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American 1932 Olympic gold medalist in the discus throw. John Franklin Anderson was not only the president of his senior class of 1925, he was a super athlete at Hughes High School in the Clifton Heights area of Cincinnati, Ohio. Anderson starred in football team and also lettered in basketball, track and tennis. He was the track team captain in 1925. Anderson played All-American tackle on the Cornell University football team for three years, was on the track team for three years, captaining it as a senior, and was president of the student council in his last year. While in track, he focused on discus and shot put, winning the American Athletic Union (AAU) Nationals in the discus for three years.Anderson qualified for the 1928 Olympics in the discus throw, placing in fifth place, and went on the set the world record in the 1932 US Olympic trials. At the 1932 Olympics held in Los Angeles, Anderson threw the discus 162 feet, 4 inches, establishing an Olympic record and winning the gold medal. He won the AAU title in 1933 and in June 1936 he had the best throw of his career in winning the Eastern Olympic Trials, 165ft-9in (50.62m), but he failed to make a third consecutive Olympic team. Anderson was also an above-average performer with the shot and won the 1929 IC4A indoor shot put title.Anderson returned home as an Olympic hero. Cincinnati mayor Russell Wilson proclaimed “John Anderson Day” and declared that the Olympian represented “the best in American manhood, physically, mentally, and morally.”Joining other US 1932 Olympians, including swimmer Johnny Weissmueller, the handsome, blond-haired Anderson had a brief stint in Hollywood and won a few bit parts in movies, including a starring role in the film Search for Beauty. He then moved back to Glendale, the Cincinnati suburban community he called home. Though he was from a prominent Cincinnati family, Anderson left a job in advertising at Procter & Gamble, where his father was vice president, to teach math and coach at a California prep school.In the Navy during World War II, Anderson achieved the rank of lieutenant commander and served as a transport navigator in the Pacific.After the war, he used his training to work as a navigator for a fleet of fishing boats in Alaska. In 1948, while on an excursion to Nankek, 300 miles from Anchorage, Anderson died suddenly of a blood clot on the brain at the age of 41.
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American 1932 Olympic gold medalist in the discus throw. John Franklin Anderson was not only the president of his senior class of 1925, he was a super athlete at Hughes High School in the Clifton Heights area of Cincinnati, Ohio. Anderson starred in football team and also lettered in basketball, track and tennis. He was the track team captain in 1925. Anderson played All-American tackle on the Cornell University football team for three years, was on the track team for three years, captaining it as a senior, and was president of the student council in his last year. While in track, he focused on discus and shot put, winning the American Athletic Union (AAU) Nationals in the discus for three years.Anderson qualified for the 1928 Olympics in the discus throw, placing in fifth place, and went on the set the world record in the 1932 US Olympic trials. At the 1932 Olympics held in Los Angeles, Anderson threw the discus 162 feet, 4 inches, establishing an Olympic record and winning the gold medal. He won the AAU title in 1933 and in June 1936 he had the best throw of his career in winning the Eastern Olympic Trials, 165ft-9in (50.62m), but he failed to make a third consecutive Olympic team. Anderson was also an above-average performer with the shot and won the 1929 IC4A indoor shot put title.Anderson returned home as an Olympic hero. Cincinnati mayor Russell Wilson proclaimed “John Anderson Day” and declared that the Olympian represented “the best in American manhood, physically, mentally, and morally.”Joining other US 1932 Olympians, including swimmer Johnny Weissmueller, the handsome, blond-haired Anderson had a brief stint in Hollywood and won a few bit parts in movies, including a starring role in the film Search for Beauty. He then moved back to Glendale, the Cincinnati suburban community he called home. Though he was from a prominent Cincinnati family, Anderson left a job in advertising at Procter & Gamble, where his father was vice president, to teach math and coach at a California prep school.In the Navy during World War II, Anderson achieved the rank of lieutenant commander and served as a transport navigator in the Pacific.After the war, he used his training to work as a navigator for a fleet of fishing boats in Alaska. In 1948, while on an excursion to Nankek, 300 miles from Anchorage, Anderson died suddenly of a blood clot on the brain at the age of 41.
Bio by: THR
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