# Sol Butler

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American sportsman

Sol Butler Butler in Paris in 1919 Profile Positions Fullback, halfback, quarterback Personal information Born (1895-03-03)March 3, 1895 Kingfisher, Territory of Oklahoma Died December 1, 1954(1954-12-01) (aged 59) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Listed height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Listed weight 163 lb (74 kg) Career information College University of Dubuque Career history Hammond Pros (1923) Rock Island Independents (1923) Akron Pros (1924) Hammond Pros (1925–1926) Canton Bulldogs (1926) Kansas City Monarchs (1925)[1] Stats at Pro Football Reference

**Solomon Wellings “Sol” Butler** (March 3, 1895 – December 1, 1954) was a multi-talented athlete who competed in [American football](/source/American_football) and [track and field](/source/Track_and_field). He finished seventh in the [long jump competition](/source/Athletics_at_the_1920_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men's_long_jump) at the [1920 Summer Olympics](/source/1920_Summer_Olympics).[2] He also played in the [National Football League](/source/National_Football_League) for the [Hammond Pros](/source/Hammond_Pros), [Akron Pros](/source/Akron_Pros), [Canton Bulldogs](/source/Canton_Bulldogs), Buffalo Bisons, and [Rock Island Independents](/source/Rock_Island_Independents). Referenced sometimes as Edward Solomon Butler, was a name used by alternate people to gain notoriety off the exploits of Solomon W. Butler in various parts of the country.[3]

## Early life

Butler being carried away after pulling a tendon at the 1920 Olympics

Sol Butler injury: 1920 Olympics

Butler was born in [Kingfisher, Oklahoma](/source/Kingfisher%2C_Oklahoma), the youngest child of Ben and Mary Butler. His father was from [Morgan County, Alabama](/source/Morgan_County%2C_Alabama), and born a slave in 1842; his mother was born in Georgia in 1867. His father fought in the Civil War and took the last name of Butler from General Butler whom he admired. The Butler family escaped slavery and settled in Wichita, Kansas, before moving to Hutchinson, Kansas, in 1909. "Sol", as he was known, made the varsity football team as a starting halfback during his freshman year. He led the school in football and in track and field. His sophomore year, he helped Hutchinson to a runner-up finish at the state meet after setting state records in the 100-yard dash. In 1913, as a junior in Hutchinson High School (Kansas) at a district meet he won six firsts, broke five meet records and unofficially broke a world record in the 50-yard dash. He along with his older brother Benjamin followed his high school coach to [Rock Island High School](/source/Rock_Island_High_School) in [Rock Island, Illinois](/source/Rock_Island%2C_Illinois), for his senior season in 1914. Facing 300 of the best track stars of the Midwest in Chicago, he competed in the regional interscholastic meet held at Northwestern University. He placed in the 60-yard dash and hurdles, the 440 yard dash, and also in the broad jump. He broke one meet record, tied a world record, and won fourth place overall, competing against entire track teams.

Butler earned 12 varsity letters competing in football, basketball, baseball and track and field at the [University of Dubuque](/source/University_of_Dubuque) from 1915 to 1919. According to Arthur Ashe Jr.'s book *Hard Road to Glory, A History of the African-American Athlete*, Butler was the first African American to quarterback a team for all four years of college. In Butler's day, the track and field of activity was restricted. There was no national collegiate meet and very little indoor competition. Even the [Drake Relays](/source/Drake_Relays), then in their formative years, provided no such event as the broad jump. Butler went to the Penn Relays for that competition and twice won the championship. In 1919, to illustrate, Butler won both the 100-yard dash and broad jump at the [Penn Relays](/source/Penn_Relays). Entering military service as a soldier in World War I as he represented the U.S. Army in the [Inter-Allied Games](/source/Athletics_at_the_Inter-Allied_Games) in Paris, where he won the long jump. He was knighted by the King of Montenegro, who made Butler a Knight of the Third Order of Danilo. With the Olympic Games scheduled for renewal in 1920 after the wartime interruption in 1916, Butler was rated as a heavy favorite for the championship. His winning jump at Paris, 24 feet 9.5 inches (7.557 m),[4] was two inches from the Olympic record and was considered a strong possibility for a new Olympic record. Butler went to Antwerp for the 1920 Olympics, but misfortune nailed him quickly. On his very first jump in the Olympic preliminaries he pulled a tendon and was forced to withdraw. The injury-hampered effort was a shade under 21-8. He won the U.S. National Amateur Athletic Union championship that same year by jumping 24 feet 8 inches (7.52 m).[2][5][6]

## NFL

He signed on with the NFL in 1923 with the [Rock Island Independents](/source/Rock_Island_Independents), which local accounts raved about his first appearance in the victory over the [Chicago Bears](/source/Chicago_Bears). His contract from Rock Island was sold to the [Hammond Pros](/source/Hammond_Pros) in November 1923 for the remainder of the season for $10,000. In 1925, Butler played for the [Kansas City Monarchs](/source/Kansas_City_Monarchs) of the [Negro leagues](/source/Negro_leagues) briefly, going 0-3.[1] Later, returning to football, Butler played alongside [Jim Thorpe](/source/Jim_Thorpe) of the [Canton Bulldogs](/source/Canton_Bulldogs) where he was named starting quarterback in 1926. In 1926, the [New York Giants](/source/New_York_Giants) refused to let its all-white team on the field in front of the largest crowd ever (40,000) to watch an NFL game until Canton withdraw Butler as starting quarterback.

## Later life

In 1927, Butler returned to Chicago and married (Berenice-a native Kansan). Butler moved back to the Midwest and went on to work with the youth in the Negro districts as recreation director of Chicago's Washington Park. He worked part-time as a probationary officer, and became sports editor for the [Chicago Bee](/source/Chicago_Bee) and The Defender newspapers in Chicago. He was active in the Chicago Blackhawk alternative professional football team and began becoming a well known personality after appearing in movies and press regularly. He wife died before Solomon and Berenice would have any children. He would spend his time promoting and coaching youth in city parks activities within the Chicago area.

While in California playing for the Chicago All-Stars basketball team which he founded, he would stay in the state. Butler used his earnings to re-open Jack's Café, previously owned by Jack Johnson, former heavyweight boxing champion in 1932. He was named to a key role in a film by Russ Sanders in 1935 being filmed in Hollywood, Calif. after playing minor parts in a few films prior. He was signed by Oscar Devereaux Mischaux, and independent producer of more than 44 films for [Lincoln Motion Picture Company](/source/Lincoln_Motion_Picture_Company). He and his brother Ben, sold cars, self-published a book on track and field, shined shoes, and did anything they could to raise money. In his later years after prohibition, Butler owned nightclubs in Chicago, set up his own talent agency and for a brief period was in the record business representing [Paul Robeson](/source/Paul_Robeson), an American singer and actor who was a political activist for the civil rights movement.

He died on December 1, 1954, after being shot by a patron at Paddy's Liquors, a Chicago tavern where he was employed for seven years.[7] Butler died of his injuries at Chicago's Provident hospital. He is buried next to his sister, Josephine Butler, at Maple Grove Cemetery in Wichita, Kansas.[5]

## Legacy and awards

Today, the University of Dubuque hosts an annual Sol Butler Classic indoor track meet.[8]

In May, 2014 the University of Dubuque began awarding the Solomon Butler Character and Courage Award.[9]

Butler was inducted into the [Des Moines Register](/source/Des_Moines_Register)'s [Iowa Sports Hall of Fame](/source/Iowa_Sports_Hall_of_Fame).[10]

In 2018, Butler was an inaugural inductee into the National High School Track and Field Hall of Fame. Other 2018 inductees were [Ted Meredith](/source/Ted_Meredith), [Lee Barnes](/source/Lee_Barnes), [Frank Wykoff](/source/Frank_Wykoff), [Betty Robinson](/source/Betty_Robinson), [Cornelius Johnson](/source/Cornelius_Johnson_(athlete)), [Jesse Owens](/source/Jesse_Owens), [Helen Stephens](/source/Helen_Stephens), [Eddie Morris](/source/Eddie_Morris), [Alice Coachman](/source/Alice_Coachman), [Bob Mathias](/source/Bob_Mathias), [Milt Campbell](/source/Milt_Campbell), [Willye White](/source/Willye_White), [Dallas Long](/source/Dallas_Long), [Gerry Lindgren](/source/Gerry_Lindgren), [Jim Ryun](/source/Jim_Ryun), [Steve Prefontaine](/source/Steve_Prefontaine), [Lynn Bjorklund](/source/Lynn_Bjorklund), [Mary Decker](/source/Mary_Decker), [Kathy McMillan](/source/Kathy_McMillan), [Chandra Cheeseborough](/source/Chandra_Cheeseborough), [Renaldo Nehemiah](/source/Renaldo_Nehemiah), [Michael Carter](/source/Michael_Carter_(nose_tackle)), [Kim Gallagher](/source/Kim_Gallagher), [Alan Webb](/source/Alan_Webb_(runner)), [Allyson Felix](/source/Allyson_Felix), [John Dye](/source/John_Dye), [Ed Grant](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ed_Grant_(athlete)&action=edit&redlink=1), [Joe Newton](/source/Joe_Newton_(coach)) and [Don Norford](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don_Norford&action=edit&redlink=1).[11]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Sol_Butler_NLB_Statistics_&_History_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Sol_Butler_NLB_Statistics_&_History_1-1) [Sol Butler NLB Statistics & History](https://www.baseball-reference.com/nlb/player.cgi?id=butler000sol). Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved on September 9, 2015.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-sr_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-sr_2-1) [Sol Butler](https://web.archive.org/web/20200418075317/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/bu/sol-butler-1.html). sports-reference.com

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Sol Butler"](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78184). *Olympedia*. Retrieved July 20, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Inter-Allied Games](http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/ialg.htm). gbrathletics.com

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-r1_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-r1_5-1) James Odenkirk. [An Unheralded World Class Athlete](http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/NASSH_Proceedings/NP2002/NP2002zzh.pdf). Arizona State University. la84foundation.org

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Solomon Butler](http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=944&Gender=M). trackfield.brinkster.net

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** (January 23, 2015). [Solomon Butler, First Black Kansas Olympian](https://www.kmuw.org/history/2015-01-23/solomon-butler-first-black-kansas-olympian). *KMUW*. Retrieved January 9, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Sol Butler Classic ::: USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meet History ::: USTFCCCA"](http://www.ustfccca.org/infozone/public-meet-alltime.php?meetno=-445532492).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Solomon Butler Award"](http://www.dbq.edu/athletics/athleticshalloffame/solomonbutleraward/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Register Sports Hall of Fame Database - Sol Butler | DesMoinesRegister.com"](https://data.desmoinesregister.com/hall-of-fame/single.php?id=533). *data.desmoinesregister.com*. Retrieved June 3, 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Inaugural Inductees Announced for NSAF's National High School Track and Field Hall of Fame | National Scholastic Athletics Foundation"](https://www.nationalscholastic.org/article/2212).

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Sol Butler](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sol_Butler).

- [\[1\]](http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675051374_Allied-athletes_jumping-events_hurdle-race_Pershing-stadium) Film loop of Solomon Butler Jumping at 1919 games

- [Sol Butler](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14989765) at [World Athletics](/source/World_Athletics)

- [Sol Butler](https://intersportstats.com/athletes/3000012953) at InterSportStats

- [Sol Butler](https://www.nfl.com/players/sol-butler/) at [NFL.com](/source/National_Football_League)

- [Sol Butler](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25996141) at [Find a Grave](/source/Find_a_Grave)

v t e US National Championship winners in men's long jump 1876–1878 New York Athletic Club 1876: Isaiah Frazier 1877: William Livingston 1878: William Willmer 1879–1888 NAAAA 1879: Frank Kilpatrick 1880–81: John Voorhees 1882: John Jenkins 1883–86: Malcolm Ford 1887: Alexander Jordan 1888Note 1: Victor Schifferstein 1888–1979 Amateur Athletic Union 1888Note 1: William Halpin 1889: Malcolm Ford 1890: Al Copland 1891: Charles Reber 1892: Eugene Goff 1893: Charles Reber 1894: Eugene Goff 1895–97: Edward Bloss 1898: Myer Prinstein 1899: Alvin Kraenzlein 1900–01: Harry McDonald 1902: Myer Prinstein 1903: Percival Molson 1904: Myer Prinstein 1905: Hugo Friend 1906: Myer Prinstein 1907: Daniel Kelly 1908: Platt Adams 1909–10: Frank Irons 1911–12: Platt Adams 1913: Phil Stiles 1914: Platt Adams 1915–16: Harry Worthington 1917: Joseph Irish 1918: David Politzer 1919: Floyd Smart 1920OT: Sol Butler 1921: Edward Gourdin 1922–27: DeHart Hubbard 1928OT: Ed Hamm 1929: Edward Gordon 1930–31: Al Bates 1932OT: Edward Gordon 1933–34: Jesse Owens 1935: Eulace Peacock 1936: Jesse Owens 1937: Kermit King 1938–39: William Lacefield 1940–42: Billy Brown 1943: William Christopher 1944: William Lund 1945: Herb Douglas 1946–47: Willie Steele 1948: Fred Johnson 1949: Gay Bryan 1950: Jim Holland 1951–53: George Brown 1954: John Bennett 1955: Greg Bell 1956–58: Ernie Shelby 1959: Greg Bell 1960: Henk Visser (NED) * Joel Wiley 1961–66: Ralph Boston 1967: Jerry Proctor 1968–69: Bob Beamon 1970: Bouncy Moore 1971–72: Arnie Robinson 1973: Randy Williams 1974: Bouncy Moore 1975–78: Arnie Robinson 1979: Larry Myricks 1980–1992 The Athletics Congress 1980: Larry Myricks 1981–83: Carl Lewis 1984: Mike McRae 1985: Mike Conley Sr. 1986–87: Carl Lewis 1988: Eric Metcalf 1989: Larry Myricks 1990: Mike Powell 1991: Carl Lewis 1992OT: Mike Powell 1993–onwards USA Track & Field 1993–96OT: Mike Powell 1997: Joe Greene 1998: Roland McGhee 1999: Kevin Dilworth 2000OT: Melvin Lister 2001–02: Savanté Stringfellow 2003–04OT: Dwight Phillips 2005: Miguel Pate 2006: Brian Johnson 2007: Dwight Phillips 2008OT: Trevell Quinley 2009–10: Dwight Phillips 2011–12OT: Marquise Goodwin 2013: George Kitchens 2014: Jeff Henderson 2015: Marquis Dendy 2016: Jeff Henderson 2017: Jarrion Lawson 2018: Jeff Henderson 2019: Ja'Mari Ward 20212020 OT: JuVaughn Harrison 2022: Rayvon Grey 2023: Marquis Dendy 2024: Jeremiah Davis 2025: Isaac Grimes Notes Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, and since 1992, championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event. 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

v t e 1920 USA Olympic track and field team Track/road/cross country athletes Harold Barron Max Bohland George Bretnall (r) Hal Brown Tom Campbell Jimmy Connolly George Cornetta Bob Crawford Edward Curtis Charles Daggs Gus Desch Michael Devaney Ivan Dresser Earl Eby Robert Emery Fred Faller Patrick Flynn Clifford C. Furnas Albert Hulsebosch Charles Hunter Earl Johnson Morris Kirksey Carl Linder Frank Loomis Thomas Maroney Charles Mellor Ted Meredith Loren Murchison Feg Murray John Norton Joseph Organ Charley Paddock Amisoli Patasoni Joseph Pearman William Plant Joie Ray Richard Remer Winfred Rolker Arthur Roth Arlie Schardt (t) George Schiller Jackson Scholz Donald Scott Frank Shea Larry Shields Walker Smith Albert Sprott Lewis Watson Ray Watson Allen Woodring William Yount Field/combined event athletes Dan Ahearn Milton Angier William Bartlett Basil Bennett George Bihlman Everett Bradley Sol Butler Howard Cann Robert J. Dunne Everett Ellis Frank Foss Kaufman Geist Harry Goelitz Brutus Hamilton Clarence Jaquith Eldon Jenne Carl Johnson Edward Knourek Sherman Landers Richmond Landon Robert LeGendre James Lincoln Harry Liversedge Jack Mahan Pat McDonald James McEachern Matt McGrath Jack Merchant Harold Muller John Murphy Edwin Myers Gus Pope Edward Roberts Pat Ryan Dink Templeton Arthur Tuck Eugene Vidal Walter Whalen Kenneth Wilson Coaches and trainers Jack Moakley (head coach) Bill Hayward (associate coach) Lawson Robertson (associate coach) Michael J. Ryan (associate coach)

Authority control databases: People World Athletics

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sol Butler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Butler) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Butler?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.