A Hero was Born

Jesse was born into the Owens’ family as the 10th child to parents Henry and Emma (1). He was born on September 12, 1913, to the name of James Cleveland Owens (1). He became “Jesse” after his elementary school teacher misinterpreted his initials 'J.C.' because of his southern accent. He would be known as Jesse for the rest of his life. (2).

(3)
While attending Fairmount Junior High School, Owens met Charles Riley, his physical educator and coach (1). He is considered to have one of the largest impacts of any individual on the life and career of Jesse Owens (1).
After junior high, Owens began dominating the track at East Technical High School (1). At the young age of 19, he ran a blistering time of 9.4 seconds for 100 yards, which tied the current world record (2). He also broke many high school records, including the long jump where he recording a 24 feet, 3 ¾ inch jump, more then 3 inches longer then the previous record (1).

References

1. Baker, W.J. (1986). Jesse Owens: An American life. New York, N.Y.: The Free Press.
2. Hart-Davis, D. (1986). Hitler’s Games: The 1936 Olympics. (1st ed.). New York:
Harper & Row Publishers.
3. Wendel, J. (2009). Jesse Owens: Olympic Legend. Retrieved November, 10th, 2009
http://www.jesseowens.com/photos/