California Jackie Wilson (January 17, 1918 – March 10, 1956), born George Dudley Wilson, won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

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 ...

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 ...

during the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constituent ...

. He was born in

Spencer, North Carolina Spencer is a town in Rowan County, North Carolina, United States, incorporated in 1905. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 3,267. History The town was named for Samuel Spencer, first president of the Southern Railway, who is credi ...

. Wilson was the silver medalist in the bantamweight class at the 1936 Berlin Olympiad. Wilson was defeated in the final by

Ulderico Sergo Ulderico Sergo (Rijeka, Fiume, 4 July 1913 – Cleveland, 20 February 1967) was a bantamweight professional boxing, boxer from Italy, who won the gold medal at the Boxing at the 1936 Summer Olympics, 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. He defeate ...

of Italy. He was the 1936 112 lb Golden Gloves Champion for both Chicago and in Intercity competition. Wilson went on to have a successful pro career, and was ranked number two in the world at lightweight by ''

Ring Magazine ''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into questio ...

'' in 1940, and number two in 1941 at welterweight. Wilson was also the first African-American boxer to fight a main event at

Hollywood Legion Stadium The Greater Los Angeles area is home to many professional and collegiate sports teams. The metropolitan area has twelve major league professional teams: the Anaheim Ducks, the Los Angeles Angels, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Los Angeles Clipp ...

, when he defeated

Tony Chavez Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

on April 26, 1940. In 2016, the 1936 Olympic journey of the eighteen Black American athletes, including Wilson, was documented in the film ''

Olympic Pride, American Prejudice ''Olympic Pride, American Prejudice'' is a 2016 American documentary film written and directed by Deborah Riley Draper. Dr. Amy Tiemann, Michael A. Draper, and Blair Underwood (who also narrated the film) were executive producers. The film premier ...

''.

Olympic record

Jack Wilson competed for the United States at the 1936 Berlin Olympics as a bantamweight boxer. Here is his record from that event: * Round of 32: defeated Leonardo Gula (Argentina) on points * Round of 16: defeated Alfredo Petrone (Uruguay) * Quarterfinal: defeated Oscar de Larrazabal (Philippines) on points * Semifinal: defeated Fidel Ortiz (Mexico) on points * Final: lost to Ulderico Sergo (Italy) on points (was awarded silver medal)

References

External links

*
Olympic profile
1918 births 1956 deaths People from Spencer, North Carolina Sportspeople from Rowan County, North Carolina Boxers from North Carolina Bantamweight boxers Boxers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers for the United States Olympic silver medalists for the United States in boxing Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics American male boxers {{US-boxing-Olympic-medalist-stub