Forged in Greatness: Real Stories of the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame uncovers the remarkable stories behind Northeast Ohio’s legendary sports figures.

Born in Alabama as the youngest of 10 children, THIS future Olympic champion arrived in Cleveland during the Great Migration. He worked after school while becoming a record breaking sprinter at East Tech High School and Ohio State, once setting five world records and tying another in just 45 minutes.

But an unsent letter helped place him on the starting line in Berlin, where four gold medals would make him a worldwide symbol of courage and triumph in the face of tyranny, poverty, and racial discrimination.