Edward Barton Hamm (April 13, 1906 – June 25, 1982) was an American athlete, who won the gold medal in the long jump at the 1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, becoming the first Arkansan to win a gold medal. The Atlanta Journal called him "the South’s first world champion in any sport."[3]
Hamm was born in 1906, to Charles Edward Hamm, a plumber and electrician, and Zilpah Dare Harris Hamm. He was the oldest of five brothers and one sister. Raised in Lonoke, he excelled in sports, especially track and field. At Lonoke High School, he won the state long jump for three years straight, 1923 to 1925, setting a state record of 23'2" his sophomore year. He won the state 220-yard dash all three years and the state 100-yard dash twice, despite attacks of malaria, which first affected him in his junior year and undoubtedly prevented him from bettering his records.[3]
Hamm and teammate Hubert Davis were the only two Lonoke competitors to enter a high school invitational meet at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1925. He won first in the 100-yard dash, the 200-yard dash, the long jump, and the high jump, as well as finishing third place in the 440. Though the two could not enter the relays, together they won the meet by two points over Little Rock High School.[3]
In his junior year (1924) Hamm set a world high school record of 24'2⅝" (7.38 m), which qualified him for the Olympic trials in Boston, Massachusetts. To pay for his trip, he borrowed $100 from Little Rock (Pulaski County) coach Earl Quigley. He failed to qualify for the Olympics, but the next year he went to Little Rock, regularly bringing Quigley two to five dollars until he repaid the money.[3]
At Georgia Tech, Hamm won the Southeast Conference championship (now the Southeastern Conference) in 100 yd and 220 yd sprints and the long jump three years straight. In 1928, he broke the SEC record in the long jump with a leap of 25'6¾", won the National Intercollegiate meet, and broke the world record in the 1928 Olympic trials with a jump of 25'11½".[1][3]
On July 31, at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, Holland, Hamm broke the Olympic record and won a gold medal with a leap of 25'4¾".[1] After the Olympics, he was part of a track and field team that toured England and Germany. He won the long jump in every meet.[3]
Hamm graduated from Georgia Tech in 1928, served as the school's track coach for a few years, and then spent the rest of his life in private business, much of it as an executive with Coca-Cola on the West Coast and in Alaska. He was married three times, and died in June 1982 in Oregon. His ashes were scattered over his beloved Clear Lake in Oregon's Willamette National Forest, where he had fished many times. He was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, and the Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1996.[3]
Hamm donated his trophies to Georgia Tech in 1970 which were displayed in the Student Center on campus.[4]
References
^ abcEd Hamm September 12, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
^ abcdefgEddie Hamm (1906–1982). Encyclopedia of Arkansas
^. gatech.edu. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
January 18, 2023
hamm, edward, barton, hamm, april, 1906, june, 1982, american, athlete, gold, medal, long, jump, 1928, summer, olympics, held, amsterdam, netherlands, becoming, first, arkansan, gold, medal, atlanta, journal, called, south, first, world, champion, sport, july,. Edward Barton Hamm April 13 1906 June 25 1982 was an American athlete who won the gold medal in the long jump at the 1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam Netherlands becoming the first Arkansan to win a gold medal The Atlanta Journal called him the South s first world champion in any sport 3 Ed HammEd Hamm in July 1928Personal informationBornApril 13 1906Lonoke Arkansas United StatesDiedJune 25 1982 aged 76 Albany Oregon United StatesHeight179 cm 5 ft 10 in Weight70 kg 154 lb SportSportAthleticsEvent s Long jump sprintClubGeorgia Tech Yellow Jackets AtlantaAchievements and titlesPersonal best s LJ 7 90 m 1928 100 m 10 5 1928 200 m 21 6 1928 1 2 Medal record Representing the United StatesOlympic Games1928 Amsterdam Long jumpBiography EditHamm was born in 1906 to Charles Edward Hamm a plumber and electrician and Zilpah Dare Harris Hamm He was the oldest of five brothers and one sister Raised in Lonoke he excelled in sports especially track and field At Lonoke High School he won the state long jump for three years straight 1923 to 1925 setting a state record of 23 2 his sophomore year He won the state 220 yard dash all three years and the state 100 yard dash twice despite attacks of malaria which first affected him in his junior year and undoubtedly prevented him from bettering his records 3 Hamm and teammate Hubert Davis were the only two Lonoke competitors to enter a high school invitational meet at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1925 He won first in the 100 yard dash the 200 yard dash the long jump and the high jump as well as finishing third place in the 440 Though the two could not enter the relays together they won the meet by two points over Little Rock High School 3 In his junior year 1924 Hamm set a world high school record of 24 2 7 38 m which qualified him for the Olympic trials in Boston Massachusetts To pay for his trip he borrowed 100 from Little Rock Pulaski County coach Earl Quigley He failed to qualify for the Olympics but the next year he went to Little Rock regularly bringing Quigley two to five dollars until he repaid the money 3 At Georgia Tech Hamm won the Southeast Conference championship now the Southeastern Conference in 100 yd and 220 yd sprints and the long jump three years straight In 1928 he broke the SEC record in the long jump with a leap of 25 6 won the National Intercollegiate meet and broke the world record in the 1928 Olympic trials with a jump of 25 11 1 3 On July 31 at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam Holland Hamm broke the Olympic record and won a gold medal with a leap of 25 4 1 After the Olympics he was part of a track and field team that toured England and Germany He won the long jump in every meet 3 Hamm graduated from Georgia Tech in 1928 served as the school s track coach for a few years and then spent the rest of his life in private business much of it as an executive with Coca Cola on the West Coast and in Alaska He was married three times and died in June 1982 in Oregon His ashes were scattered over his beloved Clear Lake in Oregon s Willamette National Forest where he had fished many times He was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1996 3 Hamm donated his trophies to Georgia Tech in 1970 which were displayed in the Student Center on campus 4 References Edit a b c Ed Hamm Archived September 12 2015 at the Wayback Machine sports reference com Edward Hamm trackfield brinkster net a b c d e f g Eddie Hamm 1906 1982 Encyclopedia of Arkansas Ed Hamm s Trophies gatech edu Archived from the original on March 5 2016 Retrieved July 7 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ed Hamm amp oldid 1101920710, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
