[irv]

Originally Posted by packs

I bought this card on a whim while I was in Berlin last week. At the time I just thought it was cool to buy a card featuring Jesse Owens during the 1936 Olympics that was released in Berlin while I was in Berlin. But there is a lot more going on here:



The story behind the photo is that Luz Long, a German athlete, had gone well out of his way to befriend Jesse Owens during the Olympics in open defiance of Hitler. At this moment Long was giving Owens pointers on his long jump. Owens only had one more jump left to qualify for the finals and had fouled on his previous jumps. Jesse would go on to qualify on his next jump and eventually won Gold in the event, with Long finishing second.

During World War II Long served in the German air force and was shot down and killed over Italy, leaving his 2 children without a father. Owens never forgot about Luz though and the Long family never forgot about Owens. Years later Jesse Owens would serve as best man for Luz Long's son at his wedding.

Great story!

Thanks for sharing it.