Eddie Eagan
The only athlete in Olympic history to win gold in both the Summer and Winter Games, conquering the boxing ring and the bobsled run.
1897–1967 (age 70)·American Olympic athlete·Birthday: April 26·The Lost Generation
Biography
Eddie Eagan’s story is one of improbable athletic duality. Born in Denver, he fought his way to a light-heavyweight boxing gold at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, a triumph of power and precision. Yet his restless spirit sought new frontiers. While studying at Yale and later Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, he cultivated a taste for winter sports. In a stunning turn, twelve years after his summer triumph, he joined the US four-man bobsled team at the 1932 Lake Placid Games. Hurtling down the icy chute, Eagan secured a second gold, etching his name into a singular niche in sports history. His post-athletic life was equally vigorous, serving as a colonel in the Army Air Forces and practicing law, forever embodying the ethos of a versatile champion.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Eddie was born in 1897, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Eddie Was Born
The biggest hits of 1897
Eddie's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1897Born
President: William McKinley
1902Started school
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Became a teenager
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1913Could drive
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1915Could vote
The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat
President: Woodrow Wilson
1918Turned 21
World War I ends; Spanish flu pandemic kills millions
President: Woodrow Wilson
1927Turned 30
Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic; The Jazz Singer premieres
President: Calvin Coolidge"My Blue Heaven" — Gene Austin
1937Turned 40
Hindenburg disaster; Golden Gate Bridge opens
Gas: $0.20/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"A-Tisket, A-Tasket" — Ella FitzgeraldBest Picture: The Life of Emile Zola
1947Turned 50
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1957Turned 60
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1967Turned 70
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
Key Achievements
- Won the Olympic gold medal in light-heavyweight boxing at the 1920 Summer Games in Antwerp.
- Secured a second Olympic gold medal as part of the four-man bobsled team at the 1932 Winter Games in Lake Placid.
- Remains the sole athlete to have won gold medals in both the Summer and Winter Olympics in different disciplines.
- Was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University after his initial Olympic success.
Did You Know?
He served as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.
Eagan was a skilled amateur boxer at Yale University before his Olympic career.
His 1932 bobsled victory was achieved with a team that included fellow Olympian Billy Fiske.
“A gold medal in Antwerp, another in Lake Placid—the ring and the run are the same fight.”
