1948 Olympic bronze medalist Herb Douglas dies at 101

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1948 Olympic bronze medalist Herb Douglas dies at 101​

Herb Douglas, who turned a chance encounter with Jesse Owens as a teenager into fuel to win a bronze medal in the long jump at the 1948 Olympics, has died. He was 101. Douglas, a Pittsburgh native, was 14 when he met Owens, the American track and field star who won four gold medals in sprints and the long jump at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Owens spoke at an elementary school near the Hazelwood neighborhood where Douglas grew up.

Douglas hoped to compete at the 1944 Olympics, which were canceled because of World War II. After starting his college career at Xavier University in New Orleans, a historically Black college and university, he returned home to Pittsburgh to work at his father's parking garage.

Douglas eventually enrolled at Pitt in 1945, becoming one of the first African-Americans to play football for the Panthers while also starring on the track team. He won four intercollegiate championships in the long jump and another in the 100-yard dash at Pitt and three AAU titles in the long jump. He earned a spot on the 1948 U.S. Olympic team after finishing runner-up to Willie Steele at the Olympic trials.

Douglas was inducted into the inaugural Pitt athletics Hall of Fame class in 2018. The university also is naming the 300-meter indoor track at its planned Victory Heights facility after Douglas.

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Oldest living U.S. Olympic medalist, Herb Douglas, a University of Pittsburgh alumnus, has died at 101​

Herbert P. Douglas Jr., the oldest living U.S. Olympic medalist — and a University of Pittsburgh alumnus who served on its Board of Trustees and was later named an emeritus trustee — died Saturday, April 22, 2023. He was 101.
In 1948, Douglas graduated from the University with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and placed second in the Olympic trials in the long jump. A few months later, he won a bronze medal in London’s 1948 Summer Olympics.

At just 14, Douglas met Jesse Owens, the legendary Black Olympian who won four gold medals at the 1936 Games in Berlin. Owens placed his arms around the young man and asked Douglas about himself. “I run the 100-meter dash and do the long jump,” Douglas said. “That’s more than what I did at your age,” Owens responded, encouraging the teenage Douglas to go to college.

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Herbert Paul Douglas Jr. (March 9, 1922 – April 22, 2023​

Douglas graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1940. He was Allderdice's first black basketball player.

Douglas first attended Xavier University of Louisiana in 1942, and competed at the 48th Annual Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, helping Xavier University win the American Quarter-Mile Relay Championship.

He competed in college at the University of Pittsburgh and was inducted into the inaugural class of their sports hall of fame in 2018. Douglas was a member of Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity.