Ben Spock

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameBenjamin McLane "Ben"•Spock
Used nameBen•Spock
Born2 May 1903 in New Haven, Connecticut (USA)
Died15 March 1998 in La Jolla, California (USA)
Measurements196 cm
AffiliationsYale Bulldogs, New Haven (USA)
NOC United States
Medals OG
Gold 1
Silver 0
Bronze 0
Total 1

Biography

Ben Spock ran track for one year at Yale and rowed crew for four years, but his college career pales beside his accomplishments afterwards. After college he started med school at Yale, then transferred to Columbia, where he earned his M.D. and became a pediatrician. As the author of Baby and Child Care, Dr. Spock is a name known to millions of parents in this country. The book was written while Spock practiced pediatrics in New York and sold over 25,000,000 copies. He also wrote five other books on child care. During the 60s, Dr Benjamin Spock was in the news for other reasons. He took a strong stand against nuclear proliferation and participated in several protests against military escalation in Vietnam.

In 1972, Ben Spock became the first former US Olympic athlete to run for the United States presidency on the People’s Party ticket in 1972, but received only 78,759 votes (about 0.1%). He espoused radical political action and severe reduction of the military but received no electoral votes. After he retired from practicing medicine, he did some occasional public speaking, usually at universities or for the benefit of peace groups.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1924 Summer Olympics Rowing USA Ben Spock
Eights, Men (Olympic) United States 1 Gold

Special Notes