Sports
Eddie Tolan
1908–1967 · sprinter, track and field athlete
Cass Tech-raised sprinter nicknamed the 'Midnight Express' who won double gold in the 100 and 200 meters at the 1932 Olympics, becoming the first Black man to be named the world's fastest human.
- Born
Denver, Colorado- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 58- Birth name
- Thomas Edward Tolan
- Also known as
- Midnight Express
- Detroit years
- 1924–1967
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Tolan's family moved from Salt Lake City to Detroit in 1924, when he was fifteen, and he became a football and track star at Cass Technical High School, setting state records in the sprints and, by his own account, cherishing a six-touchdown high school football game more than his later Olympic medals. He went on to the University of Michigan, where coaches steered him toward track despite an injury that also affected his football chances. At the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics he won gold in both the 100 and 200 meters, and Detroit gave him a hero's welcome at the train station, with the mayor and Michigan's governor issuing formal proclamations of pride. He later returned to live in Detroit, where he died in 1967.
Highlights
- Set state sprint records at Cass Technical High School
- Won gold in the 100 and 200 meters at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics
- First non-white athlete titled the 'world's fastest human'
- Won 300 of 307 races in his amateur and professional sprinting career
- Given an official civic welcome in Detroit after his Olympic wins
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1924–1927
Cass Technical High School
Detroit's technical high school where he set state sprint records and starred in football; the historic building he attended was replaced and later demolished.