"Richard Kempster Degener (March 14, 1912 – August 24, 1995) was an American diver. He won a bronze and a gold medal in the 3 m ...
springboard at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics, respectively.
In April, 1936, Degener, along with many other sports champions and standouts, was honored at a banquet in Detroit, Michigan. This banquet was the first celebration of Champions Day. In July, 1936, a plaque was presented to Detroit from the White House honoring Detroit as the City of Champions. The plaque has five "medallions" featuring athletes. Originally the plans called for these five athletes to be a baseball player, football player, hockey player, power boat racer, and a boxer. But Joe Louis was surprisingly knocked out in a boxing match just weeks before the plaque was to be presented. Planners changed the boxer to a diver, to represent Degener, at the last minute." - (en.wikipedia.org 15.08.2021)
