Just in case you didn’t know, the Olympics got underway on Friday, and once again, thoughts of Eddie Tolan arrived. Okay, you knew Paris was alive with festivities, but I betcha didn’t know who the first non-white American to win two Gold Medals in the Olympics in 1932 was. Tolan, nicknamed the “Midnight Express,” was virtually undefeated as a sprinter in the early 1930s, setting all kinds of records in major events.
Born Thomas Edward Toland on September 29, 1908, in Denver, Colorado, he was one of four children. His father Thomas Tolan moved the family to Salt Lake City, Utah when Eddie was young and then five years later, in 1924, to Detroit. By then, he was 15 and looked forward to the promising opportunities his father often talked about. Eddie’s fame as a sprinter began at Cass Technical High School, where he set records in the 100 and 220-yard dashes. He was 16, with times of 9.8 in the 100 and 21.5 in the 220, and a member of the school’s team that won the National Interscholastic Indoor meet in Chicago in 1925. That began a series of victories, and he was equally fast on the football gridiron, even at 130 pounds. He often said that his greatest thrill came from scoring six touchdowns rather than double wins in the Olympics.
The acclaim he achieved in track and football in high school was not to be continued at the University of Michigan. There was much controversy on why he wasn’t allowed to be on the football team, but it’s hard to ignore the racism that permeated so much of American society then. Even so, whether it was racism or an injury, Eddie starred on the track turf, topping all competitors in the Big Ten. In 1929, as a sophomore, he ran 9.6 in the 100-yard dash, tying the world record. Chewing gum to relieve the tension, Eddie, his glasses taped to his head, gained international attention and was dubbed the “Midnight Express,” for his speed and color, we assume.
After graduating from Michigan, he enrolled at West Virginia State College to acquire a degree in teaching and coaching. But the track shoes were never unlaced very long, and by 1932 he was at Stanford University where he competed with the world-class sprinter Ralph Metcalfe. They would become the first African American sprinters to compete in the Olympics. In one of the closest races in the Olympics, Eddie edged out Metcalfe in the 100-meter race, winning because his entire torso was across the finish line.
On the following day, the 200-meter race was not close. Eddie beat Metcalfe in a record time of 21.2 seconds. This gave him not only a double gold medal in the Olympics but also the honor of “the fastest human.” Metcalfe would sadly experience setbacks four years later in Berlin, where he followed the great Jesse Owens across the finish line. Neither of his conquerors on the tender path, however, could match Metcalfe’s distinguished career in the world of politics.
Eddie was celebrated each step of the way upon his return to Detroit, and his coup de grace occurred when Mayor Frank Murphy appointed a special reception committee to meet him at the Michigan Central train station where September 6, 1932 was proclaimed “Eddie Tolan Day” by Michigan Gov. Wilber M. Brucker throughout the state. More honors were heaped on him, even in 1936, when he was honored with a banquet during the first celebration of Champions Day in Detroit.
Unfortunately, the good times couldn’t last forever. It took several years for him to secure a decent-paying job that would be better than the one his brother had collecting waste paper from the grass in city parks. In 1933, he found employment as a filing clerk that did not pay him enough to take care of himself and his mother and father. Even the brief stint performing with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson provided only temporary financial support, though it was rewarding spending time with Robinson who almost matched Eddie’s sprints running backward.
And if things weren’t bad enough, Eddie was driving when his car struck and seriously injured an elderly woman. However, he was able to get a little better job working as a clerk in Detroit’s register of deeds office. Things improved by 1956 after being employed as a teacher at Irving Elementary School, a position he would hold for several years. He never married and was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1982. He is also a member of the Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor and was a proud member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
Eddie died of heart failure in 1967. He had been undergoing weekly dialysis treatments. He was 58 and is interred at United Memorial Gardens in Plymouth, Michigan.
Find Out More
There was a profusion of obituaries, as might be expected of a great Olympian, and even recent ones in Hour Detroit magazine by George Bulanda in 2015.
Discussion
It should be noted that Jesse Owens, who once lived in Detroit, always sought out Eddie whenever he visited the city.
Place in Context
Eddie’s legacy is best traced through the Olympian pages, especially during the 1930s.
This Week in Black History
July 29, 1909: Acclaimed author, Chester Himes, was born in Jefferson City, Missouri. He died in 1984.
July 30, 1964: Actress Vivica Fox was born in South Bend, Indiana.
July 31, 1959: Guitarist Stanley Jordan was born in Chicago.