George Stanich

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George Stanich
Stanich, circa 1950
Personal information
Full nameGeorge Anthony Stanich
BornNovember 4, 1928 (1928-11-04) (age 95)
Sacramento, California, U.S.
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1948 London High jump

George Anthony Stanich (born November 4, 1928) is an American former

high jumper who won a bronze medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, where he was a two-time all-conference player in the Pacific Coast Conference (now the Pac-12 Conference
).

As a basketball player at the

guard and led his team to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 50. He scored 9 points in the East-West All-Star Game and was a first-team all-American (as named by Converse), the first of 24 Bruins who would earn this honor under John Wooden. As a Bruin baseball player, he was a pitcher for 3 seasons, including throwing a 5-hit shutout as a sophomore as UCLA beat USC for the first time in five years. He would become a professional baseball player after graduation, pitching for the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League, as well as Idaho Falls Russets
and Stockton.

The qualification for the high jump at the 1948 Olympic Games in London was held on the morning of July 30, 1948, with the finals later the same day. Stanich was one of twenty men who qualified for the finals which were held in the rain later. The gold medal was won with a jump of 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m). Stanich was one of four competitors who cleared 6 ft 4.75 in (1.95 m). While he thought he had cleared the bar on his last attempt at 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), his trail leg hit the bar. Officials from the International Amateur Athletic Federation initially announced that fewer misses would be used to determine the finishing places of the four tied jumpers; the IAAF then announced all four would share second place and the silver medal. Days later they reversed themselves again, and Stanich became the bronze medal winner.

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