Harold Keller

Olympian illustrated real heroism

Marty Glickman died last week at the age of 83. I didn’t know Mr. Glickman, and I’m sure the people reading this article are wondering, “Who is Marty Glickman?”

Mr. Glickman was born in Brooklyn. Because of his Jewish background, he got international attention in 1936, not for what he accomplished but for what he was prevented from doing because of his religion.

In 1936 Mr. Glickman was only 18 and a member of the U.S. Olympic team. He was considered one of the fastest sprinters in the world. That year the Olympics were held in Berlin, Germany. At that time Adolph Hitler was on his rise to power, in hopes of conquering the world. He thought that his young German men were the fastest and strongest in the world. The Olympics were to be a place to showcase his so-called superior race.

He disliked all races, with the exception of his Aryan race. History proves how much he hated the Jews.

The United States, being the melting pot of the world, had a young, black man named Jesse Owens on the team and two Jewish boys – Marty Glickman and Ralph Metcalf. The Jewish boys had trained for years to run the 440 relay in the 1936 Olympics.

Prior to the 440 relay Jesse Owens had won three gold medals – the long jump and the 100- and 200-meter races. Hitler was outraged to see a black man beat his German super-race.

The day of the 440 relay event Abrey Brundage, coach of the Olympic team, told Glickman and Metcalf they would not run. He said Jesse Owens and another man would take their places. “Why?” they asked.

Jesse Owens didn’t want to run. He asked Brundage to let Glickman and Metcalf run, but Brundage pointed his finger at him and told him to do as he was told. (The bottom line was that he didn’t want to embarrass Adolph Hitler with two Jewish boys.)

I didn’t know Coach Brundage, but he must have been a wimp of a man – so insensitive to the feelings of two young men who only wanted to represent their country in the Olympic games. They certainly deserved that chance.

I do know the fate of Hitler, the legacy of integrity that Jesse Owens left, and now I know a little about the man, Marty Glickman.

According to the people who knew him best he was a modest man – a generous man, classy and gracious. He loved people and, as a sportscaster in New York, was considered one of the best. He is now in the Sportscasters Hall of Fame. He didn’t let prejudice and unfairness keep him from becoming the best that he could be.

HAROLD KELLER writes this column as part of his affiliation with the Get High on Life religious motivational group. Call him at 652-8477.