Jackson Volney Scholz was an American sprinter and author. In the 1928 Olympics, he became the first person to appear in a sprint final in three different games. He financed his training for the 1924 Paris Olympics and beyond with his writing, which led to a half-century-long career as a popular pulp writer and novelist, primarily of juvenile sports fiction. Late in life, he was portrayed in the award-winning film about the 1924 games, Chariots of Fire (1981).
Background He was born Jackson Volney English, the only child of Frank English (1872–1931) and Anna Elizabeth Weaver English (1875–1952). The couple met and married (1894) in Buchanan, Michigan. After Jackson was born in 1897, the family moved to nearby Benton Harbor. Frank English was involved in a variety of construction enterprises, notably supervising the construction of water, gas, and electric plants. In 1903, the family moved to Colorado where English worked on projects in Fort Collins and Boulder. In February 1907, English ran his own brick-manufacturing plant in Boulder.Society and Personal, The Herald-Palladium (Michigan), February 25, 1907.
Seven months later, Anna sued Frank for divorce on grounds of cruelty, alleging wife-beating.“Even Jail Failed to Make Him Work”, Denver Post, September 26, 1907. In November, presumably with Jackson, she returned to Buchanan to spend the winter with her widowed mother.Personal, Buchanan Record (Michigan), February 25, 1907. On May 25, 1908, she married Dr. Samuel Benjamin Scholz, Jr. (1878–1949), of Colorado Springs; the ceremony took place in Alameda County, California. Jackson was legally adopted by his stepfather.Thomas Spencer, “Native-son Olympian”, South Bend Tribune (Indiana), September 24, 2000. From that point forward, he was named Jackson V. Scholz, or more commonly Jack Scholz.
Dr. Scholz was a Spanish-American War veteran.Adams County Free Press (Iowa), April 22, 1905. In 1905, he graduated from the University of Denver with a Doctor of Medicine degree.“University of Denver”, The Colorado Statesman (Denver), June 17, 1905. When he married Anna, he was a traveling inspector for the Equitable Life Assurance Society.Personal and Social Notes, Daily Democrat (Woodland, California), March 12, 1908. Acting as a medical representative for life insurance companies typified his career.
The family was in Los Angeles by 1911. Representing the Berendo Street Intermediate School, Jack entered the annual AAU South Pacific Association championships in the 100-yard dash (under 4 ft 9 in class), and the relay.“Over Hundred Entries for Mammoth A.A.U. Meet”, Los Angeles Times, February 18, 1912. Probably in reference to the same event, he recalled, "I won my first title back in 1911, the 85-pound championship of California. I ran the 100 that day in 12 4-5 in sneakers."Edward J. Neil (Associated Press), March 31, 1928. In late 1912, the family lived in New York, where the Equitable Life headquarters were located. In January 1913, Dr. Scholz joined the Equitable offices in St. Louis to act as the “medical referee” for Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois.“Equitable Life Staff Grows”, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, January 26, 1913.
Jack attended Soldan High School, St. Louis. He didn’t try out for the track team until his senior year, when he shocked the coach by beating Soldan’s star sprinter.Kathryn Lawrence, “Former Olympic Star Writes Books for Boys”, The State (Columbia, South Carolina), April 21, 1957. On June 1, 1915, two weeks before graduation, the St. Louis interscholastic meet was held at Francis Field, the stadium built for the 1904 Summer Olympics. Scholz won the 100-yard dash in 10-1/5 seconds (i.e., 10.2), breaking the meet record by a fifth.“Soldan Runner’s First Victory Is Record-Breaker”, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 2, 1915. He also competed in the high jump, broad jump, and relay.“High School Track Meet Postponed Till Tuesday”, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, May 29, 1915.
Unrecruited, he entered the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, fall 1915, in the College of Agriculture. Following his boyhood dream, he intended to become a farmer.Jackson V. Scholz, “Missouri—My School”, College Stories, July 1931. He pledged to the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity.“Local News Notes”, Columbia Missourian, September 27, 1915. Under Coach Henry F. Schulte, Scholz developed into the fastest collegian in the nation, winning many races, indoors and out, while occasionally breaking records, up to the highest level.
Jackson’s half-sister, Elizabeth Jeannette Scholz (1916–33), Dr. Scholz’s and Anna’s only child together, was born in St. Louis on June 16, 1916.“Bullet Wound Fatal to Doctor’s Daughter”, Daily Republican (Phoenixville, PA), June 7, 1933. Betty Jane Scholz, 17, while in the family’s Jenkintown, Pennsylvania home, with only the maid for company, accidentally shot herself in the abdomen with Dr. Scholz’s old service pistol. She died in the hospital.
World War I On June 5, 1918, Scholz registered for the draft. He asked and was accepted into the Navy’s flying division.“Jack Scholz Will Leave for Naval Camp Next Month”, St. Louis Star and Times, August 24, 1918. He put his senior year at the university on hold. He reported to the Dunwoody Naval Training Station, Minneapolis, for basic training as a flyer on September 3.“Four Minneapolis Boys Are in Meet”, Star Tribune, September 15, 1918. The November 11 Armistice made his service less timely. Nevertheless, by Thanksgiving he had transferred to the Miami Naval Air Station to continue training “for my own satisfaction”. In a letter to Schulte, he described the thrill of flying, even as a passenger: “While we were upside down 3,000 feet above the bay, I couldn’t help but hope that my safety belt would remain well fastened. Lots of fun.”Sport, Columbia Missourian, December 17, 1918.
While serving, Scholz continued track training. In February 1919, at the Inter-Naval Aviation Meet, Key West, he won the 50-yard high hurdles and ran on the winning relay.Sport, Columbia Missourian, February 25, 1919. On March 1, at Royal Palm Park, on the edge of the Everglades, the Miami Naval Air Station lost a dual meet with the Key West Air Station. However, Scholz won the 100 (10.1) and the broad jump (20 ft 11 in), but had to settle for a tie in the 220 at 24.2.“Miami Loses Track Meet”, Miami Herald, Match 2, 1919.
In March, Scholz transferred to Naval Air Station Pensacola to complete his training.Personals, Columbia Missourian, March 22, 1919. In May, he was commissioned an ensign, discharged, and returned to Missouri.“Ensign Scholz”, Columbia Missourian, May 20, 1919; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 21, 1919.
As he recalled his experiences:
In World War I, I fought in the battle of Miami and Pensacola, and flew such balls of fire as the old N-9s, H-boats, F-boats, and something, which for want of a better name, the fellows called a Gyrene. It was a double pontooned biplane with a four-cylinder Hall-Scott motor which throve on castor oil, but didn’t seem to care for it after it reached an inky stage. Then it would spray the black stuff back across the pilot and his passenger, until they looked like a pair of end men. . . . Getting caught up there in the rain was just like having someone hurl gravel in your face.The Story Tellers’ Circle, Short Stories, February 10, 1944.
In September 1919, he began his senior year at Missouri. He tried to join the football team, but Coach Shulte, also head football coach, forbade it.Jeff Stack, “Unharnessing the Past”, Columbia Missourian, April 25, 1982. In track, Scholz was named an All-American.
Olympics 1920 Antwerp The sprint events in the U.S. Olympic Trials took place on July 16–17, at Harvard Stadium. Scholz competed in the 100- and 220-yard dashes. (The Olympic events were 100 and 200 meters.)
In the 100, he won his heat in 10.2. The next day he won his semi in 10.0, then in the final ran an estimated 10.1 to finish second to Loren Murchison’s 10.0. In the 220, Scholz was second in his heat, time unknown. He didn’t finish in the top three in either semi, and didn’t make the final, limited to six runners.
Trial placing was not binding on the Olympic team selectors until 1928. For the 1920 games, Scholz was selected for the 100 and the 4x100 relay. “When I was actually assured of being a member of the sixth American Olympic team,” he wrote, “I was hardly able to grasp the wonder of it.”Jackson Scholz, The Cinder Trail (Part 4 of 5), Sport Story Magazine, September 8, 1927.
The team crossed the Atlantic on the USS Princess Matoika, a ship that had just come in loaded with the remains of fallen soldiers. There were no staterooms, only bunks in the hold. “The air was close and the odor terrible,” wrote Scholz. Nearing Antwerp, the athletes drafted a resolution condemning the generally deplorable conditions. Scholz was one of many signatories in an event which became known as the Mutiny of the Matoika. “The psychological effect on the team was stunning,” Scholz added. “When they landed on the other side of the Atlantic they were in no shape to talk, let alone run.”“Farmer-Writer Was Once Olympic Champ”, Bristol Daily Courier (Bristol, PA), January 20, 1940.
Nevertheless, on August 15, he won his 100 heat and quarterfinal, both in 10.8 seconds. The next morning, he ran 10.9 in his semifinal, finishing second to Harry Edward (Great Britain). “It was a cold day,” recalled Charley Paddock (USA). “The track was wet and our own track suits were more or less soaked.” Just before taking the track for the final, head track coach Lawson Robertson took the four American qualifiers to “a little café above the stadium” and treated each to a “sherry and raw egg” to boost their spirits. “We all thought we were going to be drunk.”Charles W. Paddock, The Olympic Games, Pasadena Star-News, February 17, 1932; Paddock, “ ‘Robbie’ Better Fitted as Olympic Coach”, Milwaukee News, April 16, 1932 In the race, the inexperienced officials—in Scholz’s view—made a mess of the start and blanket finish. Paddock, 10.8, and Morris Kirksey (USA), 10.9, were certain for gold and silver. Scholz was given fifth at 10.9. “When the photographs came out, showing me with an indisputable third, the officials reluctantly compromised and gave me a fourth.” Edward, 10.9, was awarded the bronze."Photo Shows Scholz Third, Possibly Second", Springfield Daily Republican, August 31, 1920. Commenting on the difference between the trials distance of 100 yards and the international standard of 100 meters—about ten yards longer—Scholz explained: “I ran a swell one hundred yards, but finished fourth. . . . It was a good lesson.”Jackson V. Scholz, “California of Bust!”, Sport Story Magazine, August 25, 1932.
On August 21, the final day, the American team of Paddock, Scholz, Murchison, and Kirksey, running in that order, won the first of three semis in 43.0. The following day, the identical lineup contested the final. According to Paddock, they “trotted out on the field, late as usual.”Charles W. Paddock, Story of the Olympic Games: Part 12: The Relay Races, Pasadena Star-News, October 16, 1920. In 1927, Scholz recalled, “When Paddock passed the baton to me, I snatched it from his hand so fast that he thought we had lost it. He says that he still has heart failure when he thinks of it.” They won in a world record 42.2, the announcement of which provoked a “great cheer” from the audience since it took Germany’s last Olympic record off the books.
1924 Paris