Gus Johnson speaking during the Sports and Society Institute and Ohio State University Libraries “Running Against History: The Enduring Legacy of Jesse Owens” event on Sept. 18. To the right of Johnson are Owens’ grandchildren, Stuart Owens Rankin and Marlene Hemphill Dortch. Credit: Parker Richard | LTV Freelancer
When tuning into an Ohio State game broadcast by FOX, viewers may have heard broadcaster Gus Johnson say “The world-famous Ohio State Buckeyes” before.
The reason behind that has nothing to do with a player, coach or even the game itself.?
It is because of Jesse Owens.
Johnson explained the origin of the phrase while taking part in a Sept. 18 panel honoring the 90th anniversary of Owens’ four-gold-medal performance at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.
The event, hosted by the Sports and Society Institute and Ohio State University Libraries, examined Owens’ accomplishments in Berlin and the legacy he left at Ohio State and beyond.
Other panelists included Owens’ grandchildren Stuart Owens Rankin and Marlene Hemphill Dortch, 1988 Olympic gold medalist Butch Reynolds, Ohio State’s track coach Rosalind Joseph and Kevin Jones, author of “Jesse Owens: A Life in American History”. The event was narrated by SSI’s director, Nicole Kraft.
Johnson, who had not met a relative of Jesse Owens’ family until Friday’s event, described what it was like to be in the same room as Owens’ grandkids.
“It just kind of gave me goosebumps, I felt like I was right next to [Owens], especially sitting next to his grandson, he looked just like him,” Johnson said after the event.?
Owens won four gold medals during the 1936 Olympics, but his achievements went beyond his performance on the track.?
“The sacrifice that he made during that time, with what was going on in the world on the brink of war, it was more of an honor for me to be there; it was just an honor,” Johnson recalled.?
Johnson said his father taught him about Owens’ legacy and gave him a picture signed by the Olympian.?
“My father was so proud of Jesse Owens, that he had a chance to shake Jesse Owens’ hand that day,” Johnson said. “It was a big deal for him, a big deal for me and our family that we met, through my father, one of the great athletes of our time.”
Johnson has taken the lessons he learned from Owens’ legacy to set a standard for the person he has become today.?
“Jesse Owens set an example of how you’re supposed to move through life with dignity and kindness, discipline, dedication, courage,” Johnson said.?
The day after the event, during the third quarter of FOX’s broadcast of Ohio State’s football game against Kent State, clips from the event were included.
Johnson, who was the play-by-play announcer on the broadcast, described why it was important to recognize the event.
“I just don’t think we should ever forget his accomplishments, especially on the grounds here at Ohio State,” Johnson said. “He’s a man that did so much for so many and got so little, from what I gathered, in return.”
?Johnson reflected on what it meant to him to see people attend the event honoring Owens, who attended Ohio State, nearly a century after his 1936 Olympic Games performance.
“It warmed my heart, that’s for sure, [to] see that he hasn’t been forgotten and his accomplishments even 90 years later, still stand out as a great American.”
*Reilly Cahill is an editorial intern for the Sports and Society Institute, in addition to being the managing sports editor of The Lantern.
