Eddie Crook, Jr.

Olympic medal record
Men's boxing
Competitor for the  United States
Gold 1960 Rome Middleweight

Edward "Eddie" Crook, Jr. (April 19, 1929 – July 25, 2005) won a gold medal for the United States as a boxing teammate of Muhammad Ali in the 1960 Summer Olympics. Crook was also a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

Contents

Amateur career

Boxing out of Detroit, Crook was an Olympic Gold medalist for the United States at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, in the 165 pound class. Crook defeated Tadeusz Walasek of Poland in the Gold medal match by 3-2 decision. Reportedly he was the only Army boxer to ever win an Olympic Gold Medal. He had no professional career.

Life After Boxing

After winning his gold medal, Crook served two tours in the Vietnam War as a command sergeant major in the U.S. Army. He received two Purple Hearts, a Silver Star, and a Bronze Star. Crook was quarterback of the Berlin Bears, earning All-Army honors and named "Most Valuable Player." He then served as ROTC Instructor at Alcorn State in Mississippi.

Death

Crook died on July 25, 2005 of natural causes in Montgomery, Alabama. He was 76.

External links

1904: 145-158 lb (65.8-71.7 kg), 1908: 140-158 lb (63.5-71.7 kg), 1920-1936: 147-160 lb (66.7-72.6 kg), 1948: 67-73 kg 1952-2000: 71-75 kg, 2004-2008: 69-75 kg

1904: Charles Mayer (USA) • 1908: Johnny Douglas (GBR) • 1920–1924: Harry Mallin (GBR) • 1928: Piero Toscani (ITA) • 1932: Carmen Barth (USA) • 1936: Jean Despeaux (FRA) • 1948: László Papp (HUN) • 1952: Floyd Patterson (USA) • 1956: Gennadiy Shatkov (URS) • 1960: Eddie Crook, Jr. (USA) • 1964: Valeri Popenchenko (URS) • 1968: Chris Finnegan (GBR) • 1972: Vyacheslav Lemeshev (URS) • 1976: Michael Spinks (USA) • 1980: José Gómez (CUB) • 1984: Shin Joon-Sup (KOR) • 1988: Henry Maske (GDR) • 1992–1996: Ariel Hernández (CUB) • 2000: Jorge Gutiérrez (CUB) • 2004: Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov (RUS) • 2008: James DeGale (GBR)