Jesse Owens Family

James Cleveland (J.C.) Owens was born Sept. 12, 1913, in Oakville, Ala., one of 10 children raised by Henry and Mary Emma Owens. In the early 1920s, the family moved to the east side of Cleveland, Ohio.

It was at Fairmount Junior High in Cleveland where Jesse started participating in athletics and where he met Charles Riley, the track coach who would have such a great influence on Owens' early running career. In 1930, Owens started attending East Technical School, and Riley was hired to help train him. Owens eventually became the best-known track star in Cleveland, dominating every race he entered.

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