Metcalfe, Ralph H., 1910-1978

<p>Ralph Metcalfe achieved worldwide fame as an Olympic athlete years before he became involved in politics on Chicago’s South Side. Like William Dawson, his predecessor from the predominantly black, urban Illinois district, Metcalfe rose through the ranks of the Chicago Democratic political machine before winning a seat in Congress. However, Metcalfe differentiated himself from other machine loyalists of the period by elevating race above local party interests. Metcalfe’s willingness to risk his political career to follow his conscience won him loyal support among the majority of his constituents and his black colleagues in the House. “I know the political reality of what I am doing, but I am prepared to let the chips fall where they may,” Metcalfe remarked. “I’m willing to pay whatever political consequences I have to, but frankly, I don’t think there will be any.… In the caucus we have decided to put the interests of black people first—above all else, and that means even going against our party or our political leaders if black interests don’t coincide with their positions.”</p>

<p>Ralph Harold Metcalfe was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 29, 1910, to Marie Attaway, a seamstress, and Clarence Metcalfe, a stockyard worker. As a child, he moved with his family to the South Side of Chicago. After graduating from Chicago’s Tilden Technical School in 1930, Metcalfe attended Marquette University where he received a bachelor of philosophy degree in 1936. He completed his education by earning an M.A. in physical education from the University of Southern California in 1939. During high school Metcalfe began a long and successful career as a track athlete. “I was told by my coach that as a black person I’d have to put daylight between me and my nearest competitor,” Metcalfe recalled. “I forced myself to train harder so I could put that daylight behind me.” Metcalfe became a household name in the United States when he medaled in the 1932 and 1936 Olympics. During the infamous Berlin Games of 1936, Metcalfe and Jesse Owens led the American 400–meter relay team to a world record, much to the dismay of German onlookers, especially Adolf Hitler, who expected the German athletes to prove their superiority by sweeping all the track and field events. Years later, Owens credited Metcalfe with helping his black teammates overcome the many distractions they faced. “He said we were not there to get involved in the political situation. We were there for one purpose—to represent our country.”</p>

Following his retirement from competitive sports in 1936, Metcalfe taught political science and coached track at Xavier University in New Orleans until 1946. He also served in the U.S. Army Transportation Corps from 1942 to 1945, where he rose to the rank of first lieutenant and earned the Legion of Merit for his physical education training program. After World War II, Metcalfe returned to Chicago in 1945 to become director of the civil rights department of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, a position he held until 1949. He then headed the Illinois State Athletic Commission from 1949 to 1952. In 1947, Metcalfe married Madalynne Fay Young. The couple had one child, Ralph Metcalfe, Jr.</p>

METCALFE, Ralph Harold, a Representative from Illinois; born in Atlanta, Fulton County, Ga., May 29, 1910; attended the Chicago public schools; Ph.B., Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wis., 1936; M.A., University of Southern California, 1939; member of the United States Olympic Team in 1932 and 1936; track coach and political science instructor, Xavier University, New Orleans, La., 1936-1942; served as first lieutenant in United States Army; received Legion of Merit for program planning as director of physical training; director, Department of Civil Rights for Commission on Human Relations, 1945; Illinois State Athletic Commissioner, 1949-1952; elected Democratic committeeman (Third Ward), 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968; elected alderman in 1955, 1959, 1963, and 1967; elected president pro tempore, Chicago City Council, 1969; appointed by Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, a member of the National A.A.U. and N.C.A.A. Sports Arbitration Board; former member, Chicago Planning Commission, 1964; member, Austin Committee to investigate the civil disturbance in Chicago following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.; delegate to Illinois State Democratic conventions, 1953-1972; delegate to Democratic National Conventions, 1952-1972; member of the President's Commission on Olympic Sports, 1975-1977; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-second and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1971, until his death October 10, 1978, in Chicago, Ill.; had been a successful candidate in the primary to the Ninety-sixth Congress; interment in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Worth, Ill.

<p>Ralph Harold Metcalfe Sr. (May 29, 1910 – October 10, 1978) was an American track and field sprinter and politician. He jointly held the world record in the 100-meter dash and placed second in that event in two Olympics, first to Eddie Tolan in 1932 at Los Angeles and then to Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Metcalfe won four Olympic medals and was regarded as the world's fastest human in 1934 and 1935. He later went into politics in the city of Chicago and served in the United States Congress for four terms in the 1970s as a Democrat from Illinois.</p>

<p>After earning his bachelor's degree at Marquette in 1936, Metcalfe completed a master's degree at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles in 1939. Metcalfe taught political science and coached track at Xavier University in New Orleans, recruiting athletes to the University like Jimmie McDaniel and Herb Douglas. He served in the transportation corps of U.S. Army in World War II, rising to the rank of first lieutenant and awarded the Legion of Merit medal. After the war, he moved back to Chicago and later headed the state's athletic commission.</p>

<p>In 1955, Metcalfe won the first of four elections as an alderman representing the South Side of Chicago. He ran for an open seat in Congress in 1970 as a Democrat and was easily elected from Illinois' first district. The seat had been filled for 28 years by William L. Dawson, who was retiring at age 84 due to poor health and then died less than a week after the 1970 election. Metcalfe was a co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in 1971 and later was noted for breaking ranks with Chicago mayor Richard Daley after incidents of police brutality.</p>