Sports
Ed Gordon
1908–1971 · athletics competitor, later science teacher
1932 Olympic long jump gold medalist who settled in Detroit later in life, earned a delayed college degree at Wayne State University, and taught science there until his death.
- Born
Jackson, Mississippi- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 63- Birth name
- Edward Lansing Gordon Jr.
- Detroit years
- 1950s–1971
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Gordon won long jump gold at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics after three straight NCAA long jump titles at the University of Iowa, the first athlete to win that event three years running. He never finished his Iowa degree at the time, instead moving to New York to drive a city bus, but he eventually settled in Detroit, where he enrolled in classes at Wayne State University and finally earned his degree in 1957, more than two decades after his Olympic triumph. He spent the rest of his working life as a Detroit-area science teacher, a quiet second act after Olympic fame, and died in the city in 1971.
Highlights
- Won long jump gold at the 1932 Summer Olympics
- First athlete to win three straight NCAA long jump titles (1929–1931)
- Completed his college degree at Wayne State University in Detroit, 1957
- Worked as a science teacher in the Detroit area until his death
- Died in Detroit in 1971
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1950s
Wayne State University
Where he finally completed his college degree, decades after his Olympic gold medal.