Wilma Rudolph's life is a story of achieving against the odds. Her first accomplishments were to stay alive and get well! Wilma Rudolph was born into a large family on June 23, 1940 in St. Bethlehem, a part of Clarksville, Tennessee; she was the 20th of 22 children! Her parents, Ed and Blanche Rudolph, were hardworking people. Mr. Rudolph worked as a railroad porter and handyman. Mrs. Rudolph did cooking, laundry and housecleaning for wealthy White families.
Wilma was born prematurely and weighed only 4.5 pounds. Because of racial segregation, she and her mother were not permitted to be cared for at the local hospital. It was for Whites only. There was only one Black doctor in their town of Clarksville, and the Rudolph's budget was tight, so Wilma's mother spent the next several years nursing Wilma through one illness after another: measles, mumps, scarlet fever, chicken pox and double pneumonia. But, she had to be taken to the doctor when it was discovered that her left leg and foot were becoming weak and deformed. She was told she had polio, a crippling disease that had no cure. The doctor told Mrs. Rudolph that Wilma would never walk. But Mrs. Rudolph would not give up on Wilma. She found out that she could be treated at Meharry Hospital, the Black medical college of Fisk University in Nashville. Even though it was 50 miles away, Wilma's mother took her there twice a week for two years, until she was able to walk with the aid of a metal leg brace. Then the doctors taught Mrs. Rudolph how to do the physical therapy exercises at home. All of her brothers and sisters helped too, and they did everything to encourage her to be strong and work hard at getting well. Finally, by age 12, she could walk normally, without the crutches, brace, or corrective shoes.
In high school, she became an all-state basketball star first, setting a state record of 49 points in one game and leading the team to a state championship. She was spotted by Ed Temple, the coach for the famous Tigerbells, the women's track team at Tennessee State University, while he was refereeing a basketball game. Because Burt High School didn't have the funding for a track team, coach Temple invited Wilma to Tennessee State for a summer sports camp. By the time she was 16, she earned a berth on the U.S. Olympic track and field team and came home from the 1956 Melbourne Games with an Olympic bronze medal in the 4 x 100-meter relay. After graduating from high school, Wilma received a full scholarship to Tennessee State. At the 1960 Rome Olympics Wilma became the first American woman to win 3 gold medals in the Olympics. She won the 100-meter dash (tying the world record but it was wind aided), broke the Olympic record in the 200-meter dash, and she combined with Tennessee State teammates Martha Hudson, Lucinda Williams and Barbara Jones to win the 400-meter relay in 44.5 seconds, setting a world record. This achievement led her to become one of the most celebrated female athletes of all time. The Italians nicknamed her "La Gazzella Nera" (the Black Gazelle); to the French she was "La Perle Noire" (The Black Pearl). In addition, her celebrity caused gender barriers to be broken in previously all-male track and field events. Because of all the celebrity she received from her track career, she took a year off from her studies to make appearances and compete in international track events. Rudolph retired from track competition in 1962 after winning two races at a U.S.-Soviet meet. She returned and received a Bachelor's degree in education, graduating in 1963. She then worked as a teacher at Cobb Elementary School, coaching track at Burt High School, and as a sports commentator on national television.
When she returned from the Rome Olympics, the Tennessee Governor, "an old-fashioned segregationist," planned to head her welcome home celebration. Wilma Rudolph said she would not attend a segregated event. Her victory parade was the first racially integrated event ever held in the town. And that night, the banquet the townspeople held in her honor, was the first time in Clarksville’s history that Blacks and Whites had ever gathered together for the same event. She went on to participate in protests in the city until the segregation laws were struck down.
In 1977, Rudolph published her autobiography, Wilma: The Story of Wilma Rudolph. That same year, NBC made a movie about her life from the book, with Rudolph as a consultant. The actor Denzel Washington, then 22 years old, portrayed Wilma's boyfriend, and he later married Pauletta Pearson whom he met on the set.
Wilma Rudolph inspired many young Black female athletes. Most notable was Florence Griffith Joyner, the next woman to win three gold medals in one Olympics. Bob Kersee, husband and coach of Jackie Joyner-Kersee, said Wilma Rudolph was the greatest influence for Black women athletes that he knows. His wife went further. "She was always in my corner," said Joyner-Kersee, winner of six Olympic medals. "If I had a problem, I could call her at home. It was like talking to someone you knew for a lifetime." She was voted into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame in 1973, the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1974 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1983. She was honored with the National Sports Award in 1993 and inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1994. Wilma Rudolph died of brain cancer at age 54 on Nov. 12, 1994 in Brentwood, Tennessee.
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