Though many athletes became soldiers during the War, sports still played a large role. The 40's saw many star athletes, including Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams leave the field in order to go fight. Sports took a major hit during the war though. Because many of these star athletes were leaving, almost anyone could become an athlete. There was even a one handed pitcher and a dwarf who played at the time.
Despite all this, sports did not lose their popularity. Even though they were miles away, soldiers still tried to follow sports, mainly baseball and football. And of course there was the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, which was one of the most memorable Olympic Games of all time. At these games, the German team was very strong and Adolf Hitler expected them to win every medal. However Jesse Owens, a black man, dominated track and field by winning four medals in front of Hitler. This went against everything Hitler preached about Aryan superiority because blacks were portrayed as inferior to everyone else. Though the Germans did take the most medals overall, these Olympic games were remembered for Jesse Owens' amazing feat.
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