African American Athletes – img6865

African Americans

African American Athletes

1960

White Owl

General Cigar Company

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Jesse Owens (1913 – 1980), Olympic track and field competitor James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens won four gold metals in the 1936 Berlin summer Olympics, foiling Nazi plans to demonstrate a resurgent Germany and blatantly discrediting their theory of Arian racial superiority. This was acknowledged by president Eisenhower when Owens was named “ambassador of sports”. He died of lung cancer at 66 on March 31, 1980, after smoking for 35 years. This is one of the only adds, however, that neither depicts the athlete smoking nor contains testimonial on the brand he is endorsing.

African American, Athlete, Male