Edward Barton Hamm (April 13, 1906 – June 25, 1982) was an American athlete, who won the gold medal in the long jump at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

held in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, becoming the first Arkansan to win a gold medal. The ''

Atlanta Journal ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

'' called him "the South's first world champion in any sport."

Biography

Hamm was born in 1906, to Charles Edward Hamm, a plumber and electrician, and Zilpah Dare Harris Hamm. He was the oldest of five brothers and one sister. Raised in Lonoke, he excelled in sports, especially

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 ...

. At

Lonoke High School Lonoke High School is a nationally recognized and accredited public high school located in the rural community of Lonoke, Arkansas, United States. The school provides comprehensive secondary education for approximately 550 students each year in ...

, he won the state long jump for three years straight, 1923 to 1925, setting a state record of his sophomore year. He won the state 220-yard dash all three years and the state 100-yard dash twice, despite attacks of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, which first affected him in his junior year and undoubtedly prevented him from bettering his records. Hamm and teammate

Hubert Davis Hubert Ira Davis Jr. (born May 17, 1970) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball, North Carolina Tar Heels men's team. Before his coaching care ...

were the only two Lonoke competitors to enter a high school invitational meet at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

Fayetteville Fayetteville may refer to: *Fayetteville, Alabama *Fayetteville, Arkansas ** The Fayetteville Formation *Fayetteville, Georgia *Fayetteville, Illinois *Fayetteville, Indiana *Fayetteville, Washington County, Indiana *Fayetteville, Missouri *Fayette ...

in 1925. He won first in the 100-yard dash, the 200-yard dash, the long jump, and the high jump, as well as finishing third place in the 440. Though the two could not enter the relays, together they won the meet by two points over Little Rock High School. In his junior year (1924) Hamm set a world high school record of , which qualified him for the Olympic trials in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. To pay for his trip, he borrowed $100 from Little Rock (Pulaski County) coach Earl Quigley. He failed to qualify for the Olympics, but the next year he went to

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, regularly bringing Quigley two to five dollars until he repaid the money. At

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

, Hamm won the Southeast Conference championship (now the Southeastern Conference) in 100 yd and 220 yd sprints and the long jump three years straight. In 1928, he broke the SEC record in the long jump with a leap of , won the National Intercollegiate meet, and broke the world record in the 1928 Olympic trials with a jump of . On July 31, at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, Holland, Hamm broke the Olympic record and won a gold medal with a leap of . After the Olympics, he was part of a track and field team that toured

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He won the long jump in every meet. Hamm graduated from Georgia Tech in 1928, served as the school's track coach for a few years, and then spent the rest of his life in private business, much of it as an executive with

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on the West Coast and in

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. He was married three times, and died in June 1982 in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. His ashes were scattered over his beloved Clear Lake in Oregon's

Willamette National Forest The Willamette National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest located in the central portion of the Cascade Range of the U.S. state of Oregon. It comprises . Over 380,000 acres (694 mi2, 1,540 km2) are National Wil ...

, where he had fished many times. He was inducted into the

Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame is the hall of fame and museum for sports in Arkansas, United States. The Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1959. The Hall's museum is located on the west end of the Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock, ...

in 1971, and the Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1996. Hamm donated his trophies to Georgia Tech in 1970 which were displayed in the Student Center on campus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamm, Ed 1906 births 1982 deaths American male long jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's track and field athletes Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets track and field coaches Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field People from Lonoke, Arkansas Track and field athletes from Arkansas World record setters in athletics (track and field) NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen