The Olympics were first held in London in 1908. The world was a very different place than it is today. There was no television, few radios and no mass electronic communication—only newspapers. In America, people of color were not generally recognized as Americans—but as background, an underclass rarely considered and mostly forgotten. America was still growing leaps and bounds through immigration and imperialism. Enter the sprinter from Penn, John Baxter Taylor, who left Brown and graduated from Philadelphia’s Central High School. Taylor had just completed his studies at Penn as a veterinarian when coaches selected him for the 1908 Olympic team. This was a bad dude.
John Baxter Taylor was the first African American to win a gold medal as a member of the U.S. 4×400 meter relay team and came in with a split of 49.8. At that time the track was made of cinders, not the smooth and comfortable surfaces they use today. The shoes were leather spikes with long teeth and when you run on cinders the sound of your stride is the runner’s distinctive trademark. Baxter boasted an 8 and a half-foot stride with his 5’11, 160 pound frame—and he was very fast for his time.
This was a time in our history when the things we did were for the betterment of our race because whatever and whenever we did something it was thrust upon the entire black race. Imagine that! Taylor was a very dominant performer, having won many awards, but he did it in a very quiet, unassuming and diplomatic way. His performance on and off the track did not go unnoticed as it seems the content of his character had a profound impact on those around him.
In a letter to Taylor’s parents, Harry Porter, fellow Irish American Athletic Club member and acting President of the 1908 U.S. Olympic Team wrote: “It is far more as the man (than the athlete) that John Taylor made his mark. Quite unostentatious, genial, (and) kindly, the fleet-footed, far-famed athlete was beloved wherever known…As a beacon of his race, his example of achievement in athletics; scholarship and manhood will never wane, if indeed it is not destined to form with that of Booker T. Washington.”
Sadly upon returning home from the Olympics, Taylor died in December 1908 of typhoid fever. His achievement may not be well known, but its heroes like this who have to be celebrated to remind us that the path to the glamour, glory and riches of Olympic gold was paved by the quiet dignified performance of pioneers like John Baxter Taylor who cannot be forgotten. Taylor earned 45 medals and 70 cups during his brief track career and was a member of Sigma Pi Phi, one of the nation’s first black fraternities.
A book about this American hero has been written called: The Olympian – An American Triumph, by Craig T. Williams. http://www.theolympian.net/ for more information.
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