George Lee Harris (January 15, 1933 – January 7, 2011) was a member of the first United States Olympic

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

team. He was born in

Kittrell, North Carolina Kittrell is a town in Vance County, North Carolina, United States. History Kittrell was chartered in 1885, with its first mayor David Outlaw, a merchant and bachelor. In 1860, one census district in Granville County the primary of the three ...

. He was a 10th dan in Judo. Harris began his judo career after 1952. Harris while speaking at Jack Krystek's School of Judo stated he was initially a boxer before becoming a Judoka. Harris was a gold medalist at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

, four-time United States National Champion, and six time Air Force Champion. He also trained at the

Kodokan The , or ''Kōdōkan'' (講道館), is the headquarters of the worldwide judo community. The ''kōdōkan'' was founded in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo, and is now an eight-story building in Tokyo. Etymology Literally, ''kō'' ...

where he earned his blackbelt. Harris had a long involvement with military judo in the United States Air Force, and later served as president of the

United States Judo Association The United States Judo Association is a sports association in the United States. It was formed in 1969 following a reorganization of the Armed Forces Judo Association, and is one of three national judo associations in the United States, the othe ...

. He starred in the late-1970s martial-arts film, "The Year of the Gentle Tiger", a forerunner to "The Karate Kid". He also appeared on talk shows and was twice a guest on "To Tell the Truth".

References

Sources

* Nishioka, Hayward (2000). ''Judo: Heart and Soul''. Ohara Publications. . *

External links

* * * * 1933 births 2011 deaths Olympic judoka for the United States Judoka at the 1964 Summer Olympics People from Kittrell, North Carolina American male judoka Judoka at the 1963 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in judo 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-judo-bio-stub