DeHart Hubbard

DeHart Hubbard was the first black athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event. Hubbard studied at the University of Michigan starting in 1921, and the following year he won the first of six straight AAU long jump titles. He also won the AAU triple jump in 1922 and 1923 and at the NCAA he won the 100 yards in 1925 and the long jump in 1923. In 1925 he set a world record of 25-10⅞ (7.89) when he took the NCAA title for a second time, and then in 1926 he confirmed his ability as a sprinter when he equalled the world record of 9.6 for 100 yards. Although injured, DeHart Hubbard won the 1924 Olympic long jump comfortably; he was again injured at the 1928 Olympics when he finished 11th. Between these two appearances he had the best mark of his career in 1927 when he jumped 26-2¼ (7.98), but the mark was not recognized as a world record, because the take-off board was one inch higher than the landing pit. In all, Hubbard bettered 25 feet on 11 occasions and was undoubtedly the greatest jumper of the pre-Owens era.

Hubbard later worked as the supervisor of the Department of Colored Work for the Cincinnati Public Recreation Commission, remaining in that position until 1941, after which he was manager of Valley Homes, a housing project built for war workers in Lincoln Heights, the largest self-governing Black community in the United States. He moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1942, serving as a race relations adviser for the Federal Housing Authority, a position he held until his retirement in 1969.

Hubbard later became a top bowler and served as the president of the National Bowling Association during the 1950s. He also founded the Cincinnati Tigers, a professional baseball team, which played in the Negro American League. In 1957, Hubbard was elected to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame and was inducted into the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1979.

Personal Bests: LJ – 7.89 (1925); TJ – 14.90 (1923).