John Woodruff
John Woodruff was an accomplished American middle-distance runner, born on July 5, 1915, in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. As the grandson of former slaves and one of twelve children, he faced significant challenges during his early life, including economic hardship during the Great Depression. Despite dropping out of school to support his family, he rediscovered his passion for running, eventually earning a scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh. Woodruff gained national recognition for his athletic prowess, setting records in the half mile and mile, and representing the United States at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, where he won the gold medal in the 800 meters.
His victory in Berlin was particularly significant, as it occurred during a time when Nazi propaganda promoted ideas of racial superiority. Woodruff's success, alongside other African American athletes, helped challenge these notions. After the Olympics, he continued to excel in track and field at the collegiate level, yet he also faced racial discrimination in his sports career. Following his graduation, he served in the military during World War II and the Korean War, eventually retiring as a lieutenant colonel. Throughout his life, he remained active in his community and was honored for his contributions to athletics, including his induction into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1978. John Woodruff passed away in 2007, leaving a legacy celebrated by the Connellsville community.
John Woodruff
Middle Distance Runner
- Born: July 5, 1915
- Birthplace: Connellsville, Pennsylvania
- Died: October 30, 2007
- Place of death: Fountain Hills, Arizona
Sport: Track and field (middle-distance runs)
Early Life
John Woodruff, the grandson of former Virginia slaves, was born on July 5, 1915, in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, a small town located outside Pittsburgh. One of twelve children, John was the son of Silas Woodruff and Sarah Woodruff, who did laundry for families. John dropped out of school at the age of sixteen to help support his family financially. This was during the Great Depression and jobs were scarce, so he returned to school. John had been a member of the football team before he quit school. A high school coach remembered his running ability and encouraged him to try out for track. Tall for a distance runner at 6 feet 3 inches, with a remarkably long stride, John was dubbed “Long John” by teammates.
The Road to Excellence
John excelled in running, and by the time he graduated from Connellsville High School, he had set records at the school, district, and state levels. He ran Pennsylvania state-record times in the half mile and mile and set a national record in the mile with a time of 4 minutes 23.4 seconds. A group of Connellsville businessmen, alumni of the nearby University of Pittsburgh, helped John secure a scholarship to the school. Living at the Young Men’s Christian Association, John earned money by cleaning up the football stadium and basketball gym after games and maintaining the grounds on Pitt’s campus.
John’s running success continued in his freshman year in college, with victories at the Penn Relays and a second-place finish in the 800 meters, in 1 minute 50 2/5 seconds, at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships. In the summer of 1936, John competed in a number of events that qualified him to represent the United States in the 800 meters at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. He won the U.S. Eastern Olympic trials and placed second in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national championships. In the final U.S. Olympic trials in New York, he won his heat with a time of 1 minute 49 9/10 seconds, only a tenth of a second slower than the world record. In the finals, he beat Ben Eastman, who was considered the best American 800-meter runner, with a winning time of 1 minute 51 seconds.
The Emerging Champion
John was one of eighteen African Americans representing the United States at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. He easily won his 800-meter qualifying heats, and in the finals, in one of the most memorable races in Olympic history, John made a daring move to win the race. After the first lap, he was boxed in and unable to pass the other runners. Even though he was a young runner, he knew if he forced his way through the pack he might be disqualified. Thus, he stopped running, moved to the third lane of the track, and let everyone pass him. John had great stamina and speed, and in the last 300 meters of the race, he moved from last place to first to win the gold medal by two meters.
Nine African American athletes won track medals in Berlin, winning every track and field event from 100 meters to 800 meters, the 4 100-meter relay, the high jump, and the long jump. These Olympic Games were supposedly a showcase for Adolf Hitler’s theories of Aryan racial supremacy, but John and the other African American athletes—included Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals—helped to discredit the myth of racial superiority. John returned home to Connellsville, where he received a hero’s welcome. More than ten thousand people turned out for a parade in his honor. He then helped the University of Pittsburgh become a national track power in the 1930’s.
Continuing the Story
Competing in distances from 200 meters to a mile, John was the AAU 800-meter champion in 1936, anchored nine winning relay teams at the Penn Relays, was NCAA champion in middle-distance races in 1937 and 1939, and set an American record in the 800 meters at the 1940 Compton Invitational with a time of 1 minute 48 4/5 seconds. During his time at the University of Pittsburgh, he was never beaten in a varsity track meet.
However, even though he was an Olympic gold medal winner, he still experienced the sting of racism in the United States. He set a world record in the 800 meters at the 1937 Pan-American Games in Dallas, but officials disallowed his time of 1 minute 47 4/5 seconds, ruling that the track was several feet short, even though it had been measured by experts prior to the Games. Despite John’s status as an Olympic champion and captain of the University of Pittsburgh track team, the track coach from the Naval Academy informed the Pitt team it was not welcome to participate in a meet in Annapolis, Maryland, because of a lack of accommodations for African Americans. The Pitt coach had his team participate without John; the University of Pittsburgh formally apologized to John in 2007. The outbreak of World War II canceled the 1940 and 1944 Olympic Games. John entered the Army in 1941 and never raced again.
Summary
After graduating from Pittsburgh, John Woodruff earned a master’s degree from New York University; served his country in World War II and the Korean War; retired from the military in 1957 as a lieutenant colonel; and worked as a teacher, welfare department investigator, and parole office. A foot-tall oak sapling was given to John by the German government for his Olympic victory; at the time of John’s death in 2007, the tree, planted by the high school track in Connellsville, stood nearly 80 feet tall. In 2007, the community of Connellsville celebrated the twenty-fifth annual John Woodruff 5K Run and Walk. John was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1978.
Bibliography
Carlson, Lewis H., and John J. Fogarty. Tales of Gold. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1987.
Holst, Dan, and Marcia S. Popp. American Men of Olympic Track and Field: Interviews with Athletes and Coaches. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2005.
Litsky, Frank. “A Victory That’s Still Memorable Seventy Years Later.” The New York Times, August 1, 2006.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. “John Woodruff, an Olympian, Dies at 92.” The New York Times, November 1, 2007.