George Harris (judoka)
George Lee Harris (January 15, 1933 – January 7, 2011) was a member of the first United States Olympic judo team. He was born in Kittrell, North Carolina. He was a 9th dan in Judo. Harris began his judo career after 1952. [1]
He was a two-time gold medalist in the Pan American Games (1960 and 1963), four-time United States National Champion (1957, 1958, ...), and six time Air Force Champion. [2] He also trained at the Kodokan. [3]
Harris had a long involvement with military judo in the United States Air Force [4], and later served as president of the United States Judo Association.
Harris starred in a feature film tiled "Judo's Gentle Tiger" and also known as "The Year of the Gentle Tiger". A forerunner to "The Karate Kid", it was shot in the late 1970s, and was later broadcast as a NBC daytime program. Harris also appeared on talk shows and was twice a guest on "To Tell the Truth".
[edit] Sources
- Nishioka, Hayward (2000) Judo: Heart and Soul Ohara Publications. ISBN 0-89750-137-3
- Ten Questions with George Harris - by Rebecca Barnett. Published in The Masters, Judo for Adults (2000)
[edit] See also
- James Bregman (1964 teammate)
- Ben Nighthorse Campbell (1964 teammate)
- Paul Maruyama (1964 teammate)
- Yosh Uchida (Olympic team coach)
