 Lee at the 1952 Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Samuel Lee | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1920-08-01)August 1, 1920 Fresno, California, U.S.[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | December 2, 2016(2016-12-02) (aged 96) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Resting place | Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Occidental College (B.S.) University of Southern California School of Medicine (M.D.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | Rosalind Wong | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Military career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allegiance |  United States of America | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Branch |  United States Army Medical Corps | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service years | 1947-1955 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank |  Major | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Diving | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Samuel "Sammy" Lee (August 1, 1920 – December 2, 2016) was an American physician anddiver. He was the first Asian American man to win an Olympicgold medal for the United States (the second Asian American to win a gold medal overall)[2] and the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in Olympicplatform diving.
Lee was born inFresno, California, to parents of Korean descent who owned what he described as "a littlechop suey restaurant".[3] His father was fluent in English and Korean, tutored in French, graduated with a degree in civil engineering fromOccidental College, and opened a chop suey restaurant and market. As a twelve-year-old living near Los Angeles in 1932, Lee saw and was motivated by the many Olympics banners and souvenirs on display for theSummer Olympics being held in Los Angeles that year. Later that summer, he found that he could do somersaults much better than all of his friends, which led to his goal of becoming an Olympic champion in diving.[4]
Lee's parents moved toHighland Park, a neighborhood of Los Angeles. At the time, however, Latinos, Asians and African-Americans were only allowed to use the nearby Brookside Park Plunge inPasadena on Wednesdays, on what was called "international day,” the day before the pool was scheduled to be drained and refilled with clean water. Because Lee needed a place to practice and could not regularly use the public pool, his coach dug a pit in his backyard and filled it with sand.[5][6][7] Lee practiced by jumping into the pit.[8]
Lee attendedFranklin High School and later was a student-athlete at Occidental, where he received his undergraduate degree before attending theUniversity of Southern California School of Medicine, where he received hisM.D. in 1947.[9]He joined theArmy Reserve to pay for his medical school tuition.[10]
In 1996 Lee was interviewed byHuell Howser inCalifornia's Gold Episode 702.[11] During the interview, he explained how he worked as a locker boy at theLos Angeles Swimming Stadium at the same timeEsther Williams worked as a locker girl.
Under the tutelage of renowned diving coach Jim Ryan, Lee won the United States National Diving Championships in 1942 in both the 3-meterspringboard and the 10-meter platform events, becoming the first person of color to capture the United States national championship in diving. In 1946, he again triumphed at the 10-meter platform event while finishing third at the 3-meter springboard competition at the national diving competition inSan Diego.[4]
At the1948 Summer Olympics in London, England, Lee earned abronze medal in the 3-meter springboard and a gold medal in 10-meter platform diving events.[1][4] In so doing, he became the second Asian American to earn a gold medal, behind onlyVicki Draves, who won an Olympic gold medal two days earlier in springboard diving.[12]
Four years later, by then a major in theUnited States Army Medical Corps, he expected to serve in theKorean War, but he was instead sent to compete in the Olympic Games ("but you better win", he was told).[10] He won the gold medal in the 10-meter platform competition atthe Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.[1][4]
Lee served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps inSouth Korea from 1953 to 1955, where he specialized in diseases of the ear.[1] In 1953, while serving his tour of duty in Korea, he won theJames E. Sullivan Award in 1953, which is awarded annually by theAmateur Athletic Union to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States.[9]
He continued to experience discrimination in later life. In 1955, he faced housing discrimination inGarden Grove, California, where he attempted to buy a home only to be told that he could not, and in one case having nearby residents gather petition signatures to "disallow" or discourage him from buying in "their" neighborhood. (In the latter case, a counterpetition sought to rectify this prejudice, but the discriminatory effect had been achieved, and Lee looked elsewhere.)[13][14][15]
Lee practiced as an ear, nose and throat doctor for 35 years before retiring in 1990.[16]
Following Lee's diving career, he helped coach two-time diving gold medalistBob Webster. Later, he coachedGreg Louganis, who lived with Lee's family before winning asilver medal in platform diving at the1976 Olympics at the age of 16.[17] Lee also coached Olympic medalistPat McCormick.[18]
In 1979, Lee played himself inSilent Victory: TheKitty O'Neil Story, about stuntwomanKitty O'Neil, whom Lee had coached in diving.[19]
Lee was inducted into theInternational Swimming Hall of Fame in 1968, and was inducted into theU.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1990.[9][20]
Sammy Lee Square, at the corner ofOlympic Boulevard andNormandie Avenue in Los Angeles'Koreatown, was named after him in 2010.[18][21][22][23] He was also honored with a spot on theAnaheim/Orange County Walk of Stars in 2009. The Sammy Lee award for diving, presented only once every four years, was named in his honor.[24] TheLos Angeles Unified School District honored Lee by renaming Central Region Elementary School #20 as the Dr. Sammy Lee Medical and Health Sciences Magnet School in 2013.[25][26]
Lee was married to Rosalind Wong;[9] the couple had a daughter and a son.[27] Lee died from complications of pneumonia on December 2, 2016, at his home inNewport Beach, California, aged 96.[28] He also suffered fromdementia andheart disease.[29]
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