Edward "Eddie" Crook Jr. (April 19, 1929 – July 25, 2005) won a gold medal for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

as a

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

teammate of

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

in the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

. Crook was also a member of

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...

fraternity.

Amateur career

Boxing out of Detroit, Crook was an Olympic gold medalist for the United States at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, in the 165 pound class. Crook defeated

Tadeusz Walasek Tadeusz Walasek (15 July 1936 – 4 November 2011) was a Polish boxer. He competed at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a silver medal in 1960 and a bronze in 1964, both in the middleweight division. In 1960 he lost the final bout to Edd ...

of Poland in the gold medal match by 3-2 decision. Reportedly he was the only Army boxer to ever win an Olympic gold medal. He had no professional career.

1960 Olympic results

Below is the record of Eddie Crook Jr., an American middleweight boxer who competed at the 1960 Rome Olympics: * Round of 32: defeated Fidel Odreman (Venezuela) by a first-round knockout * Round of 16: defeated Peter Odhiambo (Uganda) by decision, 5–0 * Quarterfinal: defeated Chang Lo-pu (Formosa) by a third-round knockout * Semifinal: defeated Ion Monea (Romania) by a second-round knockout * Final: defeated Tadeusz Walasek (Poland) by decision, 3-2 (won gold medal)

Life after boxing

After winning his gold medal, Crook served two tours in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

as a command sergeant major in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. He received two

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

s, a

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

, two

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

s and an

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

and was a boxing coach at

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, Georgia. Crook was quarterback of the Berlin Bears, earning All-Army honors and named "Most Valuable Player." He earned a degree in Business Management from

Troy State University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is accredi ...

. Crook then served as ROTC Instructor at

Alcorn State Alcorn State University (Alcorn State, ASU or Alcorn) is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States. ...

in Mississippi.

Death

Crook died on July 25, 2005, of natural causes in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

. He was 76. Crook and his wife Fannie Marie Rogers were buried at the

Fort Benning Main Post Cemetery Fort Benning Main Post Cemetery is a military cemetery at Fort Benning in Georgia. Over 10,000 United States Army soldiers and their dependents have been interred at the 8.38-acre facility since it was established in 1922. The first recorded inte ...

. They had eight children and seventeen grandchildren.

References

External links

AP obituary via Yahoo!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crook, Eddie Jr. 1929 births 2005 deaths Boxers from Detroit American male boxers Middleweight boxers Olympic boxers for the United States Boxers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in boxing Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics United States Army non-commissioned officers United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Silver Star Troy University alumni