Merrill Rowland Wolfe (October 8, 1914 – January 14, 2010) was an American gymnast and Olympic champion. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and competed at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

where he received a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in tumbling."1932 Summer Olympics – Los Angeles, United States – Gymnastics"
''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on March 28, 2008)

Life

Wolfe graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, in 1934. He was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1989, the same year the Hall of Fame was created in celebration of the school's 60th Anniversary. As a gymnast, Wolfe was a member of the Dallas Athletic Club. In 1938, Wolfe received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

from Western Reserve University (now

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

). During his time as a student there, he was a member of the Delta Upsilon

fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

, the

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

team, and the

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

team - serving as both

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and coach. Wolfe died on January 14, 2010, in Kerrville, Texas, aged 95.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, Rowland 1914 births 2010 deaths American male artistic gymnasts Case Western Reserve University alumni Gymnasts at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in gymnastics Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics 20th-century American sportsmen Delta Upsilon members