Walker Smith
Personal information
National teamUnited States
Born(1896-11-01)November 1, 1896
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
DiedFebruary 27, 1993(1993-02-27) (aged 96)
Orange County, California, United States
Alma materCornell University
Height5 ft 10.5 in (179 cm)
Weight172 lb (78 kg)

Walker Breeze Smith (November 1, 1896 – February 27, 1993) was an American track and field athlete.[1] Smith attended Cornell University, where he set records in hurdling.[2] He was the IC4A Champion in 1919 in 120 yard high hurdles and 220 yard low hurdles. The year before he placed second in both events.[3]

Smith competed in the men's 110 metres hurdles at the 1920 Summer Olympics. He finished in 5th place.[4] In 1978, Smith was inducted into the Cornell University Hall of Fame.[5]

Personal life

Smith is named after his maternal grandfather, lumber and art magnate T. B. Walker.[4]

When Smith was 10 years old, he had his right eye removed, and wore an artificial eye.[4] He was not allowed to play football because of the missing eye, so he took up track & field.[4] As a child, he attended Phillips Exeter Academy.[4] During World War I in 1916, Smith went to France to serve in the American Field Service.[4] Due to his missing eye, he was designated with a 4-F classification and unable to serve in the US army, so he returned to the United States in 1917.[4]

Smith married Marge Billheimer in 1922. Together they have two children, a son and a daughter. They have eight grandchildren as well as eight great-grandchildren.[6]

After retiring from athletics and worked in various jobs, including real estate and investment companies.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Walker Smith". Olympedia. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  2. ↑ The Cornell Alumni News. 1919. pp. 312–.
  3. ↑ "Sports Reference - Olympics Walker Smith". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hodak, George A. (1988). "AN OLYMPIAN'S ORAL HISTORY: WALKER SMITH 1920 OLYMPIC GAMES TRACK & FIELD" (PDF).
  5. ↑ "Cornell Hall of Fame: Walker Smith Class of 1920".
  6. ↑ "News of Alumni". Cornell Alumni News. Vol. 91, no. 4. November 1988. p. 43.
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