Captured History Sports
6 total works
Olympic Gold 1936: How the Image of Jesse Owens Crushed Hitler's Evil Myth
by Michael Burgan
Published 1 January 2017
It s one of the most famous sports images of all time. Former heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston is sprawled on his back in the boxing rim. Muhammad Ali stands over Liston, holding his right hand as if ready to throw another punch. The reigning world champion had just thrown a short, right-handed punch to the side of Liston s head. In a flash, Liston had gone down. The photo of the angry Ali standing over the fallen challenger was taken in an instant by photojournalist John Rooney, but the controversy over the 1965 fight lingers to this day.
Ali's Knockout Punch: How a Photograph Stunned the Boxing World
by Michael Burgan
Published 1 January 2017
Jesse Owens gold-medal winning feats at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin struck a mighty propaganda blow against Adolf Hitler. The Nazi leader had planned to use the German games as a showcase of supposed Aryan superiority. Instead, there was American black athlete Owens on the podium being photographed by Hitler s personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann. In addition, Owens would figure prominently in the groundbreaking film Olympia by Hitler s favorite director Leni Riefenstahl. Photo and film captured Owens stunning success and revealed how wrong Hitler was in his beliefs.