In honor of the Olympics starting I thought I'd share a really unique and interesting part of Beau's family. Beau's Grandfather Francis Valentine Hussey (Beau's namesake, for those of you that don't know Beau's real name is Francis Valentine Hussey III) won a Gold Medal in the 1924 Olympics. He was a runner and obviously a very talented one. I included the article that was written about him and that was on Wikipedia (cool huh?). I think it is so wonderful that he has such an amazing heritage. He passed away many years ago before Beau was born, but I just love going over to Beau's grandmother's house and listening to her talk about him. She pulls out all of the old articles that she has and of course his medal, it's so neat! I hope our girls will grow up to know how lucky they are to have such a heritage. It's interesting to know the back story to what happened in 1928 when he didn't make the team. Apparently he was either recovering from being sick or was actually sick at the time of the tryouts (I can't remember I'll have to ask Beau's dad) and he missed being on the team by 1 spot. But he wanted to go to the Olympics anyway so he stowed away on the boat and was caught along with a few other guys. They were thrown in the brig, but a couple of his friends bought him a ticket and he was able to stay on the boat. While the team was in Amsterdam competing he traveled Europe. I just thought that was a cool story. By the way wasn't he a handsome guy?! For those of you that have seen Chariots of Fire that was the same Olympics (1924) that Beau's Grandfather won the Gold Medal in against the guy that the movie is about Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddel (they were on the British team that ended up with the Silver). 
Francis Valentine Joseph "Frank" Hussey (February 14, 1905 - December 26, 1974) was an American athlete, winner of gold medal in 4x100 m relay at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Frank Hussey, a schoolboy sensation from New York City's Stuyvesant High School,[1] ran the first leg in the American 4x100 m relay team in Paris Olympics, which won the gold medal in a new world record of 41.0.
After returning from Paris, he entered Boston College, and as a freshman became the leading Collegiate runner in America. He won the AAU championships in 100 yd (91 m) in 1925.
After that, Hussey's career went downward. Although he was considered as a main favourite to gold medal in 100 m before the 1928 Summer Olympics, Hussey was eliminated in the heats of US Olympic Trials. But determined to go to Amsterdam in the hope that he may yet regain his old form, Hussey made an attempt to stowaway on the S.S. President Roosevelt, where the rest of the Olympic Team were.
Francis Valentine Joseph "Frank" Hussey (February 14, 1905 - December 26, 1974) was an American athlete, winner of gold medal in 4x100 m relay at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Frank Hussey, a schoolboy sensation from New York City's Stuyvesant High School,[1] ran the first leg in the American 4x100 m relay team in Paris Olympics, which won the gold medal in a new world record of 41.0.
After returning from Paris, he entered Boston College, and as a freshman became the leading Collegiate runner in America. He won the AAU championships in 100 yd (91 m) in 1925.
After that, Hussey's career went downward. Although he was considered as a main favourite to gold medal in 100 m before the 1928 Summer Olympics, Hussey was eliminated in the heats of US Olympic Trials. But determined to go to Amsterdam in the hope that he may yet regain his old form, Hussey made an attempt to stowaway on the S.S. President Roosevelt, where the rest of the Olympic Team were.
4 comments:
That's a wonderful story to be passed down through the generations. He was a handsome devil, wasn't he!:-)
How neat! It is so important to have a written record of these things. We always assume that our children are paying attention and remember the family factoids we share, but so often that is not the case. Even small and seemingly trivial things will be important to loved ones.
What a neat heritage to have!! It is probably a fun to think about every time the olympics comes around.
That is so cool! I love the Olympics and get so excited for them every year. How cool to have that in your family!
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