earning the bronze in the 1924 Games. Broke NCAA and AAU records in his specialty while an undergraduate at the University of Notre Dame. Also was a star tackle for the Fighting Irish, playing on the line in front of the famed “Four Horseman” backfield. Later became Director of Athletics at John Carroll University, spending almost 50 years in the teaching profession.
Acclaimed as the greatest track and field star of the first half of the 20th century, Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics, winning individual titles in the 100 and 200-meter dashes and the long jump, setting Olympic records in each and running on the Olympic record-setting 400-meter relay team. As an Ohio State University sophomore he enjoyed perhaps the greatest single day in the history of track, tying the world record in the 100-yard dash and setting world marks in the 220-yard dash, the 220-yard low hurdles and the broad jump. At Cleveland East Tech he set three national high school marks.
Three-time National AAU champion (105.5 pounds), winning titles in 1973, ’74 and ’75 and being named to World Cup Team each of those years. Won silver medal representing United States in 1975 Pan-American Games. Ohio high school 103-pound champion in 1963 at Garfield Heights High and Mid-American Conference champion at 123 pounds in 1967 at Miami University of Ohio. Named captain and outstanding wrestler on both his high school and college teams.
A ten-time qualifier for the National Open and Amateur Championships, he won his first major title, the Ohio Amateur Championship, in 1940. Was gold medalist and U.S. team captain at 1967 Maccabiah Games in Israel. Other titles included Cleveland District Golf Association Amateur Championship in 1950, Ohio Pre-Seniors in 1964, North-South Senior Four Ball in 1972 and Great Lakes Senior Golf Association Championship in 1974 and 1975.
First Clevelander ever named to the U.S. Walker Cup Team (1951). Ranked sixth among U.S. amateur golfers that year. Twice won the Ohio Amateur championship (1948-50) and was quarter-finalist in the 1949 U.S. Amateur Championships. Won his first major local title at the age of 19 when he captured the Cleveland District Golf Association Junior Championship in 1940.
Directing Supervisor of the Physical Education Department of Curriculum and Instruction for the Cleveland Public Schools since 1973, he has contributed thousands of free hours of service to promoting amateur sports in the Cleveland area since 1952. Former local AAU president and an AAU Basketball Committee Chairman on the local and national levels, a trustee for the Cleveland Golden Gloves Association and a founder and treasurer of the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame Foundation he has also been an active participant in the function of the Cleveland Baseball Federation, the Muny Football and Basketball Associations and the Amateur Softball Association.
United States Professional Squash Champion in 1938, 1940, and 1949, the only Clevelander to claim this multiple honor. Won his last national title at the age of 46. Served for many years as the squash pro at the Cleveland, University and Tavern Clubs.
One of the finest fighters of his era, he defeated many of the best lightweights of the 1920’s. His most memorable fight took place in Cleveland in 1924. Johnny Dundee, the world featherweight champion, relinquished his crown that year to seek the lightweight title. Dundee was paired with O’Connell in his quest for the new divisional crown and O’Connell emerged the victor.