Notable Personalities
Born, Raised, or Became Famous in Lake, Porter Counties Indiana
and Surrounding Illinois Communities. |
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Joie Ray
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Born April 13, 1894 in Kankakee, Illinois. |
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Died May 15, 1978. |
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Joie Ray was an internationally known runner who came to East
Gary in 1918. He went on the road until 1936 when he retired
from running and went to work in the Gary Sheet and Tin Mill.
With no High School or College training, he out ran Norman Taber, the
world record holder, at the San Francisco World Fair and won the
IAC-National AAU mile. Mr. Ray also ran in the 1920, 1925 and
1928 Olympics. In 1925, he tied the mile record of 4.12 minutes
and in 1928 he became the first American to finish in the Olympics
marathon race. In all, he had 32 world distance records in the
1920's. After returning to East Gary, Mr. Ray was appointed the
chief programmer for the local Ground observers Corp. in October of
1956. He retired from the Sheet & Tin mill in 1959. |
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| If you know of a notable personality that is not on this list, who was born or raised in Lake , Porter Counties Indiana or Surrounding Illinois Communities please feel free to e-mail your suggestions to: ljackson@lakeco.lib.in.us |
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