Last Saturday, after taking a nostalgic walk around my old, soon to be demolished, high school, I paused at the stadium of Baldwin Wallace University which is next door to the high school. After high school I obtained my bachelor's degree from Baldwin Wallace. I had not been in the stadium since my college commencement ceremony.
In front of the stadium I saw a statue which I not seen before. I honored one of Baldwin Wallace's famous graduates, Harrison Dillard.
Dillard was an African-American, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He received a scholarship to Baldwin Wallace where he majored in economics. His college studies were interrupted when he was drafted during World War II. He fought with an all black infantry unit in Italy. After the war he returned to Baldwin Wallace and excelled in athletics. While a college student, he participated in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London where he won two gold medals. Four years later he won two more gold medals at the Olympic games in Helsinki. He was the only man in Olympic history to win gold in both the 100 meter sprint and the 110 meter hurdles. At the time of his death last year, the 96 year old Dillard was the oldest living U.S. Olympic gold medalist.
That kind of monument is a wonderful lesson of humanity and history! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Barbara. As a Baldwin Wallace graduate I knew of Harrison Dillard, but it wasn't until I saw this new monument that I did a little research on his life.
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