Herb Douglas Jr., oldest living U.S. Olympic medal winner, trailblazing Black businessman, and inspirational mentor, has died at 101

Herb Douglas Jr., 101, formerly of Philadelphia, the oldest living U.S. Olympics medal winner, trailblazing Black businessman, Hall of Fame track and field star, and inspirational mentor to many, died Saturday, April 22, of cancer at Canterbury Place senior community in Pittsburgh.

Mr. Douglas won the bronze medal in the long jump at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London and countless other high school, college, and amateur track and field championships, including the Championship of America relay race at the 1942 Penn Relays.

He was a longtime vice president and consultant for Schieffelin and Co., now Moët Hennessy US, a premium wine and spirits firm, and among the first Black vice presidents of a North American company. He was also a tireless mentor to other athletes and business colleagues, sports innovator, and international spokesman for perseverance and generosity.

“He was both a champion himself and a champion of others, never hesitating to open doors of opportunity and help people pursue their own success,” said Patrick Gallagher, chancellor at the University of Pittsburgh, Mr. Douglas’ college alma mater.

Inspired by his father and a chance meeting with track and field star Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Mr. Douglas cofounded the International Athletic Association and its Jesse Owens International Athlete Trophy for high achievers who display humanitarian qualities.

He also created the Jesse Owens Global Award for Peace and coproduced two documentaries about Black athletes at Pitt and the Black Americans who competed alongside Owens at the 1936 Summer Olympics.

“I had a father who went blind when I was 5, and he taught me the basics of life: analyze, organize, initiate, and follow-through,” Mr. Douglas told The Inquirer in 2020. “You follow those principles, and you can make it anywhere, and that’s what I did in corporate America.”

Mr. Douglas was 14 when he met Owens at a speaking event in 1936, and the friendship they forged that day lasted their lifetimes. “He was my mentor and my leader,” Mr. Douglas told The Inquirer. “He told me to get an education. I told him I ran the 100, the 220, and the [long] jump. He’s what encouraged me to go that way.”

After that encounter, Mr. Douglas went on to win three Pennsylvania state high school track and field championships and three Amateur Athletic Union titles. In 1942, he was a member of the Xavier University of Louisiana relay team that was the first from a historically Black university to win a major event at the Penn Relays and a national championship.

After transferring to Pitt in 1945, he won four college long jump championships and one 100-yard dash title, and was a star on the football team. “What gave me the confidence was running track,” Mr. Douglas told The Inquirer. “I knew I could run and jump as well as anybody in the world. So that transcended into anything else I tried to do.”

And he did much. Mr. Douglas met six U.S. presidents and many international civil rights leaders. He mentored Olympic gold medalists, recruited other Black business people, was a trustee emeritus at Pitt, and established its Herbert P. Douglas scholarship.

“His incredible intellect and determination were only surpassed by his personal kindness,” said Heather Lyke, Pitt’s director of athletics.

Among his many awards, Mr. Douglas earned Pitt’s Chancellor’s Medal in 2013, was inducted into the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018, and its new indoor track is to be named in his honor. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, and a block on Philadelphia’s Ford Road in Wynnefield Heights was designated Herb Douglas Way in 2022.

» READ MORE: The track and life achievements of Herb Douglas began at the 1942 Penn Relays

“He was very giving of his time and advice,” said his granddaughter Tracy Douglas. “He always looked behind him, ready to bring the next person up.”

Herbert Paul Douglas Jr. was born March 9, 1922, in Pittsburgh. He was a track, basketball, and gymnastics star in high school and earned an athletic scholarship to Xavier in Louisiana.

He graduated from Pitt in 1948 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and earned a master’s degree in education there in 1950. He wanted to be a teacher and coach but could not land a job due to the racism of the time. So he took a position in sales and marketing at the Pabst Brewing Co.

He moved to Philadelphia in 1963 and worked for Schieffelin and Co. and Moët Hennessy US before retiring in 1993. He married Jeanne Holmes, and they had son Herbert III and daughter Barbara Joy. After a divorce, he married Rozell Reed. After their divorce, he married Minerva Brice. His son and former wives died earlier.

The family lived in Wyncote for years, and he and his wife moved to Wynnefield Heights in the early 2000s. Mr. Douglas moved back to Pittsburgh last year, and his granddaughter said he never stopped calling Philadelphia his second home.

Gregarious and expressive, Mr. Douglas liked to share stories of his long life. He was a constant presence at the Penn Relays, supported community programs in his hometown neighborhood of Hazelwood in Pittsburgh, and at least one of the many athletes he mentored called him Daddy Herb.

“When you get to this age, what is the most important thing?” Mr. Douglas told The Inquirer in 2020. “It’s not always money. It’s memories.”

In addition to his wife, daughter, and granddaughter, Mr. Douglas is survived by three other grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, three great-great-grandchildren, and other relatives.

A memorial service was held May 3 in Pittsburgh.

Donations in his name can be made to the Herbert P. Douglas Jr. Scholarship, and the Herbert P. Douglas Jr. Indoor Track project, Box 640093, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15264.