Myerson, Henry

Sport:
football (American)

Country Represented:
United States

Years Competed:
1932

Olympic Info:
At the 1932 Los Angeles Games, Myerson took part in the football game that was presented by the Americans as their demonstration sport (the host country is allowed to present a national sport not included in the Olympic program). With only graduating seniors allowed to participate, the players were divided into Western and Eastern teams, with specific schools supplying the players. The University of Southern California, Stanford University, and the University of California represented the West, while Harvard, Yale, and Princeton did the same for the East. Myerson, an All-East guard at Harvard the previous year, started at left guard for the East squad as the former collegiate athletes put on a terrific display for their foreign guests.

Like all other Olympic athletes, the football players lived at the Olympic Village while practicing. With the presence of marching bands and school songs, the game took on a college atmosphere and was, "a remarkably fine exhibition of American Football...teamwork was of a calibre hardly to be expected in midsummer from players chosen from different colleges...it could hardly have been a better demonstration of the American game." Scoreless at the half, Myerson and the East went up 6-0 early in the second half, but in the final minutes, the West scored a touchdown and extra point to win, 7-6. According to the official Olympic Report, foreign athletes and press representatives, "were interested in the game but bewildered by its complexity. The consensus...was that American football is a hard, bruising physical combat...[they] commented chiefly on the great amount of time out and the numerous substitutions."

Career Highlights:
Myerson was a massive guard for Harvard from 1929-1931 and was named AP All-East in 1931.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. Jan. 10, 1931 - d. Nov. 1985

Origin:
Massachusetts

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