Background
Ralph Harold Metcalfe Sr. was born on May 29, 1910, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the son of Clarence Metcalfe and Maria Attaway. The family moved to Chicago in 1917.
congressman politician athlete
Ralph Harold Metcalfe Sr. was born on May 29, 1910, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the son of Clarence Metcalfe and Maria Attaway. The family moved to Chicago in 1917.
Ralph Harold attended Tilden Technical High School there, and he showed early promise as a track star. In 1936, Metcalfe earned a Ph. B. degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, and in 1939 the M. A. degree from the University of Southern California.
Metcalfe taught physical education and political science and was track coach at Xavier University in New Orleans from 1936 to 1942 and served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1945, rising to the rank of first lieutenant. Back in Chicago after the war, Metcalfe held a number of high-profile positions. He was a member of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations from 1945 to 1949 and headed the Illinois Athletic Commission from 1949 to 1952. Metcalfe was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1970, representing the First District of Illinois. The district had been in the hands of a black congressman since 1928 when Oscar De Priest, a Republican, had been elected. Metcalfe was reelected to Congress in 1972, 1974, and 1976; he won the 1978 primary election as well but died before the general election. Metcalfe was a member of the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce and the subcommittee on Transportation and Commerce as well as the subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce. He also served on the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and was chairman of its subcommittee on the Panama Canal. Metcalfe was secretary of the Democratic Study Group and vice-chairman of its task force on crime and drug abuse. He was a member of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee in 1975. Metcalfe was a director of the National Council to Control Handguns. He served in several groups aimed at fostering the well-being of African-American people: the NAACP, the Urban League, the Joint Negro Appeal, the Mahalia Jackson Scholarship Fund, and the Dr. Martin Luther King Urban Progress Center; he established the Ralph H. Metcalfe Youth Foundation. He was also involved with groups promoting athletic excellence: the Athletic Advisory Commission and the Midwest chapter of United States Olympians. Metcalfe died in Chicago of an apparent heart attack.
In 1930, running as a member of the Chase Athletic Club, Ralph Harold won the AAU junior 100-yard dash in 9. 7 seconds. On June 11, 1932, Metcalfe broke the world record in the 220-yard dash and tied the record for the 100-yard dash. His principal opponent at this time was Thomas ("Eddie") Tolan, Jr. , of Detroit. These two men are said to have marked the beginning of black domination of the short races. In the 1932 Olympics, held in Los Angeles, Metcalfe won the silver medal in the 100-meter dash and the bronze in the 200-meter dash, finishing behind Tolan. At the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, he finished second in the 100-meter race, just behind Jesse Owens. Metcalfe received a gold medal as a member of the American 100-meter relay team. Although Germany won more gold medals than any other nation at the 1936 Olympics, Hitler was angered by the black domination of these track and field events. While in the army he organized and directed the physical education program for troop training, a service for which he received the Legion of Merit. He was elected to the Helms Athletic Foundation, the United States Track and Field Hall of Fame, the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, and the Black Athletes Hall of Fame.
Metcalfe was elected committeeman for the Third Ward in the Democratic organization and served on the Chicago City Council from 1955 to 1970.
Metcalfe was opposed by black militants until he spoke out against police brutality in 1972.
Quotations: "Anywhere in the world you hear a Chicago bluesman play, it's a Chicago sound born and bred. "
a member of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, a member of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee
Metcalfe married Gertrude Pemberton on June 9, 1937 in Dallas, Texas. They divorced in Los Angeles, California in 1943. On July 20, 1947, Metcalfe married Madelynne Fay Young; they had one child.
