Charles Decker Reidpath (September 20, 1889 – October 21, 1975) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

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er and winner of two gold medals at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

, who later went on to have an outstanding military career.

Biography

Born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, and a graduate of that city's Lafayette High School, Reidpath became a collegiate track star at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, winning the 220 yd (201 m) and 440 yd (402 m) dashes in the 1912 intercollegiate games. He also played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

at Syracuse. On graduating from Syracuse in 1912 with a degree in civil engineering, Reidpath was pressured by relatives to quit sports and take a position with the family business in Buffalo. Instead, he made the U.S. Olympic track team and headed to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Reidpath won the 400 m in an

Olympic record Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games. Summer Olympics * Archery at the Summer Olympics, Archery (List of Olympic records in archery, li ...

shattering time of 48.2 seconds, a mark also ratified as a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

. Running the anchor leg of the 4 × 400 m

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switc ...

, Reidpath helped the U.S. team set a

of 3:16.6. In the 200 metres competition he finished fifth. Reidpath was a lieutenant colonel in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

who served in

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and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in the

Transportation Corps The Transportation Corps is a combat service support branch of the U.S. Army. It is responsible for the movement of personnel and material by truck, rail, air, and sea. It is one of three U.S. Army logistics branches, the others being the Qu ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, winning battle stars for the Northern France and

Rheinland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy Roman Empire ...

campaigns. In Belgium, he was made

Officer of the Crown An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

for his services at the vital port of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

in 1944 and 1945. Reidpath was made a Brigadier General when he retired from the

New York National Guard New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

in 1948. He is a member of the Lafayette High School Sports Hall of Fame. Away from sports and the military, Reidpath worked for the Berdencer construction company from 1912 through 1937, when he was named director of buildings for Buffalo. For 15 years, he worked in the city Department of Public Works. In 1956, he helped build the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York Buffalo Branch The Federal Reserve Bank of New York Buffalo Branch was a branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that was closed on . It was located in the Federal Reserve Building at 160 Delaware Avenue, which has now been inhabited by the New Era Cap Com ...

as superintendent of construction for

architects An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. He died in

Kenmore, New York Kenmore is a village in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 15,205 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. Kenmore is in the south part of the town of Tonawanda, and together with the ...

in 1975.

References

External links

Charles Reidpath, Olympic Champion by Tim Evans
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reidpath, Charles 1889 births 1975 deaths American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Syracuse Orange men's track and field athletes United States Army personnel of World War II National Guard (United States) generals Track and field athletes from Buffalo, New York Lafayette High School (Buffalo, New York) alumni New York National Guard personnel Syracuse Orange football players 20th-century American sportsmen