MILWAUKEE — The life and accomplishments of former Marquette University track star Ralph Metcalfe deserve to be honored, and not just during Black History Month.
There are reasons that there is a school in Milwaukee named after Metcalfe.
From 1932 to 1934, Metcalfe was known as "the world's fastest human,” and is in the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame. While his Olympic teammate Jesse Owens may be more widely known, Metcalfe left a sizable legacy.
At a time when track was a major national sport, he won eight AAU titles, six NCAA titles and four Olympic medals.
Metcalfe was a track star as a sprinter at Marquette back in the 1930s. He was also a class president. As great as he was as an athlete, Metcalfe also carved a path in life. He was senior class President at Marquette and a cum laude graduate.
Current Marquette track and field coach Bert Rogers knows Metcalfe's accomplishments well.
“He won the 100 and the 200 three years in a row at the NCAA Championships and that was back in the days when they did not allow freshmen to compete,” Rogers said. “Who knows? He could have won four in a row, setting world records. All of that stuff was amazing. The story goes is, one of the reasons that he chose Marquette was because of the way that they treated their Black students, in a good sense. He felt like he could come here, be welcomed and make a difference.”
Metcalfe certainly made a difference. Rogers tries to make sure his current athletes know about Metcalfe.
“I think everybody on the team is aware of who he is. Actually, just outside of my office, there’s a big picture of him winning one of his multiple ncaa titles. We talk about it. We still occasionally do some of our workouts in the old marquette gym and that’s where Ralph Metcalfe trained and a number of our other olympians that we had in the last century.”
Before passing away in 1978, Metcalfe served as a longtime alderman in Chicago and Congressman from Illinois. He is the co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus and the federal building in Chicago is named after him. Metcalfe's substantial impact is still being felt.