Early Life
Harold Marion Osborn was born April 13, 1899, the fourth child and third son of Jesse Ware Osborn and Emma Ware, whose parents and grandparents were settled in central Illinois in the early 19th century. Osborn grew up on the family farm in Butler Grove Township in Montgomery County.
Family lore tells us that Harold and his brothers, Wesley, Clarence, and Loren, were encouraged to run and practice jumping hurdles on the farm. Their father, Jesse, built a track and hurdles on the farm so that the boys could practice. After team practices in football, basketball, and track at Hillsboro High School, Harold had to walk or run the four miles home to the farm. Throughout Osborn's long athletic career, few people were aware that he had lost most of his vision in one eye due to an injury during his teenage years. As a result he had very little depth perception, making it difficult to know when to jump as he approached the cross bar. He compensated by carefully measuring from the take-off point to a point where he began his running approach.
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