Ralph Hills

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Ralph Hills
The article subject posing against a dark background while wearing his Hill School sports uniform with a prominent letter "H" on the chest
Hills in 1921
Personal information
BornJanuary 19, 1902
Washington, D.C., U.S.
DiedSeptember 20, 1977 (aged 75)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight95 kg (209 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)Shot put, hammer throw
ClubPrinceton Tigers
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)SP – 15.26 m (1925)
HT – 48.43 m (1924)[1]
Medal record
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1924 Paris Shot put

Ralph Gorman Hills (January 19, 1902 – September 20, 1977) was an American shot putter.[2] After winning a bronze medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics, he married a state governor's daughter, graduated from Princeton and Johns Hopkins Universities, and became a physician. Hills lived near Baltimore, Maryland, and served in the United States Army during World War II.[3]

Early life, education, and career[]

Hills, a grandson of U.S. Senator Arthur Pue Gorman, was born to Ralph Warren Hills (1875–1940),[4] a lawyer and diplomat, and Mary Edna Gorman Hills (1876–1944) on January 19, 1902. He attended The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, from 1916 through graduation in 1921, where he was on the football team, served as class president, and developed his track athletics skills. Continuing his education at Princeton University, from which he graduated in 1925, Hills was captain of the track team. He pursued his M.D. degree at Johns Hopkins University, married Mary Joe Dixon (daughter of Montana governor Joseph M. Dixon) in 1928, and graduated in 1929. After an internship year at Union Memorial Hospital, and residencies at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Hills entered private practice. During World War II, Hills served overseas with the U.S. Army's 18th General Hospital, and had the rank of Second Lieutenant when discharged.[5]

Athletics[]

Hills first joined an Olympic team at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.[6] He won a succession of AAU and IC4A collegiate titles, both indoor and outdoor, each year he was at Princeton. In 1924, Hills represented the United States at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, and won the bronze medal for the shot put competition.[7]

Death and legacy[]

Hills taught students, staff, and nurses throughout his career, at Johns Hopkins and Union Memorial Hospitals.[5][7]

He died on September 20, 1977, from complications following a ruptured abdominal aneurysm.[5] Hill's alma mater, The Hill School, inducted him to their Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.[6]

His first son, J. Dixon Hills,[8] graduated from Princeton in 1954 and entered the medical profession like his father as a physician.[5][9] His second son, Ralph Warren Hills (1939–2012),[10] also attended Princeton and was a WBAL television producer in Baltimore.[8][9][11]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Nonna, Michael. "Track and Field Statistics: Ralph Hills". trackfield.brinkster.net. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  2. ^ "Ralph Hills". Olympedia. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  3. ^ "Olympedia – Ralph Hills". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  4. ^ Hills, Ralph Warren (1922). Lex talionis; an analysis of the forces whose resultant produced the Treaty of Versailles. Baltimore, Maryland: Fleet-McGinley. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d Howard, John Eager, M.D. (1979). "Memorial: Ralph Gorman Hills". Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association. National Institutes of Health United States National Library of Medicine. 90: xli–xlii. PMC 2279394. PMID 390815.
  6. ^ a b "The Hill School Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2012". The Hill School Alumni Association. 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Ralph Hills Bio, Stats, and Results". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  8. ^ a b Sentementes, Gus G. (June 17, 2012). "Obituary for Ralph Warren Hills, long-time television producer for WBAL-TV". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  9. ^ a b "Ralph Warren Hills '61". Princeton Alumni Weekly. 113 (7). February 6, 2013. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  10. ^ "Ralph Warren "Hillsy" Hills". Hyde Bay Camp website. John Mercer. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  11. ^ "News Archive – 2012". Princeton University Class of 1961. Archived from the original on June 12, 2013. Retrieved August 31, 2013.

External links[]

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