Philip Aaron Edwards, MD (September 23, 1907 – September 6, 1971) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and Guyanese

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes 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 the jumping eve ...

athlete who competed in middle-distance events. Nicknamed the "Man of Bronze", he was Canada's most-decorated Olympian for many years. He was the first-ever winner of the

Lou Marsh Trophy The Northern Star Award, formerly known as the Lou Marsh Trophy, the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, wi ...

as Canada's top athlete. He went on to serve as a captain in the

Canadian army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also res ...

and as a highly regarded

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and expert of

tropical disease Tropical diseases are diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropical and subtropical regions. The diseases are less prevalent in temperate climates, due in part to the occurrence of a cold season, which controls the insect population by for ...

s. __TOC__

Early life

Edwards was born in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana), to a family of thirteen children. His father was a magistrate, and the family was part of the

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

elite in the colony. Edwards' father was one of eighteen children and was originally from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

. Less is known of his mother, but it is thought that she may originally have been from

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

. In a 1928 '' New York Daily News'' article, it was stated that Edwards' paternal grandmother was East Indian and his maternal grandfather was Scottish and that fellow Olympian

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

was a classmate of his at Queen's College in Georgetown. Growing up in what Edwards called 'a country district', he practiced sprinting by racing an angry cow, according to the article.

Athletics career

New York University

By the age of 16, Edwards dominated track events at his school. After graduating, he left British Guiana and moved to 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 territori ...

, enrolling at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

(NYU) in 1925, where his elder brother “King” Edward was already a great student athlete. Edwards’ parents and several of his siblings also emigrated to New York, where they founded a law and real estate firm in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

. Under the guidance of NYU coach Emil Von Elling, Edwards steadily improved really great as a runner, particularly in 880-yard races or more. In 1927 he narrowly missed winning the US national title in the 880 yards event. Then in 1929, two years later, he won that same race.

Olympics and British Empire Games

While Edwards' performances at New York University clearly established him as an Olympic-calibre athlete, he was not eligible to compete for the United States as he was not an American citizen. However, as a British subject, Edwards was eligible to compete for another country within the empire. In 1927 he was invited by Melville Marks (Bobby) Robinson, manager of the Canadian Olympic track and field team, to compete for Canada in the 1928 Summer Olympics, where Edwards won a bronze medal as part of Canada's 4 × 400 metre relay team.Phil Edwards
Sports Reference.com Following Amsterdam, Edwards left New York University to attend Montreal's

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

as a medical student, where he also competed with the university's track team. Edwards also continued his association with Bobby Robinson there, competing for British Guiana in the first-ever British Empire Games which were created largely due to Robinson's efforts, held in Hamilton, Ontario in 1930. He finished fifth in the 880 yards event as well as in the 1 mile competition. In the 440 yards contest he was eliminated in the heats. He would go on to compete once more for British Guiana in the

1934 British Empire Games The 1934 British Empire Games were the second edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England, from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the main venue at Wembley Park, although the track cycling events we ...

in London where he became the first black man to be awarded a gold medal in what are now the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

by winning the 880 yards race. At McGill, Edwards captained the university track team from 1931 to 1936, leading the team to six consecutive championships. At the international level, Edwards went on to compete in the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and in the infamous 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where he was one of a number of black athletes, including American runner

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

, to compete before the Hitler regime. Edwards earned bronze medals in 1932 in the 800 metres, 1500 metres, and 4 × 400 metre relay event, and in 1936 in the 800 metres event. On the way back from the 1936 games, Edwards was refused lodgings in the London hotel at which the team was booked on account of his race; the full team cancelled their stay at the hotel as a result, preferring to accompany him elsewhere.

Post-Olympics

While serving as resident house surgeon at the General Hospital in Barbados, Edwards was approached by British Guiana officials with a proposal to run for the colony at the

1938 British Empire Games The 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the event that evolved to become the Commonwealth Games. Held in Sydney, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary (150 yea ...

. Edwards was either not interested or could not take the necessary time off. However, in 1939 an untrained and semi-injured Edwards was persuaded to compete in a British Guiana “Olympiad”, ending up fifth in the 880 yards. Edwards' appearance at the event in British Guiana may have given rise to a report in the ''

Indianapolis Recorder The ''Indianapolis Recorder'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Indianapolis, Indiana. First published in 1895, the ''Recorder'' is the longest-running African-American newspaper in Indiana and fourth in the U.S. History The newspaper w ...

'', a Black American newspaper, that the runner ("prominent in medical circles now"), is "training in British Guiana with an eye towards the 1940 Finland games in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

". The 1940 Olympics were soon cancelled due to the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

In 1957, Edwards and James Worrall were involved in developing Canada's first international sport effort, which assisted young athletes in the Eastern Caribbean.

Recognition

Lloyd Hahn, Phil Edwards, Séra Martin 1928

The five bronze medals gave Edwards the nickname 'Man of Bronze', and made him Canada's most prolific Olympic medal-winner; he would be joined in 2002 by Marc Gagnon and later

François-Louis Tremblay François-Louis Tremblay (born November 13, 1980) is a Canadian retired short track speed skater and five-time Olympic medallist who competed at the 2002, 2006, and 2010 Winter Olympics. François-Louis Tremblay is one of only three Canadian men ...

and eventually surpassed by Cindy Klassen and

Clara Hughes Clara Hughes, (born September 27, 1972) is a Canadian cyclist and speed skater who has won multiple Olympic medals in both sports. Hughes won two bronze in the 1996 Summer Olympics and four medals (one gold, one silver, two bronze) over the co ...

. Edwards was among the first black athletes to earn an Olympic medal and, along with Hamilton runner

Ray Lewis Raymond Anthony Lewis Jr. (born May 15, 1975) is an American former professional football player who played as a middle linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens for his entire 17-year career in the National Football League (NFL). He played co ...

, Toronto's Sam Richardson and Vancouver's Barbara Howard, one of only a handful of black athletes to represent Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. Edwards was named the inaugural

winner in 1936 as Canada's top athlete. Edwards was inducted into the Canada's Sports Hall of FameZukerman, Earl (30 May 2013
McGill Olympian Phil Edwards gets call from Athletics Canada Hall of Fame
rseq.ca and the McGill University Sports Hall of Fame in 1997,Dr. Phil Edwards Class of 1936
mcgillathletics.ca and the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. An annual award in his name, the Phil A. Edwards Memorial Trophy, has been presented to Canada's outstanding track athlete annually since 1972. He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at New York University.

Medical career

Edwards became the first black person to graduate from McGill University's medical school in 1936, immediately before competing in the 1936 Olympic Games and being named Canada's top athlete. He then accepted a three-year position at the General Hospital in Barbados as resident house surgeon. Interrupting his medical career to serve with the Canadian army, Edwards rose to the rank of captain during World War II before returning to Montreal. He earned a graduate medical diploma in 1945 and became a specialist in tropical diseases, joining the staff of Montreal's Royal Victoria Hospital and participating in a number of international medical missions. In 1960, Dr. Edwards was a member of a Canadian Red Cross team of four doctors and six nurses working in

Coquilhatville Mbandaka (, formerly known as Coquilhatville in French, or Coquilhatstad in Dutch) is a city on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo located near the confluence of the Congo and Ruki rivers. It is the capital of Équateur Province ...

in Congo."Dr. Phil Edwards Dies at 66; Ran for Canada in 3 Olympics", New York Times, 8 September 1971 p.49 Edwards' tenure at the Royal Victoria coincided with that of infamous psychiatrist Ewen Cameron; outside his tropical medicine work, Edwards was instrumental in rescuing at least one patient whose physical illness had been misdiagnosed and mistreated by Cameron as a psychiatric matter.

Personal life and family

At the Amsterdam Olympics, Edwards met his first wife, Edith Margaret Oedelschoff, a native of the former German territory of Alsace-Lorraine and a resident of

Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.

. The couple was married in October 1929 at the Episcopal Church of the Crucifixion on 140th Street in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The marriage appears to have broken up by the early 1940s. Dr. Edwards was just a few days shy of his 64th birthday when he died of heart problems in 1971. He was survived by his widow Mrs. Diane Edwards and three daughters, Pamela, Dale and Gwendolyn. He is interred in the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal.

References

External links

1934 British Empire Games

Bibliography

*John Cooper, ''Rapid Ray: The Story of Ray Lewis'' (Toronto: Tundra Books, 2002. . *Lorne Zeiler, ''Hearts of Gold'' (Toronto: Raincost Books, 2004. .

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Phil 1907 births 1971 deaths Canadian male middle-distance runners Black Canadian track and field athletes Afro-Guyanese people Guyanese male middle-distance runners Lou Marsh Trophy winners Olympic track and field athletes of Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1930 British Empire Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1934 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for British Guiana Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Canadian people of Barbadian descent Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian people of Indian descent Guyanese emigrants to Canada Guyanese people of Barbadian descent Guyanese people of Scottish descent Athletes from Montreal Sportspeople from Georgetown, Guyana Canadian Army personnel of World War II Anglophone Quebec people Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Alumni of Queen's College, Guyana NYU Violets athletes New York University alumni McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Canadian tropical physicians Canadian expatriates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery Canadian Army officers Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games