Eddie Eagan
Edward Patrick Francis "Eddie" Eagan (
April 26,
1897 –
June 14,
1967) was an
American sportsman. He was the first person to win medals at both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games.
As of 2004, he is the only person to have won a
gold medal in both the
Summer and
Winter Olympics.
Eagan was born into a poor family in
Denver. He studied law at
Yale University and later at the
University of Oxford. In 1920, Eagan competed as a
boxer in the
first post-war Olympics, and won the gold medal in the light-heavyweight division. Eagan's other boxing awards include the 1919
AAU title and a British amateur title. He also competed in the
1924 Summer Olympics, but failed to medal.
Eagan returned to the Olympics eight years later, this time as a member of the
bobsleigh crew of
Billy Fiske, who steered to victory at the
Lake Placid Olympics. Eagan's performance meant he became the first Olympian to win medals in both Winter and Summer Games, and he is still the only American to have become Olympic champion in both seasons.
Later, Eagan became a lawyer, and served in the army as a colonel during
World War II. He died at age 70, in
Rye, New York.
