12. Track and Field: This track star at Syracuse University was denied the chance to compete in the 1936 Olympic Games because of his ethnicity, but went on to a long career as a sportscaster. Who was this?
From Quiz Jewish American Sports Heroes
Answer:
Marty Glickman
Marty Glickman was born in New York in 1917. He attended Syracuse University and was a member of their track team in 1936, when the Summer Olympic Games were to be held in Berlin. Glickman was selected to go to Germany as part of the team, but was replaced by Jesse Owens in the 4x100 relay team just one day before the scheduled event. At the time, the reason cited was that Owens would give the U.S. a better chance at victory, but the circumstances and his subsequent replacement on the team seemed to be thinly veiled evidence of anti-semitism. Glickman claims seem like they could be backed up. Avery Brundage, chairman of the United States Olympic Committee, was a supporter of Adolf Hitler and denied that the Nazis followed anti-semitic policies. Brundage and assistant U. S. Olympic track coach Dean Cromwell, belonged to an organization called America First, which attracted American Nazi sympathizers. Although the Americans did win the gold, Glickman watched from the sidelines. Owens was apologetic and protested the maneuver, even though he was one of the replacements.
In 1998, William J. Hybl, President of the United States Olympic Committee, presented Glickman with a special plaque which was to honor Glickman even though he missed out on competing and winning any medals at the 1936 Olympics. In his post college days, Glickman went on to become an award winning announcer/sportscaster starting off narrating newsreels in the 1940s. He eventually winded up as the play-by-play voice of both the New York Giants football team and the New York Knicks basketball team. Glickman passed away in 2001.