James Hunt Corson (January 14, 1906 – November 12, 1981) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...

. He competed for the United States in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

held in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

in the discus throw where he won the bronze medal.USC OLYMPIANS: 1904-2008
USC Trojans Athletic Department, Accessed August 26, 2008. Corson served as interim president of

Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...

in 1972–73.Willamette Olympians
, Willamette University, Accessed April 3, 2009. James Corson, born in 1906, earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Pacific, where he was also a tackle on their football team. He went on to receive his master's degree from the University of Southern California and was the recipient of an honorary doctorate from his alma mater. In addition to playing football, Corson won the bronze medal in the discus throw for the United States in the 1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. By the time he joined Willamette, Corson had been a teacher, coach, and dean, but above all he considered himself an administrator who got the job done. When Willamette University Board Chairman George Atkinson approached Corson with the offer to serve as interim president, Corson was 66 years of age and happy to take the position with no desire to be promoted. He took over an administration plagued with low morale and broken trust after Fritz's term and left Willamette having "revivified the spirit of Willamette by approaching problems openly, practically and sensibly…" Corson came to Willamette to help in any way he could or as he would have said it "to put a little hay in the barn."

References

1906 births 1981 deaths American male discus throwers American football tackles Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Pacific Tigers athletic directors Pacific Tigers football players Presidents of Willamette University Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field University of Southern California alumni Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics 20th-century American academics {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub