Ronald Arthur "Ron" Stein (September 27, 1937 – February 16, 2010) was an American athlete who competed at the inaugural Summer Paralympic Games held in Rome in 1960.

Early life

Stein, the only child of Arthur and Edith (née Goehler) Stein, was born on September 27, 1937, in

East St. Louis East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

. He lived in O'Fallon, Illinois throughout his life. He attended

O'Fallon Township High School O'Fallon Township High School is a public secondary school in O'Fallon, Illinois. In 2009, OTHS was ranked 49th out of the top 100 high schools in Illinois by the ''Chicago Sun Times''. As of 2020, it is the largest public high school in Illinois ...

, from where he graduated in 1955. During his time at school he played basketball and baseball, and participated in track and field events. Following high school, Stein planned to begin workouts with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, then continue his education at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. While training with the White Sox, Stein became ill with

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

; the disease left him requiring the use of a wheelchair. He entered a rehabilitation program at the University of Illinois in 1956 and became involved in competitive wheelchair sports, including basketball, athletics and football.

Paralympic Games

Paralimpiadi di Roma 1960 - Incontro di basket

Stein was part of the United States team that travelled to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy, to take part in the

1960 Summer Paralympics The 9th Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games, retroactively designated as the 1960 Summer Paralympics ( it, Giochi paralimpici estivi del 1960),

, the first ever

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

. He competed in three individual athletics events and was also a part of the US wheelchair basketball squad. Stein won gold medals in his three athletic events club throw C, open pentathlon and shot put C. His wheelchair basketball team won a gold medal. Stein also competed at the

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Paralympics in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

; he won six gold medals. In addition to defending the pentathlon, shot put and club throw titles he won in Rome, Stein set world records upon winning the

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

, with a throw of , and the discus, with a distance of . He also took gold in the wheelchair dash below T10 event. He was inducted into the Wheelchair Sports USA Hall of Fame in 1970 and the National Wheelchair Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.

Personal life

He was married to Janet (White) Stein from September 5, 1959, until his death, and had three children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stein, Ron 1937 births 2010 deaths Sportspeople from East St. Louis, Illinois American men's wheelchair basketball players Illinois Fighting Illini Paralympic athletes Paralympic wheelchair basketball players for the United States Paralympic track and field athletes for the United States Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic medalists in wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball players at the 1960 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Paralympics