Oscar Edwards

Wabash Valley profiles : a series of tributes to hometown heroes who have made a difference

Description:	One typed page including photograph; biography of Oscar Edwards, the second Terre Haute athlete to capture a gold medal in the Indiana High School Athletic Association state track and field meet. WABASHP R OFIAi hometown h heroes who h difference. A series of ttributes tto h f ib t t h have made a diff dVALLEYL E SOscar Edwardsnly the second Terre Haute athlete to capture a gold medal in the Indiana High School Athletic Association state track and field meet, Oscar John Edwards became an esteemed school administrator in Miami, Fla. The youngest son of John and Luvenia (Hall) Edwards, Oscar was born June 8, 1903, at 1538 South 13 1/2 St. Brother William was nearly three years older. Before Oscar was a teenager, his parents--both natives of North Carolina--established a grocery at 1424 S. 14th St. Though the Edwards boys worked in the grocery while attending Booker T. Washington School and Wiley High School, Oscar participated on Coach Guy Stantzs track team during his junior year at Wiley, dominating area competition in the long jump. At Paris, Ill., Edwards leaped 21 feet, 4 3/4 inches to tie the Indiana and Illinois high school records. He later won the district (sectional) meet and then captured first place in the IHSAA State Finals at 20 feet, 10 1/2 inches. The only previous Terre Haute high school athlete to win first prize in the state meet was Garfield sprinter James Conover. Oscar did not participate in track during his senior year at Wiley. Upon enrolling at Indiana State Normal, he focused on academics. Nevertheless, he twice won the college intramural title in decathlon events. Indiana State Coach David Glascock successfully coaxed Edwards to join the track squad in 1928 and he earned a letter, competing in the long jump and the 440-yard dash. Securing a physical education degree in 1929, Oscar began work on his masters at Indiana State Teachers College but, in 1931, accepted employment as physical education teacher and head football and basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Miami. By the time he met Dorothy Wright, a Florida A&M graduate, in 1935, Edwards was teaching and coaching while also serving as dean of boys. Eventually, he relinquished his head coaching duties but continued to serve as an assistant coach in all sports. Oscar and Dorothy wed on June 8, 1938. Their only child, Oscar J. Edwards Jr., was born in October 1939. The elder Edwards eventually earned post-graduate degrees from ISTC and Indiana University. Throughout his teaching career, Edwards was outspoken in his efforts to improve the academic environment for black children. His reputation for activism may have affected his advancement but, in 1963, he was named assistant principal at Miamis George Washington Carver High School. Recipient of numerous citations for his service in the field of education, Edwards retained that position until 1965, when he retired at age 62 after 34 years in the MiamiDade Schools. A charter member of the Miami alumni chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi social fraternity and an avid golfer, Edwards died Sept. 2, 1971. Dorothy Wright Edwards was assistant principal at Northwestern High School in Miami. Now 92 years old, she was inducted into the Florida A&M Sports Hall of Fame for tennis and basketball in 2004.OMEMBER FDICAlways Close to Home812-238-6000Si g n up now for FREE* online banking atwww.first-online.comEQUAL HOUSING LENDER MEMBER FDIC*One-time sign-up fee $5.95
Origin:	2006-02-23
Created By:	McCormick, Mike
Publisher:	Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Source:	http://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/vchs/id/1028
Collection:	Vigo County Historical Society
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/
Copyright:	Copyright Undetermined
Subjects:	African Americans Edwards, Oscar, 1903-1971 African American athletes African American school principals Coaches (Athletics) People Education Sports

Further information on this record can be found at its source.