American Legends: The Life of Jesse Owens
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Narrated by:
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Jim D. Johnston
About this listen
The Olympics have long been the center of attention in the sports world, but perhaps no moment in the history of the games was as poignant as Jesse Owens' performance in Berlin in 1936. Owens would finish his career with four gold medals and become known as "perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history" (as his obituary in The New York Times put it), but nearly 80 years later, it's the context that has made his performance so memorable.
Owens was one of the greatest track athletes in the country in the 1930s, and while he was at Ohio State, he set three world records and tied another one within 45 minutes at a Big 10 meet in 1935, but hurdles on the track weren't as hard to clear as ones he had to deal with away from sports. As a young black man, he had to deal with entrenched racism across the country, from staying in segregated hotels to not being eligible for a sports scholarship.
In 1936, World War II was still a few years away, but Adolf Hitler was fully in control of Nazi Germany and hoped to use the Olympics as a showcase of the resurgent German nation. Internationally, Hitler's Germany was not yet a major concern to the vast majority of people unfamiliar with politics, nor were the domestic policies being carried out by the Nazis, but some still thought the United States should not even participate in the Olympics that year.
Of course, those who wanted to boycott the games could not have known what Jesse Owens had in store in Berlin. Given the unabashed racism of Hitler's regime, Jesse Owens' performance would end up being a rebuke of sorts to Hitler's notion of Aryan superiority, and an apocryphal legend has since sprung up that Hitler left the games early to avoid having to shake Owens' hand. While that reputed snub almost certainly did not occur, one Nazi official did note that Hitler "was highly annoyed by the series of triumphs by the marvelous colored American runner, Jesse Owens. People whose antecedents came from the jungle were primitive, Hitler said with a shrug; their physiques were stronger than those of civilized whites and hence should be excluded from future games."
Owens' performance and the focus over whether Hitler snubbed him also obscured one of the most ironic aspects of Owens' life and sports career. In fact, while some were asserting that Hitler did actually congratulate Owens, others pointed out that Owens was treated better in Germany than he was back at home, where he had to ride in a freight elevator to a reception in his honor and didn't hear from President Roosevelt following the games. Owens himself pointed out, "Hitler didn't snub me - it was our president who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram." Indeed, Owens would find it hard to get by for the rest of his life, much of which was spent trying to capitalize off commemorations of his past exploits by resorting to gimmicks such as racing against horses. The situation led him to bitterly remark, "People say that it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do? I had four gold medals, but you can't eat four gold medals."
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An outstanding book on heavyweight champions
- By LSmith on 02-01-18
By: Paul Beston
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The Missing Ring
- How Bear Bryant and the 1966 Alabama Crimson Tide Were Denied College Football's Most Elusive Prize
- By: Keith Dunnavant
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Very few institutions in American sports can match the enduring excellence of the University of Alabama football program. Across a wide swath of the last century, the tradition-rich Crimson Tide has claimed twelve national championships, captured 25 conference titles, finished 34 times among the country's top ten, and played in 53 bowl games.
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Fantastic
- By John Rogers on 03-29-18
By: Keith Dunnavant
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Rising Tide
- Bear Bryant, Joe Namath, and Dixie's Last Quarter
- By: Randy Roberts, Ed Krzemienski
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 15 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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The extraordinary story of how Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and Joe Namath, his star quarterback at the University of Alabama, led the Crimson Tide to victory and transformed football into a truly national pastime. During the bloodiest years of the civil rights movement, Bear Bryant and Joe Namath - two of the most iconic and controversial figures in American sports - changed the game of college football forever.
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Love Alabama football? Read this!!
- By Miss Faulk on 07-16-15
By: Randy Roberts, and others
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Undefeated
- Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team
- By: Steve Sheinkin
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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When superstar athlete Jim Thorpe and football legend Pop Warner met in 1904 at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, they forged one of the winningest teams in American football history. Called "the team that invented football", they took on the best opponents of their day, defeating much more privileged schools such as Harvard and Army in a series of breathtakingly close calls, genius plays, and bone-crushing hard work.
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I don't even like sports.
- By Melmonie on 03-12-18
By: Steve Sheinkin
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What's My Name, Fool?
- Sports and Resistance in the United States
- By: Dave Zirin
- Narrated by: Aaron Abano
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Here Edgeofsports.com sportswriter Dave Zirin shows how sports express the worst, as well as the most creative and exciting, features of American society. Zirin explores how Janet Jackson's Super Bowl flash-time show exposed more than a breast, why the labor movement has everything to learn from sports unions, and why a new generation of athletes is no longer content to "play one game at a time" and is starting to get political.
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Interesting read
- By sosnows8 on 08-16-20
By: Dave Zirin
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The Perfect Mile
- Three Athletes. One Goal. And Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It
- By: Neal Bascomb
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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In the tradition of Seabiscuit, critically acclaimed author Neal Bascomb reaches back to the golden age of sport and crafts an utterly captivating narrative of what may be the most remarkable athletic feat of all time.
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nailbiting, on the edge of your seat
- By Todd on 08-10-04
By: Neal Bascomb
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42 Faith
- The Rest of the Jackie Robinson Story
- By: Ed Henry
- Narrated by: Ed Henry
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Journalist and baseball lover Ed Henry reveals for the first time the backstory of faith that guided Jackie Robinson into not only the baseball record books but the annals of civil rights advancement as well. Through recently discovered sermons, interviews with Robinson's family and friends, and even an unpublished book by the player himself, Henry details a side of Jackie's humanity that few have taken the time to see.
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42Faith
- By Phillip L. on 04-11-17
By: Ed Henry
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Smoketown
- By: Mark Whitaker
- Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Mark Whitaker's Smoketown is a captivating portrait of this unsung community and a vital addition to the story of black America. It depicts how ambitious Southern migrants were drawn to a steel-making city on a strategic river junction; how they were shaped by its schools and a spirit of commerce with roots in the Gilded Age; and how their world was eventually destroyed by industrial decline and urban renewal. Whitaker takes listeners on a rousing, revelatory journey - and offers a timely reminder that Black History is not all bleak.
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Hopes for Pittsburgh aka "Up South"
- By Dr. Pepper on 05-01-18
By: Mark Whitaker
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Why Soccer Matters
- By: Pele, Brian Winter
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Soccer. Football. The beautiful game. The world’s most popular sport goes by many names, but for decades, fans have agreed on one thing: the greatest player of all time was Pelé. Now the legendary star, ambassador, and humanitarian shares a global vision for what soccer can accomplish. Now he shares his story, his experience, and his insights on the game for the very first time. Before Messi, before Ronaldo, before Beckham, there was Edson Arantes do Nascimento - known simply as Pelé.
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A Pele that will win your heart.
- By Montholon on 12-24-20
By: Pele, and others
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Good Day!
- The Paul Harvey Story
- By: Paul J. Batura
- Narrated by: Paul J. Batura
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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In Good Day!: The Paul Harvey Story, author Paul J. Batura follows the remarkable life of one of the founding fathers of the news media. Paul Harvey started his career during the Great Depression and narrated America's story day by day, through wars and peace, the threat of communism and the crumbling of old colonial powers, consumer booms and eventual busts.
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Should have been better
- By Royce Brown on 12-21-09
By: Paul J. Batura
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Tigerland
- 1968-1969: A City Divided, a Nation Torn Apart, and a Magical Season of Healing
- By: Wil Haygood
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Against the backdrop of one of the most tumultuous periods in recent American history, as riots and demonstrations spread across the nation, the Tigers of poor, segregated East High School in Columbus, Ohio, did something no team from one school had ever done before: They won the state basketball and baseball championships in the same year. They defeated bigger, richer, whiter teams across the state and along the way brought blacks and whites together, eased a painful racial divide throughout the state, and overcame extraordinary obstacles on their road to success.
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Flashback to the Late 1960s
- By Toni Bowes on 09-05-19
By: Wil Haygood
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Major Taylor
- The Inspiring Story of a Black Cyclist and the Men Who Helped Him Achieve Worldwide Fame
- By: Conrad Kerber, Terry Kerber
- Narrated by: Barrie Buckner
- Length: 15 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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In the wake of the Tour de France’s fallen heroes, the story of one of history’s most legendary cyclists provides a much-needed antidote. In 1907 the world’s most popular athlete was not Cy Young or Ty Cobb. Rather, he was a black bicycle racer named "Major” Taylor. In his day, Taylor became a spiritual and athletic idol. He was the fastest man in America and a champion who prevailed over unspeakable cruelty. The men who aided him were among the most colorful to emerge from the era.
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Great book terrible narrator
- By B. P. H. on 10-31-18
By: Conrad Kerber, and others
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Barca
- The Making of the Greatest Team in the World
- By: Graham Hunter
- Narrated by: Graham Hunter
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Barcelona is the greatest football team in the world, the greatest for a generation, and possibly the greatest of all time. This is the untold inside story of how the best and most loved football team in the world came to redefine how the game is played. We start with the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley, the game that ended the debate about whether Barcelona was the greatest team in the world and began a new one: are they the best ever?
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In-depth analysis of the greatest team ever
- By Michalis Petrou on 01-09-18
By: Graham Hunter
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Wonder Girl
- The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias
- By: Don Van Natta Jr.
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Texas girl Babe Didrikson never tried a sport too tough and never met a hurdle too high. Despite attempts to keep women from competing, Babe achieved All-American status in basketball and won gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Olympics. Then, Babe attempted to conquer golf. One of the founders of the LPGA, Babe won more consecutive tournaments than any golfer in history. But at the height of her fame, she was diagnosed with cancer. Babe would then take her most daring step of all....
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Great read
- By Jajam on 01-07-18