• America's First Black Heavyweight Boxing Olympic Gold Medalist

    Big Ed’s Archive

THE LIFE OF: Hayes “BIG ED” Sanders

Hayes Edward Sanders was born March 24, 1930 in Los Angeles, CA. His father, Hays Sanders, hailed from Elysian Fields, TX and worked as a municipal garbage worker. His mother, Eva Cook Sanders, hailed from Pearsall County, TX, and was a stay-at-home mother.

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Hayes "BIG ED" Sanders born in Watts, CA 1930

Hayes Edward Sanders was the oldest male child of the family. His older sister, Winifred, bornin 1928, died in a Scarlet Fever epidemic, in 1939. Before Winifred’s death, she was recognized as a talented child prodigy. As a child, Sanders was very large and physically strong. At age 12, hewas recollected to be the size of a normal 18 year old.

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A Legend Lives On

Idaho State University alum Ed Sanders, made history as the first African-American to bring home the Olympic gold medal in boxing as a heavyweight. At a time a decade before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was made a federal law, trailblazers like Sanders helped pave the way for generations to come.

View Sanders 1952 Olympic Boxing Match

Hayes “Big Ed” Sanders

(March 24, 1930 – December 12, 1954) An American heavyweight boxer from Watts, California who won an Olympic gold medal for Boxing in 1952. Survived by his wife Mary Sanders and son Russell Sanders.

Memorabilia