Arthur Jackson (sport shooter)

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Arthur Jackson
Sports shooting
Medal record
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1952 Helsinki
50 m rifle prone
ISSF World Shooting Championships
Gold medal – first place 1949 Buenos Aires 50+100 m rifle prone position, individual
Gold medal – first place 1952 Oslo 50 m rifle prone position (60 shots), individual
Gold medal – first place 1952 Oslo 50 m rifle prone position (60 shots), team
Gold medal – first place 1952 Oslo 50 m rifle prone position (40 shots), individual
Gold medal – first place 1954 Caracas 50+100 m rifle prone position, team
Silver medal – second place 1949 Buenos Aires 50+100 m rifle prone position, team
Bronze medal – third place 1952 Oslo 300 m standard rifle, individual
Bronze medal – third place 1952 Oslo 50 m rifle prone position (40 shots), team
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1951 Buenos Aires 50 m rifle, three positions, individual
Gold medal – first place 1951 Buenos Aires 50 m rifle, prone, individual
Gold medal – first place 1955 Mexico City 50 m rifle, three positions, individual
Gold medal – first place 1955 Mexico City 50 m rifle, three positions, team
Gold medal – first place 1955 Mexico City 50 m rifle, prone, individual
Gold medal – first place 1955 Mexico City 50 m rifle, prone, team
Gold medal – first place 1955 Mexico City 50 m high power rifle, three positions, team
Silver medal – second place 1951 Buenos Aires 50 m high power rifle, three positions, ind.

Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Charles Jackson (May 15, 1918 – January 6, 2015) was an American competitive sport shooter. In his international career, he won numerous medals across three Summer Olympic Games, three

Pacific Theater of Operations. His first international tournament was the 1948 Summer Olympics and his last was the 1956 edition, at which point he began a career in public service with the Central Intelligence Agency
in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. He stopped competing at the international level in 1957 and retired from the CIA at the end of 1974. After several years as an instructor and coach, he continued participating in smaller tournaments through the 1990s.

Early life

Jackson was born on May 15, 1918, in Brooklyn.[1] He started shooting during the seventh grade, when his hobby of shooting marbles cost him his job at a dry cleaning and tailoring shop. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School, where he joined the rifle team after saving for a year to afford the fifteen cent ammunition fee for the tryouts. He won his first team event in 1934 at a tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, obtaining individual honors in the process, and followed it up in 1936 with a group trophy and another individual accolade at a competition held at his high school and sponsored by the New York Stock Exchange. Following graduation, he briefly worked at General Motors prior to taking up a position at an engineering firm that specialized in diesel engines.[2]

Jackson also followed his sporting pursuits after graduation and soon joined the Woodhaven American Legion Auxiliary Rifle Club, where his coach was

Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now the Polytechnic Institute of New York University) in 1939 and began competing in the collegiate league. His success in local and state events grew and he continued participating in these and regional tournaments prior to the United States' entry into World War II.[2]

World War II and competitive career

By 1942 Jackson had held a job at the

Upon his return to New York, Jackson joined the

300 metre rifle three positions event.[1] He then took up a job at the Pratt Institute in the photography department and began training for the 1949 ISSF World Shooting Championships, where he won gold in the 50+100 m rifle prone position individual event and silver in the team version. In 1950 he turned down a position as head of promotions at the Winchester Repeating Arms Company so that he could continue competing, with his next international stop being the 1951 Pan American Games.[2] Here he captured the only two gold medals not won by the Argentinians in individual events, the three positions and prone rifle competitions at 50 meters, as well as silver in the high power rifle, three positions at 50 meters tournament.[3] Upon his return, he was ordered to Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado, to join the Radar Photo Interpreters' School. Following graduation, he reported to Strategic Air Command in Roswell, New Mexico.[2]

Jackson was eventually sent to

Palm Beach Air Force Base in West Palm Beach, Florida, during the winter months. His next international stop was the 1952 ISSF World Shooting Championships, where he took home gold in the 50 m rifle prone position with 60 (individual and team) and 40 shots (individual) and the bronze in the 300 m standard rifle (individual) and 50 m rifle prone position with 40 shots (team).[2] He then traveled to the 1952 Summer Olympics, where he won a bronze medal in the 50 m rifle prone event and finished 12th in a field of 44 competitors in the 50 m rifle three positions tournament.[1] Upon his return to the United States, he discovered that he had been promoted to the rank of Captain.[2]

The 1954 ISSF World Shooting Championships were dominated by the Soviet Union, but Jackson still managed to take home a gold medal as a member of the United States' 50+100 m rifle prone position team. He fared better at the 1955 Pan American Games, taking home gold medals in both the individual and team versions of the rifle, three positions and prone at 50 meters,[2] as well as the team high power rifle, three positions at 50 meters.[3] He married Nancy Ord in 1956 and began training for that year's Summer Olympics,[2] where he again finished 12th in a field of 44 competitors in the 50 m rifle three positions event and 31st in among 44 participants in the 50 m rifle prone tournament.[1]

Later life

Following the 1956 Games Jackson began working overseas with the

Palma Team Match.[4][5] He was made a member of the Connecticut State Rifle and Revolver Association Shooters Hall of Fame in 1985[6] and the United States International Shooting Hall of Fame in 1999.[7] The Arthur C. Jackson Trophy, awarded by the NRA to the highest scorer at the World Black Powder Long Range International Championships, is named in his honor.[8] He died at the age of 96 on January 6, 2015, in Concord, New Hampshire.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Gjerde, Arild; Jeroen Heijmans; Bill Mallon; Hilary Evans (2011). "Art Jackson Biography and Olympic Results". Olympics. Sports Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rocketto, Hap (1988). "THE ART OF SHOOTING – The Life and Times of Arthur C. Jackson" (PDF). The Rifleman's Journal. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 6, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Hickok, Ralph (November 23, 2011). "Pan American Games Medalists in Shooting". Hickok Sports.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  4. ^ "World Long Range Rifle Championships" (PDF). Long Range Rifle Shooter. 17 (1). Palma Promotions: 4. May 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 24, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  5. ^ "Fulton Trophy" (PDF). National Rifle Association of America. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  6. ^ "The Connecticut State Rifle and Revolver Association Shooters Hall of Fame" (PDF). Connecticut State Rifle and Revolver Association. April 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 6, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  7. ^ "Arthur C. Jackson". U.S. Shooting Team Alumni Association. USA Shooting. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  8. ^ "Arthur C. Jackson Trophy" (PDF). National Rifle Association of America. 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 26, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  9. Newspapers of New England
    . January 8, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2015.