Herbert Paul Douglas Jr. (March 9, 1922 – April 22, 2023) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

. He was the oldest living U.S. Olympic medalist prior to his death at the age of 101.

Early life and education

Douglas graduated from

Taylor Allderdice High School Taylor Allderdice High School is a public high school in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It opened in 1927 and is part of the Pittsburgh Public Schools district. It was named for industrialist and Squirr ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, in 1940. He was Allderdice's first black basketball player. Douglas first attended

Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Roman Catholic, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU ...

in 1942, and competed at the 48th Annual

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, helping Xavier win the American Quarter-Mile Relay Championship. He also competed in college at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

and was inducted into the inaugural class of their sports hall of fame in 2018. Douglas was a member of

Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25,0 ...

service fraternity.

Olympics

Douglas represented the U.S. in the long jump at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he won the bronze medal with a jump of .

Willie Steele William Samuel Steele (July 14, 1923 – September 19, 1989) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the long jump. Steele won the gold medal in the long jump at the 1948 London Olympics. A two-time USA Outdoor champion, Stee ...

of the United States won the gold medal with and Australia's Theo Bruce took the silver medal with . Prior to the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Douglas was recognized as the oldest living

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

Olympic medalist.

Later life

Douglas turned 100 in March 2022, and died in Pittsburgh on April 22, 2023, at the age of 101. Douglas was inducted into the Taylor Allderdice High School alumni hall of fame in 2009.

References

External links

* * 1922 births 2023 deaths African-American centenarians American centenarians American male long jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Men centenarians Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Pittsburgh Panthers men's track and field athletes Sportspeople from Pittsburgh Taylor Allderdice High School alumni {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub