Walker Breeze Smith (November 1, 1896 – February 27, 1993) was an American

track and field athlete Track and field is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of ...

. Smith attended Cornell University, where he set records in hurdling. He was the IC4A Champion in 1919 in 120 yard high hurdles and 220 yard low hurdles. The year before he placed second in both events. Smith competed in the men's 110 metres hurdles at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

. He finished in 5th place. In 1978, Smith was inducted into the Cornell University Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Smith is named after his maternal grandfather, lumber and art magnate T. B. Walker. When Smith was 10 years old, he had his right eye removed, and wore an

artificial eye Curzon Film (), formerly known as Artificial Eye or Curzon Artificial Eye, is a British film distributor, specialising in independent, foreign-language and art house films for cinema and home entertainment. History Artificial Eye was founded in ...

. He was not allowed to play football because of the missing eye, so he took up track & field. As a child, he attended

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

. During World War I in 1916, Smith went to France to serve in the American Field Service. Due to his missing eye, he was designated with a

4-F classification 4F or 4-F may refer to: * 4F (company), a Polish sportswear company * 4-F classification in the Selective Service System#Classifications, U.S. Selective Service System, identifying a person as unfit for military service * 4F correlator, in Fourier o ...

and unable to serve in the US army, so he returned to the United States in 1917. Smith married Marge Billheimer in 1922. Together they have two children, a son and a daughter. They have eight grandchildren as well as eight great-grandchildren. After retiring from athletics and worked in various jobs, including real estate and investment companies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Walker 1896 births 1993 deaths American male hurdlers Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics