Arthur George Bragg (December 3, 1930 – August 25, 2018)
/ref> was an American sprinter who competed in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Career

He was born in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

and attended Baltimore's

Morgan State College Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1890, the university, then known a ...

.,http://www.morganstatebears.com/hof.aspx?hof=16&path=&kiosk= Morgans State Bears, Hall of Fame. Retrieved 27 August 2012. In 1952 he was eliminated in the semi-finals of the Olympic 100 metres event. Running with a pulled muscle, he finished 'a miserable last' in his race. Bragg was considered the favourite for the title having won the USA Olympic Trials 100m in the absence, through injury, of the man judged to be the best American sprinter, Jim Golliday. Bragg also tried to qualify for the 200 m event but was only fourth in his semi-final at the Olympic Trials.http://www.legacy.usatf.org/statistics/champions/OlympicTrials/HistoryOfTheOlympicTrials.pdf The History of the United States Olympic Trials - Track & Field, R Hymans, USA Track & Field, 2008 At the

1951 Pan American Games The 1951 Pan American Games, officially known as I Pan American Games () and commonly known as Buenos Aires 1951, were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina between February 25 and March 9, 1951. The Pan American Games' origins were at the Games of the ...

he was a member of the American relay team which won the gold medal in the 4×100 metres competition. In the 100 metres contest as well as in the 200 metres event he won the silver medal. In both races he lost narrowly to Cuba's

Rafael Fortun Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California Fiction * ''Rafael'' (TV series), a Mexican telenovela * ''Rafaël'' (film), a 2018 Dutch film People * Rafael (footballer, born 1978) ( ...

. Always a keen college runner, in 1953, Bragg helped, as anchor leg, Morgan State College to victories in the quarter- and half-mile relays at the

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (officially The Penn Relay Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012 ...

.quarter-mile relay is 4 x 110 y; half-mile relay is 4 x 220 y Bragg also completed a triple of individual wins.https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1915&dat=19530427&id=IOwgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LHIFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5220,4740188 "Art Bragg Stars at Penn Relays With Three Wins", The Day, April 27, 1953. Retrieved 28 August 2012. Bragg continued running after leaving college. In 1954 he won the 100 and 220 yards titles at the AAU Championships. In both he established new AAU meet records of 9.4 and 21.1 s respectively. Bragg was famed at the time he was racing for his often slow start to his races with a subsequent fast finish and the disappointments he suffered in his career at the major championships. In 1954, Bragg was one of the candidates for the prestigious James E. Sullivan Award that is presented annually by the AAU to the outstanding American athlete. If he had won he would have been the first African-American recipient of the award. In the end, the award went to

Mal Whitfield Malvin Greston Whitfield (October 11, 1924 – November 19, 2015) was an American athlete, goodwill ambassador, and airman. Nicknamed "Marvelous Mal", he was the Olympic Games, Olympic champion in the 800 metres, 800 meters at the 1948 Summer O ...

. Bragg has admitted his Olympic disappointment lives with him - when watching the 100 m "I cried," Bragg said. "I had successes; that was the major disappointment. Every Olympics, when I watch the 100 on TV, I break down and cry."The Baltimore Sun
"Olympics always bring -- of sadness to ex-Bear Bragg", Doug Brown, The Baltimore Sun, July 23, 1992. He has described his 1952 injury as a total fluke - whilst on the warmup strip "Someone opened one of the doors and I made a quick motion to my left to avoid hitting it . . . oops, the hamstring went.". In later years, Bragg is reported as living in Los Angeles and working for Los Angeles County Probation Department as a Deputy Probation Officer. He is married with one child, a boy. He left for California in 1956 and never returned to Maryland. His son studied at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

Rankings

Bragg was ranked among the best in the US and the world in both the 100 m/100 y and 200 m/220 y sprint events from 1950 to 1954, according to the votes of the experts of ''

Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

''.

USA Championships

Bragg was always a formidable performer at the AAU championships, the USA national championships. A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2003, Track and Field News, Retrieved 3 February 2012.

Competition record

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bragg, Art 1930 births 2018 deaths American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Track and field athletes from California Track and field athletes from Baltimore USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 1951 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1951 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) Morgan State Bears men's track and field athletes NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen