Lake Placid February 1932. General view of the award ceremony for the four-man bobsleigh event at the III Olympic Winter Games. The victorious USA I team members (William FISKE, Edward EAGAN, Clifford GRAY and Jay O'BRIEN) receive a trophy. Credit: Getty Images/IOC Olympic Museum CollectionsOther names: EAGAN, Edward Patrick Francis
EAGAN, Eddie
Born: 26 April 1897
Deceased: 14 June 1967
Birthplace:N/A (United States)
Nationality:United States
Sport: Bobsleigh / Boxing
ATTENDANCE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES
Antwerp 1920
Paris 1924
Lake Placid 1932
AWARDS
Olympic medals:
Gold: 2
Other results:
USA National Heavyweight Champion (1919)
The Only Athlete to Win Both Summer and Winter Championships
Eddie Eagan holds a special place in Olympic history: he is the only person to win gold medals in both summer and winter sports. Eagan grew up in a poor family in the U.S. city of Denver, yet he made his way through the best universities: Yale, Harvard Law School and Oxford. In 1920, Eagan defeated Sverre Sörsdal of Norway to win the light heavyweight boxing championship at the Antwerp Olympics. Later he became the first American to win the amateur championship of Great Britain. He also became a successful lawyer. Twelve years after his victory at the Summer Games, Eagan reappeared at the 1932 Lake Placid Winter Olympics as a member of Billy Fiske's four-man bobsleigh team. The Fiske foursome won the event by two seconds and Eagan achieved his unique double.
