Fire on the Track
Page 26
The Depression
David A. Shannon, ed., The Great Depression (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1960).
Stella, her job for the Polish Consulate, and running for Poland
State Historical Society of Missouri, folders 63, 77, 120, 124, 125, 190, 217, 233–236, 240–242, 253, 258–261, 263, and 267; Research Center Reference Division Western Research Historical Society, Library Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, Box 1, folders 2, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16.
Babe Didrikson and the Olympic tryouts
See Gene Schoor, Babe Didrikson: The World’s Greatest Woman Athlete (New York: Doubleday, 1978).
Avery Brundage
See Allen Guttmann, The Games Must Go On: Avery Brundage and the Olympic Movement (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984); the Avery Brundage Collection (Ann Arbor, Michigan) holds material on his life and involvement in the 1936 Olympic Games, as well as on the Olympics themselves. Of particular interest are Box 1: The Amateur Athletic Union Correspondance and documents; Box 68: Volumes Summarizing Brundage and any connection with the 1936 Olympics; Box 93: The International Olympic Minutes; Box 260: United States Olympic Association and Committee Correspondence; Box 273: Avery Brundage speeches. The State Historical Society of Missouri also holds information under the Helen Stephens Life and Times Collection. This can be found in folders 223, 229, and 264.
Babe’s arrival in Chicago and the start of the tryouts
Susan E. Cayleff, Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1995); Babe Didrikson Zaharias, This Life I’ve Led: My Autobiography (New York: A. S. Barnes, 1955).
Chapter Fourteen: GO WEST, YOUNG WOMEN, GO WEST
Los Angeles Games
Extensive information on the 1932 Los Angeles Games can be found in The Games of the Xth Olympiad, Los Angeles, 1932: Official Report (Los Angeles: Xth Olympiade Committee, 1933); see also “Official Program, Xth Olympiad, 30 July through 14 August 1932”; Paul B. Zimmerman, Los Angeles, the Olympic City, 1932, 1984 (Hollywood: Delmar Watson, 1984).
Harry Chandler and the Los Angeles Times
See Kevin Starr, Material Dreams: Southern California Through the 1920s (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990); Zimmerman, Los Angeles, the Olympic City.
Description of Southern California
The Games of the Xth Olympiad, Los Angeles, 1932; Starr, Material Dreams; Zimmerman, Los Angeles, the Olympic City.
Community Development Association (CDA)
The Games of the Xth Olympiad, Los Angeles, 1932; Zimmerman, Los Angeles, the Olympic City.
The Depression and the outrage over the Olympics
Zimmerman, Los Angeles, the Olympic City.
Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games
The Games of the Xth Olympiad, Los Angeles, 1932.
Athletes’ train ride to from Evanston to Los Angeles; Denver and the Brown Palace Hotel; the incident involving Babe Didrikson, Tidye Pickett, and Louise Stokes
Babe Didrikson Zaharias, This Life I’ve Led: My Autobiography (New York: A. S. Barnes, 1995); Susan E. Cayleff, Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1995).
Men’s Olympic Village
The Games of the Xth Olympiad, Los Angeles, 1932; Lois Bryso, “Challenges in Male Hegemony in Sport,” in Sport, Men and the Gender Order: Critical Feminist Perspectives, ed. Michael A. Messner and Donald F. Saho (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Books, 1990).
Women’s Chapman Park Hotel
The Games of the Xth Olympiad, Los Angeles, 1932; Paula D. Welch, The Emergence of American Women in the Summer Olympic Games, 1900–1972, EdD diss., University of North Carolina, Greensboro, 1975.
Mary Carew
Historical Archives, Medford Public Library, Medford, Massachusetts; Medford Historical Society, Medford, Massachusetts.
Opening Ceremonies; Stella Walsh’s win
The Games of the Xth Olympiad, Los Angeles, 1932.
Jean Shiley and Babe’s jump-off; Babe’s return to Texas
Zaharias, This Life I’ve Led.
Stella moves to Poland, then returns to the United States
The Stella Walsh files, State Historical Society of Missouri, are essential, particularly folders 63, 77, 120, 125, 190, 217, 233–236, 240–242, 253, 258–262, 263, 266, and 267; also, Western Reserve Historical Society Library, Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, Box 1, folders 2, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 15, and 16.
Chapter Fifteen: THE NAZI GAMES
The Berlin Games
Duff Hart-Davis, Hitler’s Games: The 1936 Olympics (London: Century, 1986); Susan D. Bachrach, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, The Nazi Olympics: Berlin, 1936 (Boston: Little, Brown, 2000); The Olympic Games, Berlin, Official Report, 2 vols. (Berlin, 1936).
Nazis
Hart-Davis, Hitler’s Games; Bachrach, The Nazi Olympics; William Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1960).
Adolf Hitler
Hart-Davis, Hitler’s Games; Bachrach, The Nazi Olympics; Robert Cecil, The Myth of the Master Race: Alfred Rosenberg and Nazi Ideology (London: Dodd, Mead, 1972); Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, trans. Ralph Manheim (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1998).
Joseph Goebbels
Hart-Davis, Hitler’s Games; Bachrach, The Nazi Olympics; Cecil, The Myth of the Master Race.
Theodor Lewald and Carl Diem
Hart-Davis, Hitler’s Games; Bachrach, The Nazi Olympics.
Gustavus Town Kirby, the US boycott of the Games, and President Roosevelt’s unwillingness to become involved in the discussion
Avery Brundage Collection, 1908–82, the 1936 Olympic Games and Its Controversies: Box 1: The Amateur Athletic Union Correspondence and documents; Box 68: Volumes Summarizing Brundage and connection with the 1936 Olympiads; Box 93: The International Olympic Minutes; Box 260: United States Olympic Association and Committee Correspondence. See also Richard Mandell, The Nazi Olympics (New York: Macmillan, 1971); Allen Guttmann, The Games Must Go On: Avery Brundage and the Olympic Movement (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984).
Avery Brundage and female Olympians
Mary Hanson Leigh, “The Enigma of Avery Brundage and Women’s Athletes,” Arena Review 4 (May 1980): 11–12.
Chapter Sixteen: REBOUND
Backlash against women’s participation in the games
Some of this information can be found in the State Historical Society of Missouri, folder 63, Diaries—Women, 1936.
Betty’s personal struggles and rebounds
Extensive emails with Richard Schwartz throughout 2015 and 2016 provided a thorough background on Betty’s private struggles during this time. Material is also available at the State Historical Society of Missouri, folders 63, 109, 120–122, 128, 184, 221, 232, 234–240, 242, 245–249, 254, and 263–267.
Appearance of Helen Stephens at the Providence tryouts
Some of Helen Stephens’s background information comes from a telephone interview with her biographer, Sharon Kinney Hanson, on September 4, 2015; see also Sharon Kinney Hanson, The Life of Helen Stephens: The Fulton Flash (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2004); Jon Hendershott, Track’s Greatest Women (Los Altos, CA: Tafnews Press, 1987); Helen Stephens Archives, William Woods University.
Fulton, Missouri
The history of Fulton is detailed extensively in the Helen Stephens Collection, State Historical Society of Missouri, folder 257; see also “The City of Fulton,” Fulton Gazette, September 3, 1935, reprinted October 13, 1984.
Frank Elmer Stephens and Bertie Stephens
Telephone conversation with Helen Stephens’s biographer, Sharon Kinney Hanson, September 4, 2015; Hanson, The Life of Helen Stephens; Helen Stephens Archives, William Wood University.
Frank’s farm
David A. Shannon, ed., The Great Depression (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1960).
The birth of Helen’s brother; life on the farm; Hele
n’s school
Hanson, The Life of Helen Stephens; Helen Stephens Archives, William Woods University.
Coach W. Burton Moore
Helen Stephens Archives, William Woods University.
Helen on the track; Helen and the AAU National Championships; beating Stella Walsh
Helen Stephens Archives, William Woods University; “Stella Walsh and Helen Stephens Will Likely Meet Again,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, March 25, 1935; “Fulton Girl Becomes Famous Overnight,” Fulton Daily Sun-Gazette, March 23 and 25, 1935.
Helen’s new training regimen; Helen in college
Helen Stephens Archives, William Woods University.
Chapter Seventeen: OFF TO BERLIN
Providence
Historical information on Providence can be found at the Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence, Rhode Island.
Dee Boeckmann becomes coach
Dee Boeckmann’s career is highlighted in the extensive files at the State Historical Society of Missouri, folders 20, 37, 63, 112, 114–123, 125, 127, 128, 183, 185, 229, 232–234, 236, 240, 245, 258, 261, 261, and 266.
Losing Babe
Babe’s expulsion from track and field is highlighted in several books. A particularly good one is Susan E. Cayleff, Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1995); Babe also talks about it in This Life I’ve Led: My Autobiography (New York: A. S. Barnes, 1955).
Betty arrives in Providence
Betty’s arrival was heralded as the comeback of the century. The Providence Journal of July 2, 1936, wrote, “Smiling Betty, Hurt in Plane Cash, Who They Said, Could Not Live, Here for Olympic Trials.”
Meets begin at Brown University
Upon the athletes’ arrival, The Providence Journal began its reportage. On July 2, 1936, it wrote, “Headed for the Berlin Olympics with a Brief Stop-over in Providence.” On July 3, it went on, “Girls Hopeful of Olympic Berths Flock into the City.” And on July 4, it continued, “Women Track and Field Stars Who Will Compete in Olympic Trials Today,” with a long description of the athletes.
Economic circumstances
David A. Shannon, ed., The Great Depression (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1960).
Betty’s bracelet
Betty wore a bracelet given to her by Douglas MacArthur soon after she won the gold medal in 1928. She never took it off and had it with her during the plane crash. It was a source of comfort and strength. Information on this most precious piece of jewelry comes from an email correspondence with her son, Richard Schwartz, on February 9, 2016.
Betty dropping out of college, unemployment, and looking for work
Shannon, The Great Depression.
Helen arrives in Providence; the heats
The Olympic tryouts are extensively detailed in the files of the State Historical Society of Missouri, folders 64 and 65.
Betty’s new role with the athletes; Betty crosses the finish line
State Historical Society of Missouri, folders 62, 63, 66, 109, 120–128, 184, 221, 232, 234, 240, 242, 245–249, 247, 250, 254, and 263–267.
Helen is victorious
Helen’s victory was written up in The Providence Journal on July 6, 1936, with the headline “Helen Stephens Sets World Mark for 100 Meters.”
Betty makes the team
Betty making the team and detailed information on the rest of the athletes were displayed in The Providence Sunday Journal, July 5, 1936, with the headline “Striking Down the Road That Leads All the Way to Berlin.” The same day, the newspaper ran several other articles, including “Helen Stephens Wins Top Honors at Brown Field” and “US Entries Will Be Chosen in 6 Events at Brown Field.”
Chapter Eighteen: PHENOMS
No money to sail
David A. Shannon, ed., The Great Depression (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1960).
Betty on the deck with old teammates
Historical Brochures/United States Lines/1920s GG Archives provided information on the SS Manhattan.
Betty rooms with Helen Stephens
When Betty became Helen Stephens’s roommate, the two also became great friends, a relationship that would last for the rest of their lives. Richard Schwartz detailed that friendship on June 16, 2015, in an email. See also Helen Stephens, Olympic Diary (unpublished), July 15–September 16, 1936.
Helen’s crush on Betty
A lot of information on Betty’s involvement in the 1936 Olympics, her friendship with Helen, and her participation in the Olympics can be found in the Helen Stephens Collection, State Historical Society of Missouri, folders 63, 109 120–122, 128, 184, 221, 234–240, 242, 245–249, 254, and 263–267.
Helen’s lesbianism
Helen’s sex life is detailed in her diary, and also in the Helen Stephens Collection, State Historical Society of Missouri, folders 258, 266, and 267; see also Susan K. Cahn, Coming on Strong: Gender and Sexuality in Twentieth-Century Women’s Sport (New York: Free Press, 1994).
Helen’s past rape and childhood experience with her teacher
These are detailed in the Helen Stephens Collection, State Historical Society of Missouri, folders 64 and 65.
Fraternizing on the Manhattan; whiling away the hours; Jesse Owens; shin splints
Helen Stephens, Olympic Diary, July 15–September 16, 1936.
The “Berlin question”
The “Berlin question” came into play while the athletes were on the Manhattan. Helen Stephens’s involvement is detailed not only in her diary but also in the Helen Stephens Collection, State Historical Society of Missouri, folder 63.
Arriving in Germany and Berlin
Helen Stephens Collection, State Historical Society of Missouri, Germany—Description and travels, folder 63; see also Richard D. Mandell, The Nazi Olympics (New York: Macmillan, 1971).
Female dormitories
Helen Stephens, Olympic Diary, July 15–September 16, 1936.
Male Olympic Village
Helen Stephens, Olympic Diary, July 15–September 16, 1936; Susan D. Bachrach, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, The Nazi Olympics, Berlin, 1936 (Boston: Little, Brown, 2000); Mandell, The Nazi Olympics.
Walking through the city
William Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1960).
Opening ceremonies
Extensive information on the opening ceremonies can be found in the Helen Stephens Collection, State Historical Society of Missouri, folder 65, Programs, 1936; see also folders 62, 66, 247, 250, and 267.
Adolf Hitler
Information on Hitler can be found in the Helen Stephens Collection, State Historical Society of Missouri, folders 63, 258, 261–264, and 267.
Helen wins the 100 meters
Helen’s win was detailed in a collection of newspaper clippings; these can be found in the Helen Stephens Collection, State Historical Society of Missouri, folder 64, Newspaper Clippings, 1936.
Stella Walsh
Information on Stella Walsh’s involvement during the 1936 Olympics is available in the Helen Stephens Collection, State Historical Society of Missouri; the most relevant folders are 63, 77, 120, 124, 125, 190, 217, 233–236, 240–242, 253, 258–262, 263, 266, and 267.
Helen meets Hitler
Helen’s meeting with Hitler is detailed fully in Helen Stephens, Olympic Diary, July 15–September 16, 1936.
Festivities after the win
Helen Stephens, Olympic Diary, July 15–September 16, 1936.
Harriet Bland
Helen felt an unusual dislike for Harriet, an athlete she found brash, annoying, and unlikable. Oddly enough, some of the traits she found annoying in Harriet were the same ones she adored in Betty Robinson, but there was a difference between how Harriet and Betty went about their lives, showing their likes and dislikes, their athleticism, and life all around. Information on Harriet can be found in the Helen Stephens Collection, State Historical Society of Missouri, folders 63, 115–1
18, 121, 122, 128, 218, 229, 245, 258, 262, and 263.