Mack Robinson, Forgotten Olympian
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- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2025
- At the 1936 Summer Olympics, he was .4 seconds behind Jesse Owens. With his accomplishments overshadowed by his younger brother, Jackie, Mack Robinson fought against odds and built an impressive legacy that deserves to be remembered.
This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As images of actual events are sometimes not available, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
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Script by THG
#ushistory #thehistoryguy #blackhistory
I looked into the 1936 Berlin Olympics some years back. I did see that Matthew (Mack) Robinson took the silver and Martinus (Tinus) Osendarp of the Netherlands took the bronze. What I didn't know was that Mack was Jackie's brother, so thank you HG.
What an amazing individual. He really deserved to be remembered. So sad that nobody gave him any recognition or acknowledgment until years later.
@ I feel the same way and I'm a white guy. I go to get me a construction job and I'm the wrong color I'm not Mexican. They have taken over the construction industry and they are some of the most racist people I've ever met. Every ethnic group in the world has gone through the same things but different times.
@@dennis8445 so well said. History will show that different ethnic and religious groups have been the targets of prejudice in this country. The Irish, Germans, Swedish, Italians and Catholics are a prime example. The Catholic University of America was established in the 1800s because Catholics were forbidden to attend college. We have so much to learn from history.
@@feurigerStern yeah, that is true.. All of them have experienced some kind of hardships, yet they came here by their own free will and if wanted too, they could go back to their country/homeland if they did like being treated a certain way.. Imagine if Dennis were a black man looking to work construction, especially in Califórnia! 😀
@@dennis8445 Yeah, I know what you mean on that one. Its sad.
@@ehzAxemuzik Agreed!
This is one of your best. I had never heard of Mack Robinson. Truly a great man, and a great story. Thank you for sharing.
Same!
Me, too! One of your recent best, but the rest are less than 0.4 seconds behind!
@@leemaxwell1912 - Haha, good one! Never forget the also-rans!
👍 I've been waiting for someone to tell this story for a long time now. It's been one of my trivia questions for awhile now. It's amazing how it is that no Jackie Robinson fans seem to know anything about his older brothers achievements. I didn't even know until 2015.
Wow! I knew this man and Jesse Owens were famous for what they did at the Berlin Olympics. But I never knew he was Jacky Robinson's brother! Thanks for the history lesson.
His statement on being an example is so true and a lesson many modern sports hero’s should take to heart!
I remember the year that the rose parade made a Jackie and Mac Robinson float I volunteered to put roses on some other floats when I noticed a young boy (about 10-12 yrs old), admiring the Robinson float. I asked him if he knew who that was....he said yes my grandfather. I was amazed. You just never know who you run into sometimes.
Thank you for telling his story. He is well worth remembering.
We share the same last name.
I have never followed sports and no I don't have a bias against sports or those who follow and love the games. But having said that I feel badly that I never knew about Mack Robinson and continue to be ashamed of those in the early 20th century that treated people of color badly. Mack's family should be proud of the way he presented himself and the work he did in spite of the bigotry of the time. This is a great video and am so pleased you shared this story, and it is history that should be remembered.
Why do you feel ashamed?
STUBS 1960 , because it’s a part of America’s history. “All men are created equal...unalienable rights?” It has fallen short for some. And if you can say you’ve never been a part of that unfairness, good for you. But I think if you view all men as equals, any injustice is worth taking to task. Just my $0.02.
I am proud of this man, thank you for allowing us to know his story.
Glad you did this one it's a good story.
Love the diversity of topics you cover! I don't know a lot about sports history so this is a treat to start my day. Thank you!
Agreed! Most historians on RUclips get hung up on WWII.
Truly deserves to be remembered!!! Wonderful story
A very big thanks for this video. I had heard of him but only as the man who came second to Jesse Owen and as the other black athlete. So it is nice to hear more about him. You have to wonder what he would have achieved if the 1940 Olympics had taken place. With training and better equipment he would have given Owen a run for his money, literally.
More literally a run for his Gold.
He and Jesse Owens' other great achievement was to irritate and humiliate the great bigoted dictator, in Berlin. Robinson and Owens are, in my mind, awarded Platinum medals for their great works in that Olympiad.
Thank you for sharing and educating
Having gone to school at PCC (I graduated at ELAC) and growing up in Pasadena, I knew about the men and statistics of your story, but not story behind the statics that you told here. Thank you for this wonderful story. I did not know about the statues by city hall either and will have to go visit them very soon. So thank you twice!
Not everyone forgot Mack Robinson. He was a hero in our house and we heard positive stories about him all of the time. You see, Dad attednded Pasadena Junior College (as did I many years later) and was on the track and field team with Mack. They became close friends and Dad was occasionly invited to dinner at Mallie's. Dad felt pretty special because the Robinson boys did not have a big circle of white friends. Mack, Jackie, and Mallie were the only blacks my grandmother occasionally invited for dinner. For what it's worth, Mack always beat Dad in the track events they ran together.
Another flabbergasting bit of forgotten history - thank you so much! Channels like yours justifie my You Tube addiction.
As a fan of Jackie Robinson, I never knew this story about Mack.
But, thanks to your channel I do now! Thank you for all the history that's very much "worth remembering!"
I have to admit I had not heard of him until now. Thanks for sharing this story about a great man.
Thank you for giving Mr Robinson his moment in the spotlight
Another absolutely amazing video!! What a travesty these people aren’t household names in this country. Thank you for remembering them and inspiring others to do the same and retell their important stories. One can only hope that time will undo at least of the injustices done to these pioneers who were victims of their era.
Great story thanks for sharing
Now how am I supposed to outrun that truant officer??! That's not even fair. Haha.
laughed my head off!
Good one!
Awesome story! Deserves to be remembered for sure!
Ralph Metcalfe, teammate of Jesse Owens and Mack Robinson, and future congressman from the State of Illinois, was regarded as the world’s fastest human in 1934 and 1935. At the Amateur Athletic Union national championships at Marquette University Stadium, June 30, 1934, Metcalfe won the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints, winning the 100-meter over Jesse Owens. Metcalfe won a total of four Olympic medals. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II, rising to the rank of first lieutenant and awarded the Legion of Merit medal. He later went into politics, serving in the United States Congress for four terms 1971 -1978. He died in office of an apparent heart attack at age 68, October 10, 1978.
At the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, in the 100-meters Metcalfe finished in a dead-heat with Eddie Tolan, with the gold medal awarded to Tolan only after extended study of the photographic finish. Both recorded a time of 10.38 seconds. This was the first Olympics to determine the winner by photo finish. In the 200-meters, run with a staggered start, a track official mistakenly placed Metcalfe a full meter behind where he should have been placed. Astonished that he was behind coming off of the turn, Metcalfe was still able to finish third in the race. Afterwards, race officials realizing the mistake offered to re-run the 200-meters. The re-run to be held the next day. However, Metcalfe declined the offer of a re-run because the United States had already swept the gold, silver and bronze medals in the event.
In the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Metcalfe again took silver in the 100-meters, this time behind Jesse Owens. In the 4×100-meter relay with Foy Draper and Frank Wykoff, the Americans won by 1.1 seconds over second place Italy and third place Germany. Ownes ran the first leg of the race, giving the Americans a 2-meter lead. Metcalfe then ran an astonishing second leg, increasing the American lead to an insurmountable 7-meters.
He too deserves to be remembered.
ruclips.net/video/Bchu9Svl4Ms/видео.html
archive.jsonline.com/greensheet/ralph-metcalfe-beats-jesse-owens-at-marquette--in-1934-b99669717z1-369048961.html
Thank you for this. I had heard of Mack Robinson. but didn't know so many details about his life. I truly appreciate the quality and diversity of your work.
Ive always had a fascination for history. Nothing specific, just history. I was so glad when i found your channel, a channel that doesn't focus on any specific history, just interesting bits of history that deserve to be rememberd. I love being able to go from a video about a cold war sub accident to a video about the early American colonies.
The tangents you go on to explain that bit more detail about a person or a point in time shows how passionate you are about sharing these stories and it makes this channel all the more special and entertaining to me.
I hope you never stop sharing history with us
Outstanding post. Brought back many memories. I ran track for Hebert Hoover High School class of 1967. We had a sprinter class of 1964 Named Forest Baity who held the National high school record for the hundred yard dash, time 9.4 seconds.
Thank you H.G.!!
I love this story. Determined family, under adverse circumstances. All heros!
Factual, concise, well written, thought provoking, and brilliant work, and in only 6 minutes and 22 seconds. Thank you History Guy.
Thank you for telling his story. We should have recognized him when he came home for his Silver (and anyone who gets bronze too)
“Thank You” for this awesome look back. I’ve recently discovered your channel and it’s grown to become something I look forward too learning from. This story in particular had me very pleased. No, I didn’t know all of this, and sadly I should. I live in Los Angeles now, have been past the jr college many times. Attended games at the LA Coliseum, and been in downtown Pasadena very close to where that statue must be. I attended the University of Oregon and did some work study in the athletics Dept. Still... I had no idea. And I’m embarrassingly sad too admit that. I can blame the times that we all live, and have lived in, or racism, or just the general way we selectively disregard those in our society that come in second. But that’s truly just a lame way to excuse ourselves from honestly taking an interest. I plan to make an effort to visit that statue this week and make sure I direct friends too it as well. Making sure to elaborate the facts that You related in your video and research. And most importantly, relating your channel so more people can benefit from the insights your helping to provide. “Thank You” again. ... looking forward to the next enlightenment.
Now this deserves to be remembered. Thank you!
Good Morning and thank you, History Guy and Gal.
I never knew. Thank you for the education. Yes it is history that deserves to be remembered!
You are right, I had never heard of him. And this great man deserves to be remembered.
😪 Yet another example of wasted potential due to ignorance and prejudice. How much could these athletes have contributed to society had they been accepted honestly for who they were and what they had achieved? I knew about the astounding achievements of Jesse Owens from my schooldays here in 🏴 but not nearly as much about the Robinsons. I am so pleased to hear that all of them have been publicly recognised, which is their just reward, however belatedly. Thank you for bringing the forgotten out of the shadows of time into the sunshine of knowledge. Kind regards from a fellow historian in 🏴
Thank you! I don't recall ever hearing of Mack Robinson.
A video truly worthy of the appellate "History Deserves to be Remembered".
It’s a shame how we treat our heroes great story
You sir, are an unsung hero. Thank you for what you do.
I listened to this video for the first time last night, as the channel was running the sports history playlist. Without seeing the tile, I was thinking of African American athletes that had crossed the color barrier. As a cyclist my mind went straight to Major Taylor.
Not many people know his story. I had the good fortune to share the story of Major Taylor to new fellow cyclist back in January. As this man was new to cycling he had never heard of Taylor. Soon after Greg would wear a jersey with Taylor's image.
I found out within the last hour Greg had a heart attack this morning and passed away.
If I could suggest the topic of Major Taylor.
For my friend Greg who deserves to be remembered.
That was a very interesting story. Thank you.
Well worth remembering. God bless
Chantelle New ....this Guy is wonderful. My son, who couldnt stand school at times, well now he is 30, is like why couldnt he have been my teacher?????
Wow, thank you for this one. Moving.
GREAT STORY of HISTORY I've never heard. Thank you.
Never heard of him. Thanks.
Mack Robinson did in fact race a horse. My Dad was a student at Pasadena JC ,1936-38, and had a "nodding acquaintance" with the Robinson brothers. At the time, Mack was considered the better athlete.
In a demonstration of his running prowess, he actually beat a horse and rider in the 100 yard dash. He was given a handicap in that the horse and rider started backwards.
At the starting gun, the horse had to first turn around, then head down the track.
My Dad witnessed this on more than one occasion, as a special feature of a sporting event at PJC. I still have Dad's 1937 yearbook showing this, along with a number of photos of the Robinson brothers in their team sports.
... an added note, after just viewing and commenting on your post here about Mack Robinson... and doing additional reading about him and his brother... and their contributions too the game as both athletes and role models.. its sad to note that Today, Frank Robinson passed away here in Los Angeles. No relation but one of the articles I read was an NPR story from 2007 about when Jackie met Frank.
WOW, great story! Thanks for sharing.
I never heard of Mack. I'm glad I know now. Thank you.
I truly could not believe I didn't know this. Thank you sir, this somehow made my rain day, bright !!
Their are so few people like you sir and it is appreciated by us. My dad was Doug K a F4 F16 Fighter pilot who shot down a unkillable 40 million dollar drone and was selfride Michigans Ace fighter pilot for 20 years. He was killed in An airplane crash a few years ago. I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER! So few amazing men left.
This is news to me. Thank you for researching this topic. I love these kinds of lesser known stories.
Great one for Black History Month!
alliejr
sir, he was a great man his brother was a great man. a man a human being.. an American.
the best thing this country could do I'm so called Black History Month..
is put the black white yellow brown aspect of us in the closet, and unite As Americans. that is truly how you honor a man like Jackie and Mack Robinson
@@SeadogCVA41hal3 But this isn't the case in reality is it? Police aren't putting race aside when they stop and frisk and many many studies exist about people with even black sounding names being denied access to jobs
alliejr
I do not have a victim mentality. I come from the old most discriminated group in the history but now we're fashionable. I'm in my late seventies and I remember when few people felt like they were stressed they just called it life
Let's just keep it in American history where it belongs and tell the whole story - "warts and all" as the saying goes.
As always, thank you for your work.
That was wonderful. Thank you.
Amazing work as always
Another nice story i didn´t know, thank u! And i have never been more happy to see an ad before a clip
hats off to Passadina.....it may have been a bit late but when they celebrate someone.....they really celebrate someone.
There is so much History that I don't know about. GREAT STORY!!
Thank you again for providing history that I missed.
Liked it? Loved it!
Thanks for all you do!
My father, Danny Arellanes, was a friend and teammate of both Mack and Jackie at Muir Tech HS in Pasadena. Between the three of them, they competed in basketball, baseball, football and track. My father used a bamboo pole for pole vaulting. I donated 3 of my dad's yearbooks to the Baseball Hall of Fame in NY, and the 4th to the Olympic Museum in Pasadena. They included writeups and photos of the brothers at Muir and Pasadena City College.
Truent officer? Can you imagine him chasing you for ditching school? I bet Pasadena had perfect attendance for a stretch there and didn't know why.
As someone who lives in Eugene Oregon (where the university of Oregon is located), I'm very happy to learn this and a little sad that I didn't get to learn this earlier. Thank you
Another great episode!
I think this is my favorite of all my favorite History Guy videos!
Thanks for more great history!
Thank You THG. I did not know about this man and Never even heard of him.
If that was Jesse Owens in the first photo...the angle of his beautiful runners body is incredible! Wow...I have seen video, as one who cannot run, that is a gift. My husband ran for two years in high school, we are both in our early 50s now. Love watching these guys and ladies simply GO....at the summer Olympics or here n there if its on TV, over the air. Truly, one cannot eat gold or any other metal. We are still, for all of our American History, but a child in terms of a Nation or Country. In a modern concept at least. I wouldnt know, but watch you daily History Guy. You and your family are doing a great and wonderful thing here. 🕊🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅Truly, God bless you and yours all two legged, four legged,fish, fowl,and clawed family members alike. I know you have got cats, but maybe more. One never knows. I have a possum and squirrels and birds inthe yard, they all share a twenty by thirty space, including lots of old vines, ivy, and some kind of big tree, gotta find that out, plus 1 raccoon family....the yard and animals were here before myself and hubby, but this past year , they have become "ours"!😄
Really appreciate the story of Mack Robinson. He and his brother Jackie were born south of my hometown, Cairo, GA. I recommend reading the chapter of "Jackie Robinson: A Biography" (by Arnold Rampersand) that tells the story of their mother Mallie Robinson who had the courage to take her children from a sharecropper's existence on that train to California. I'm also happy to see that today the city of Cairo honors its native sons Mack and Jackie.
That was fantastic and although a very avid sports fan, is something I did not know, good work history guy,.....and Gal!
This channel has the best content on RUclips
Thank You History Guy
Thanks for this! A great man!
Great story, thank you for sharing it.
Thanks for the story. The Robinson's hometown of Cairo celebrates Jesse, but NOT Mack... A shame in my opinion.
Damn bro you're so prolific. I love the content, please keep it up! Can you do a videos on the Anti Masonic Party and William morgan
Thank you for sharing this! I never knew!
Bravo , HG !
always great!!!!
Thanks for the info. You do a good job. I like your videos so much. Just keep them short.
Thank you for this video.
A great piece of history
Awesome video!
Great video as always!!
Gone but,not forgotten.
"It's not bad to be second in the world in anything unless it's a world war." Me
Final Minute ....I llll... love it. Really.
"I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours" I said that.
Bob Dylan, Talkin' WW III
Nice job. Loved this history.
Nicely done
wow thank you history guy!
Three cheers for an outstanding role model and American hero!
Foy Draper, teammate of Mack Robinson, also won a gold medal for the 4x100 m relay. During World War II, he served as a pilot on a twin engine A-20B Havoc in Thelepte, Tunisia. On January 4, 1943, he and two crew members took off to fly to Fonduck, Tunisia, to take part in the Battle of Kassarine Pass, but all three men disappeared on the flight and were never heard from again. His memory is honored at the North African American (ABMC) Cemetery and Memorial in Tunis, Tunisia.
And now you know . . . the rest of the story. Good day. lol Another gem of historical awakening. As big a fitness nut and Olympic-ophile I consider myself, yet I'm chagrined to admit I had never heard this piece of it. Why do most of the greatest only receive recognition, officially, until their dead? A rhetorical question. smh Posthumous recognition sucks! Thank you for my history fix.
Thank you.
I would definitely like to see you cover a lot more sports figures and icons from history, for instance people know who Ted Williams is, but have no idea that he was not only one of that best ball players around in his day, but he also honorably served his country like many other athletes in the prime of his playing days, thus giving his best years not to the red sox, but to this great nation, yet still was beloved and remains so even now.
This channel is great
I remember hearing about this guy back when I was growing up, my physical education teacher told us all about mack, since she was a huge track and field fanatic, she basically believed she could teach anyone to outrun a bear,
She was pretty crazy, and I wish she would have taught in history instead,
Because we honestly need to know more of these lesser known hero's.