Olympic Games Gold Medalist Athlete. He was a member of the champion University of Washington rowing team that was selected to represent the United States in the Men's Eight rowing event at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. By the time of the finals for the Men's Eight, rowers from Nazi Germany had dominated the sport, winning the Gold Medal in the single sculls, double sculls, coxed pair, coxless four and coxed four events. in the finals for the Men's Eight, American rowers found themselves trailing in last place at the half-way point. However, the Americans from Washington rallied over the final 1,000 meters to pass and defeat the heavily favored national crews of Italy and Germany, who came in second and third respectively. It was the only rowing Gold Medal won by the American team during the Games. Herbert Morris was joined by his teammates Charles Day, Gordon Adam, John White, James McMillin, George Hunt, Joe Rantz, Donald Hume and Robert Moch in receiving the top honor. In 1979 he was inducted into the University of Washington Husky Hall of Fame along with the other seven members of the University of Washington crew. When he passed away in 2009 he was the last surviving member of 1936 Gold Medal crew. The story of the team was chronicled in the 2013 work "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown.
Olympic Games Gold Medalist Athlete. He was a member of the champion University of Washington rowing team that was selected to represent the United States in the Men's Eight rowing event at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. By the time of the finals for the Men's Eight, rowers from Nazi Germany had dominated the sport, winning the Gold Medal in the single sculls, double sculls, coxed pair, coxless four and coxed four events. in the finals for the Men's Eight, American rowers found themselves trailing in last place at the half-way point. However, the Americans from Washington rallied over the final 1,000 meters to pass and defeat the heavily favored national crews of Italy and Germany, who came in second and third respectively. It was the only rowing Gold Medal won by the American team during the Games. Herbert Morris was joined by his teammates Charles Day, Gordon Adam, John White, James McMillin, George Hunt, Joe Rantz, Donald Hume and Robert Moch in receiving the top honor. In 1979 he was inducted into the University of Washington Husky Hall of Fame along with the other seven members of the University of Washington crew. When he passed away in 2009 he was the last surviving member of 1936 Gold Medal crew. The story of the team was chronicled in the 2013 work "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown.
Bio by: Nils M. Solsvik Jr.
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