Olympic Greats:

                       

Larry Snyder

          
Born in Canton, Ohio on August 9, 1896, Larry graduated from Ohio State in 1925 winning the Western Conference Medal for his scholarship and Track achievements. Hired as Head Track Coach at Ohio State in 1932, he coached Jesse Owens, Glenn Davis, and Gene Albritton and led 15 athletes to Olympic medals, 10 of which were Olympic Gold. As head coach of the 1960 Olympics in Rome, he led the U.S. Track team to four grand slams (sweeping four meets with three medals each). Jesse Owens said, "He gets more out of you than you ever dreamed you had...at the Olympic games , he had me so fired up I couldn't miss. " Larry was head coach at Ohio State from 1932 to 1965. In 1978 Larry was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame.
           
                 
Ron Harris                      

Ron Harris was a three year titlist in the AAU trials before going to Mexico City for the Olympic Games in 1968. Earlier in 1967 at Milwaukee he won a Golden Gloves title. Joining an American Boxing team which was not highly rated by Sports Illustrated, Ron won the Gold for Lightweight boxers and his USA team mates brought home another gold, one silver and four bronze for boxing. Ron had dedicated each Olympic fight to a different family member. The night before the finals he called home and told his mom, "I've got one more thing to do, Mom, If I win the gold medal its for you."

   
   
 
Jim Thorpe
 
Although born in Oklahoma, Jim Thorpe made his name through Pop Warner and the Carlisle School in Pennsylvania. In the 1912 Olympics he won gold medals in both the decathlon and pentathlon and was heralded by King Gustaf V as the greatest athlete who ever lived. He played for the Canton Bulldogs and his team was unofficially world champions in 1916, 1917 and 1919. He was named the first President of the National Football League when organized in 1920. ABC's Wide World of Sports recently named him Athlete of the Century in 2000.
 
 
Phil Hubbard
 
Phil graduated from Canton McKinley in 1975. In 1976 his freshman year at the University of Michigan he led his team to the NCAA Tournament finals losing to Indiana in the final. In that same year Phil won an Olympic Gold as Team USA went 7-0. His sophomore year at Michigan he won All American honors. After graduating from Michigan he was drafted in the first round by the Detroit Pistons. He completed his playing career with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He later worked for the New York Knicks, the Atlanta Falcons and the Washington Wizards. The University of Michigan retired his jersey in 2004.
 
 
         
Dave Wottle      
Born in Canton, Ohio on August 7th 1952, Dave graduated from Lincoln High School in 1970. While at Bowling Green State University, Dave finished second in the AAU 1 mile run in 1970. In 1972 he won the 1500 meter NCAA title. And in that same year he won the Gold for the 800 meter dash in Munich. In 1973 he won the NCAA mile. He was honored at Bowling Green State University as an NCAA Post Graduate Scholar. He has been Dean of Admissions at Rhodes College in Memphis since 1983. He is in the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame.
 
 
 

Harry Steel

Harry was the first Ohio State wrestler to win the Gold. Born in Stark County in 1899, he graduated from Canton McKinley High School in 1918. He played football at McKinley and lettered in football and wrestIing at Ohio State. His wrestling team was undefeated in 1921 and 1922 and as Captain of the team, he won the Western Conference Heavyweight Title in 1924. Serving as an alternate in the 1924 Olympics in Paris, Harry won the Men's Heavyweight freestyle event. Receiving a bye in the first match, Harry won the remaining matches against a Brit, a Swiss and finally a Swede. Harry has been inducted in the Helm's Hall of Fame for Amateur Athletics in Los Angeles, and in the Varsity O Hall of Fame at The Ohio State University. Harry is now listed among the World Champions in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.