Tidye Ann Pickett stood only 5-feet-2, and barely weighed 100 pounds. But nine decades ago, she stood tall in American track.
Pickett, an Illinois State University student, was the first African-American woman to compete in the Olympics, as she ran in the 80-meter hurdles at the 1936 Games in Berlin. To get there, she had to fight through poverty, racism, and sexism.
Born in Chicago on Nov. 3, 1914, Pickett grew up in the Englewood neighborhood on the city’s south side. Her family lived across from Washington Park, where the Chicago Daily News sponsored picnics for its delivery boys with foot races and prizes.
In a 1984 interview, Pickett said, “I got into the races and started coming home with baseball hats and cameras.”
She was eventually discovered by John Brooks, a star long jumper at the University of Chicago and future Olympian, who became her coach. “He made sure I had my first pair of good running shoes,” recalled Pickett.
In an era when Olympic sports were dominated by amateur associations, Pickett became a standout with the Chicago-area teams, which were laden with top talent. In January 1932 at age 17, Pickett tied the U.S. indoor record in the 60-yard dash at a meet in the Naval armory in Chicago.
Her determination trumped her physical size; many newspaper accounts called her “little Tidye Pickett.” In the custom of the day, her race was also pointed out in the papers, which referred to her as “colored” or “the Negress.”
Pickett’s success in the winter meets lifted her into the 1932 Olympic trials in Chicago that summer, There, Pickett and another black runner, Louise Stokes of Massachusetts, qualified for the 400-meter relay.
However, the women suffered from bigoted actions by the team on the trip to the 1932 Olympics, in Los Angeles. At a fundraising dinner for the team at a Denver hotel, Pickett and Stokes were not allowed to join their teammates. They were forced to eat in their room in the attic of the hotel; their white teammates all had private rooms.
On the train, Mildred “Babe” Didrikson, whose fame overshadows her prickly, racist personality, dumped a pitcher of ice water on Pickett and Stokes as they slept.
The final indignity, though, came in Los Angeles, when Pickett and Stokes’ spots were given to white athletes. Neither Pickett nor Stokes competed in the Games.
Still, Pickett pressed on, and enjoyed increasing success as the 1936 Games in Berlin approached. She added hurdles to her repertoire, and her performances continued to improve.
At a major meet in Toronto in the summer of 1934, Pickett smashed the Canadian record in the broad jump, ran on a relay that set another Canadian record, won the 60-meter dash, and was second in the 80-meter hurdles. In 1935, she was part of a world-record time in the 400 relay.
That same year, she enrolled at Illinois State, declaring a major in health and physical education. Like most schools in an era before Title IX in 1973, Illinois State did not have organized women’s varsity athletics.
However, she received coaching assistance from several individuals, including Joe Cogdal, a mainstay of ISU athletics in multiple sports for decades. The school’s well-developed IM program was another bonus for Pickett.
In the 1936 nationals at Brown University, Pickett finished second in the 80-meter hurdles to secure her spot on the U.S. Olympic team. She also was expected to run in the 100 and 400.
Pickett was a medal hopeful for the Americans, but she suffered a tragic ending in Berlin. In the second of four qualifying heats on August 5, Pickett came in third, advancing her to the semifinals later that afternoon.
In taking the track that day, she became the first African-American to compete in an Olympic Games.
However, Pickett hit the second hurdle, sending her crashing to the track. Some newspaper accounts state that the accident left her unconscious. Pickett was eventually diagnosed with a broken foot.
She was quoted by reporters as saying, “I’m heartbroken as I wanted to score another victory for the United States.”
Pickett returned to the United States with a host of souvenirs. She went back to Illinois State that fall, and was a featured attraction at Homecoming in October.
She also appeared at a meeting of the Women’s Physical Education Club on November 9, “attired in her Olympic costume,” in the words of the Vidette, the student newspaper. There, she discussed her experiences at the Olympics.
As a junior at ISU, Pickett was the student head of women’s athletic activities. She was also the secretary of the ISU chapter of Orchesis, described as part of “a national honorary dancing organization for all college girls interested in interpretive dancing.”
Though she was a standout basketball player, Pickett never joined the IM hoops programs at ISU, though she did play field hockey. However, she apparently was unable to finish her education in Normal. In September 1939, the Chicago Defender reported that Pickett was out of money to continue her studies.
She spent several years on barnstorming professional women’s basketball teams, which toured the country. Finally in the 1940s, she earned a degree in education from
Twice married, Pickett raised several children, and earned a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University. She then spent 23 years as principal of Woodlawn Elementary School on Chicago’s south side. When she retired in 1980, the school was named in her honor.
Largely forgotten for decades, Pickett was interviewed by several media outlets and organizing committees for the 1984 Olympics, which returned to Los Angeles. Only then did the racism that she had experienced become known to many.
Tidye Ann Pickett died on Nov. 17, 1986. Thirteen years earlier, she was inducted into the Illinois State University Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame.
Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Ill. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or [email protected].
