While a student at Malden High School, Louise Stokes Fraser set many records in track and field. She also played center on the girl’s basketball team and sang in the choir. In 1931, as a junior she set a New England record in the 100 meters with a time of 12.6. Four months later she set a world record for women in the standing broad jump at 8’5. 75”. In January 1932, Louise won the National Junior 40-yard dash championship and defended her broad jump record in Princeton. At the end of her senior year in high school she qualified for the 1932 Olympic Trials at Northwestern University. There, Louise finished third in the 100 meters and earned a place on the women’s 400-meter relay team, which were being held that year in Los Angles. She, along with Tydie Pickett, were the first African-American Women chosen for a United States Olympic team. In 1933 she set a New England record and became the New England AAU Champion in the 40-yard dash with a time of 5.6. Over the next 3 years Louise retained the 50-meter title and added New England titles in the 25-yard sprint, 100 meters, 100 yards, 200 meters, 220-yards, broad jump and high jump. In 1936 the Olympic Trials were held at Brown University. There, Louise placed 5th in the 100 meter but again made the team as a member of the 400-meter relay team which were to be held this year in Berlin, Germany. However, just as in 1932, race may have played a role when the United States Olympic Committee choose four white women to run the relay. Her Track, but not her athletic career was ended at this time. Never one to stay still for too long, Louise, in 1941 started the “Colored Women’s Bowling League” and for the next 30 years won many titles as a professional bowler. In November 1980, the field house at Roosevelt Park in Malden was dedicated in Louise Stokes Fraser’s memory, and in September 1987, a statute was dedicated in her honor in the Malden High School courtyard.
Class: 1931 Inducted: 2005