Sam Stoller
The 2-man substitution triggered widespread speculation that he and Marty Glickman—the only two Jews on the U.S. track team—were excluded because U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Avery Brundage wanted to avoid embarrassing Adolf Hitler by having two Jewish athletes win gold medals.
Stoller vowed at the time that he would never run again, but he returned in 1937 to win both the Big Ten Conference and NCAA championships in the 100-yard dash.
At the Big Ten championship in March 1936, Stoller tied the world indoor record in the 60-yard dash with a time of 6.1 seconds.
[7] On the morning that the 4 x 100 relay competition began, U.S. track coach Lawson Robertson called a meeting and informed Stoller and Glickman that they had been pulled from the event and that they would be replaced by Owens and Ralph Metcalfe.
"We were informed by the coaches that the Germans were hiding their best sprinters to make an all-out effort to win the 400-meter relay, and consequently, Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe were to replace Stoller and me.
[9] Glickman responded by immediately questioning the premise, challenging Robertson by asserting "Coach, you can't hide world-class sprinters.
"[9] Jesse Owens spoke in favor of letting Stoller and Glickman run, saying, "Coach, I've won my 3 gold medals.
"[11] Stoller, who turned 21 on the day of the event, did not appear at the stadium, leading Glickman to say: "A fine present for Sam, wasn't it?
"[13] Columnist Braven Dyer noted that Robertson's decision had been "panned" and had "angered a lot of folks" when he "jerked" Stoller and Glickman from the team.
Dyer asserted that "Glickman and Stoller had good reason to believe that when they qualified to represent the United States in the baton-passing event that nothing less than physical deterioration would prevent them from running.
"[14] And when the U.S. team arrived in New York, press accounts indicated that "an internal battle" loomed in the Olympic organization over "the dropping of two Jewish sprinters, Sam Stoller and Marty Glickman.
"[12] In his official report after the 1936 Olympics, Avery Brundage rejected the suggestion that Stoller and Glickman had been excluded due to their religion.
"[20] In February 1937, Stoller beat a fast field in the 50-yard dash at the Boston meet, finishing ahead of Ben Johnson of Columbia, Glickman and Canadian star Sam Richardson.
Hollywood reporter Bill Henry wrote in November 1937:"Sam, who is something of a singer, decided to stay out here after the National Intercollegiates which finished his rah-rah sprint career last June.
Joe E. Brown introduced him to a couple of people and Sam talked and sung over half the radios in California and has appeared in nine — count 'em — pictures.
"So far Sammy's been photographed with Fredric March, Carole Lombard, Errol Flynn, Bette Davis and many others and now all his pals back east who see the pictures think he's a big shot, making thousands in the movies and chumming with the stars.
"[27] In 1938, Stoller participated in a two-month exhibition tour of the Philippine Islands as part of a four-man team competing under the name, The Southern California Sportsmen's Association.
[10] In 1998, U.S. Olympic Committee Chairman William Hybl sought to remedy the past wrong and awarded the USOC's first Gen. Douglas MacArthur medals to Stoller (posthumously) and Glickman.
