Freddie Wolff
{{Short description|British athlete (1910–1988)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Freddie Wolff
| image = Frederick Wolff in 1952.jpg
| caption = Wolff in 1952
| birth_date = {{birth date |df=yes|1910|10|13}}
| birth_place = British Hong Kong
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1988|01|26|1910|10|13}}
| death_place = Marylebone, London, U.K.
| alma_mater = Beaumont College
| occupation = Athlete
| known_for = Gold Medal Olympian
| spouse = Natalie Winefred Virginia Byrne
| children = 5
| relatives =
}}
{{MedalTableTop|name=no|medals=
{{MedalSport|Men's athletics}}
{{MedalCountry|{{GBR2}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|Olympic Games}}
{{MedalGold|1936 Berlin|4 × 400 m relay}}
}}
Frederick Ferdinand Wolff, CBE, TD (13 October 1910 – 26 January 1988) was a British athlete, winner of gold medal in 4 × 400 m relay at the 1936 Summer Olympics.{{cite book | title= Chasing Gold | publisher= Getty Images | year= 2005
| isbn= 0-901662-02-X | page= 176}}
Early life
On 13 October 1910, Wolff was born in British Hong Kong, the eldest son of a family of four children.
Wolff was a member of the Kowloon Cricket Club, where he won his first race in 1919.
Wolff and his family returned to England. Wolff attended Shirley House Preparatory School and Beaumont College in Windsor, England.[https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/wo/freddie-wolff-1.html Freddie Wolff] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104163433/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/wo/freddie-wolff-1.html |date=4 November 2012 }}. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2015-01-23.
Career
Wolff became the national 440 yards champion after winning the British AAA Championships title at the 1933 AAA Championships.{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000320/19330708/062/0006 |title=Amateur titles contested |work=Gloucestershire Echo |date=8 July 1933 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=11 January 2025 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000681/19330710/227/0014 |title=Finn's brilliant 3 miles : Our athletes shine |work=Daily Herald |date=10 July 1933 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=11 January 2025 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=11 January 2025 }}
At the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, Wolff ran the opening leg in the British 4 × 400 m relay team, which won the gold medal with a new European record of 3:09.0.
In 1929, Wolff joined the family firm Rudolf Wolff & Co. In the Second World War, Wolff served in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and was promoted to the rank of captain.{{cite book
| title= The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry War Chronicle 1942-1944
| publisher= Gale and Polden Limited.
| year = 1951
| page=382
}} Wolff rejoined Rudolf Wolff & Co. in 1946, and became a partner in 1951.
From 1970 to 1977 Wolff became the Committee Chairman of the London Metal Exchange helping establishing the LME's international reputation. He was made a CBE in 1975.{{cite book
| title= Wolff's Guide to the London Metal Exchange
| publisher= Metal Bulletin Books Limited
| year= 1980|edition=2nd
| isbn= 0-900542-43-8
| page= 320
}}
Wolff was the chairman of the Handicapped Children's Pilgrimage Trust.
Personal life
Wolff married Natalie Winefred Virginia Byrne, the daughter of Ferdinand and Mary (née Keith) Byrne. Wolff had five children: Jennifer, John, Carolyn, Richard (twin) and Christine (twin).
Also 22 Grandchildren: Michael, Philippa, Michele, Clare, Natalie, Timothy, Madeleine, Catherine, Paul, Anna, Suzie, Mark, Christianne, Lucinda, Fred, John, Nikki, Monica, Sebastian, Andrew, Luke, Marie-Francoise.
On 26 January 1988, Wolff died in Marylebone, London, United Kingdom. He was 77. The British Olympic Association held a reception at the Buckingham Palace for all surviving British Olympic medalists on the day he died.
In 2015, Wolff's great-grandson Daniel Wolff competed in the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles. His disability was autism.{{Cite web|url = http://en.espn.co.uk/olympic-sports/sport/story/380735.html|title = Wolff on hunt for family Olympic gold|date = 2 January 2015|access-date = 24 July 2015|publisher = ESPN|last = Perry|first = Alex}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Sports-Reference|wo/freddie-wolff-1}}
- {{Olympics.com profile|frederick-ferdinand-wolff|Frederick Ferdinand Wolff}}
- [http://calbears.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3MKT/is_n18_v96/ai_6297533/ Freddy Wolff obituary, American Metal Market 27 January 1988, Managing Director and Chairman of Rudolf Wolff & Co. and Chairman of the LME]{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 4x400 m Men|1936}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Freddie}}
Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic athletes for Great Britain
Category:English Olympic competitors
Category:Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain
Category:English male sprinters
Category:British male sprinters
Category:Hong Kong emigrants to England
Category:Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
Category:British expatriates in Hong Kong
Category:British Army personnel of World War II
Category:Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers