Bernard Mammes (September 3, 1911 – February 27, 2000) was an American cyclist. Born in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, Mammes moved with his family to Rockaway Park, Queens around 1920. His father owned an ice cream parlor, where Mammes worked as a youth. Taking place during the Depression, many thought the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, was going to be an economic failure. Even so, after a few film stars such as

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

, Douglas Fairbanks and

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

volunteered to entertain, 37 countries sent over 1300 athletes to the games. They were a huge success. This was the first time an

Olympic Village An Olympic Village is an accommodation center built for the Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials and athletic trainers. Afte ...

would be built for the games, and competitors such as

Babe Didrikson Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (; Didrikson; June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball and track and field. She won two gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Summer O ...

, Eddie Tolan and

Luigi Beccali Luigi Beccali (19 November 1907 – 29 August 1990) was the first Italian to win an Olympic gold medal in running, in the 1500 metres at the 1932 Summer Olympics, and the first Italian to win a European Championship title in athletics. Biograph ...

made headlines. Mammes won a position as a cyclist, and placed 8th in the 1000m time trial with a time of 1 hour and 18 minutes. Answering the call of his country, he entered the

American Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

, where he served as a Staff Sergeant in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1945, he married Nancy, and had four children. After being discharged, he returned to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, partnering with his father in Mammes' Ice Cream, which had become well known in

Rockaway Rockaway may refer to: Places in the United States *Rockaway Beach (disambiguation) New Jersey * Rockaway, New Jersey, a borough in Morris County *Rockaway Township, New Jersey, a township in Morris County *Rockaway Creek (New Jersey), a tributar ...

. Until 1968, he worked in the parlor from May through September, while working at Hegarty and Co., from which he retired after 25 years. From 1975 until his final retirement in 1998 at age 86, Mammes worked at Gateway National Park's Breezy Point Unit at Riis Park. Bernard Mammes is buried at St. Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

References

External links

''The Wave'' of Long Island Newspaper
1911 births 2000 deaths American male cyclists Olympic cyclists of the United States Cyclists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Manhattan Sportspeople from Queens, New York {{US-cycling-bio-stub