Eulace Peacock

Eulace Peacock

Eulace Peacock (August 27, 1914 – December 13, 1996) was an American track and field athlete in the 1930s.

Peacock was born in Dothan, Alabama and raised in the Vauxhall section of Union Township, New Jersey, where he graduated from Union High School in 1933.[1] He set the New Jersey high school record in 1933 with a long jump of 24 feet 4.25 inches (7.42 m) that was on the books for 44 years until Renaldo Nehemiah jumped 24 feet 11 inches (7.59 m) [2]

He became a rival to Jesse Owens in many sprinting competitions. He broke the high school record in the long jump the same day it was bettered by Owens. "I had that record for two hours."[3] He attended Temple University in Philadelphia where he became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha. Competing for the Temple Owls track and field program, he set school records in the long jump and sprints that lasted over 50 years.[4] Peacock won the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) outdoor pentathlon championship six times, in 1934, 1935, 1937, and from 1943 through 1945.

He was a sprinting prodigy, who bested the notable prodigy of his time, Owens, on several occasions.[3] A victory by Peacock over Owens in a July 1935 meet in Lincoln, Nebraska led The New York Times to say that "Peacock's star still is in the ascendancy" under the headline "Peacock's Victories Over Owens Project Duel for Olympic Fame"[5] After pulling a hamstring muscle, he was unable to qualify for the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany.

In 1942 he served in the United States Coast Guard; in later years he opened a liquor store and a car-rental business. He stayed connected with athletics by officiating at championship events and Olympic qualifying trials. He has been honored by a number of athletic bodies, including the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.

The grave of Eulace Peacock

Peacock died of Alzheimer's disease at age 82 in Yonkers, New York and was interred in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, NY.[6]

  1. ^ Parachini, JR. "First UHS Athletic Hall of Fame event is a success", Union County LocalSource, December 5, 2013. Accessed April 12, 2020. "Eulace Peacock, Class of 1933"
  2. ^ via Associated Press. "Track and Field’s Eulace Peacock, Rival of Jesse Owens, Dies at 82", Los Angeles Times, December 15, 1996. Accessed April 12, 2020. "In 1933 at Union High, he set a New Jersey scholastic long jump record of 24 feet 4 1/4 inches that stood until 1977, when Renaldo Nehemiah jumped 24-11."
  3. ^ a b "Faster than the Fastest".
  4. ^ "The Long Blue Line: Peacock—Coast Guardsman and "World's Fastest Human" 90 years ago". United States Coast Guard. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  5. ^ Daley, Arthur J. "Peacock's Victories Over Owens Project Duel for Olympic Fame; Counterpart of Tolan-Metcalfe Battle in 1932 Games Seen as Possibility in Spring and Broad -- Jump New United States Champion Made Rapid Climb to Top Since 1933.", The New York Times, July 6, 1935. Accessed April 12, 2020. "Today he is the most talked of youngster track and field has had in decades. When Eulace Peacock administered a startling double setback to the formerly invincible Jesse Owens in the American title tests here yesterday he made the long jump from obscurity to fame with unprecedented rapidity."
  6. ^ Litsky, Frank. "Eulace Peacock Dies at 82; Track Star Was Owens Rival", The New York Times, December 14, 1996. Accessed April 12, 2020.