George Harris (judoka)

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George Harris was a member of the first US Olympic judo team.

The judo world sometimes speaks with pride of the 1964 American Olympic judo team as consisting of a Jew, an African-American, a Japanese-American, and a Native American (see Nishioka's book in the references, below). Harris was the African-American in this grouping.

He was a two-time gold medalist in the Pan American Games (1960 and 1963), four-time US National Champion (1957, 1958, ...), and six time Air Force Champion.

Harris had a long involvement with military judo in the US, and later served as president of the United States Judo Association.

Harris starred in a feature film tiled "Judo's Gentle Tiger" and also known as "The Year of the Gentle Tiger". A forerunner to "The Karate Kid", it was shot in the late 1970s, and was was later broadcast as a NBC daytime program. Harris also appeared on talk shows and was twice a guest on "To Tell the Truth".

[edit] Sources

Nishioka, Hayward (2000) Judo: Heart and Soul Ohara Publications. ISBN 0-89750-137-3
Ten Questions with George Harris - by Rebecca Barnett. Published in The Masters, Judo for Adults (2000)