Robert J. Kane
U.S. Olympic Men’s Athletic Manager, 1952 U.S. Olympic Committee Secretary, 1966-70 U.S. Olympic Committee Vice President, 1970-74 U.S. Olympic Committee Executive Vice President, 1974-77 U.S. Olympic Committee President, 1977-81
Athlete Bio#
Age
Died (Aged 81)
1911-1992
Hometown
Ithaca, NY
Education
Ithaca High School (Ithaca, N.Y.) Cornell University
Personal
Track record-holder at Cornell University in the 200-meter...Runner-up in the 200 at the IC4A championships in 1933 and 1934...Member of the national Amateur Athletic Union relay champions on 440, 880 and mile teams in 1933, 1934 and 1935...Served as dean of the department of athletics and physical education, as well as assistant to the president at Cornell University...Led the creation of the U.S. Olympic Festival.Hall Of Fame Bio #
A track athlete and long-time sports administrator, Robert J. Kane served as president of the United States Olympic Committee and director of athletics at Cornell University. He was a world-class sprinter at Cornell and held the university’s record for the 200-meter dash for 40 years. Kane ran on the winning 440-yard and 880yd relay teams at the Penn Relays during his senior year, and set the European record for the 300-meter dash while touring Europe in 1924. Kane was a representative of the New York Athletic Club and worked as an athletic administrator at Cornell for 36 years. In 1951, he was elected to the USOC Board of Directors and later served as USOC President from 1977-81. Kane was at the head of the USOC during the boycott of the Olympic Games Moscow 1980 requested by U.S. President Jimmy Carter. He created the U.S. Olympic Festival and organized the first festival, held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1978. Kane passed away on May 30, 1992 in Ithaca, New York.
