Finding aid for the Sammy Lee papers 3030
Lindsay Long, Sarah Cassone
USC Libraries East Asian Library
2017 December
Doheny Memorial Library
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-1825
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries East Asian Library
Title: Sammy Lee papers
Creator:
Lee, Sammy, 1920-2016
Identifier/Call Number: 3030
Identifier/Call Number: /repositories/6/resources/1519
Physical Description:
4.083 Linear Feet
4 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1920-2010
Abstract: Sammy Lee was a two-time Korean American Olympic gold medal winning diver, physician, and USC alum. This small collection
consists of awards, certificates, audiovisual materials, scrapbooks, copies of a biography, and other various ephemera documenting
Lee's life and career.
Language of Material:
English,
Korean.
Biographical Note
Born on August 1, 1920, Sammy Lee was a Korean American gold medal Olympian and physician. Lee won gold for platform diving
at the 1948 Olympics in London and at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. He was the first Asian American to win an Olympic Gold
Medal for the United States, as well as the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in Olympic platform diving.
Growing up in Highland Park in Los Angeles, Lee faced ethnic prejudice; he was only able to use a neighboring pool in Pasadena
once a week on Wednesdays, when it was dubbed "International Day." Unwilling to let this impede his practicing, Lee's coach
dug a pit in his backyard and filled it with sand so Lee could practice his jumping.
Lee received his undergraduate degree from Occidental as a student athlete. In 1947, he received his M.D. from USC's School
of Medicine. He also joined the U.S. Army Medical Corps, where he served from 1953-1955.
Despite his achievements and fame, Lee continued to experience ethnic prejudice in the 1950s when he attempted to purchase
a home in Garden Grove, California, but was told he could not. After retiring from diving, Lee became a coach to the likes
of Bob Webster, Greg Louganis, and Pat McCormick. He was also a physician and member of the Korean-American Medical Association.
Lee was married to Rosalind Wong and had two children. He died on December 2 2016, at age 96, due to complications from pneumonia.
Scope and Contents
The Sammy Lee papers, 1920-2010, consist of awards, certificates, audiovisual materials, scrapbooks, copies of a biography,
and other various ephemera documenting Lee's life and career as both a two-time gold medal winning Korean-American Olympic
athlete as well as a physician. The collection comprises primarily two large scrapbooks, one each to commemorate Sammy Lee's
participation in the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games. The scrapbooks are filled with photographs, newspaper clippings, and other
memorabilia related to those Olympic Games. The collection includes two copies of "Not Without Honor: The Story of Sammy Lee"
by Molly Frick Wampler; one is the published copy from Santa Barbara: The Fithian Press, 1987, the other is a more extensive
printed typescript of the book. The collection also includes awards and certificates presented to Sammy Lee for various events
and accomplishments, including sports awards and presidential recognitions. The rest of the collection consists of a few video
cassettes, one DVD, and a copy of the 24th Anniversary Korean American Medical Association Membership Directory.
Conditions Governing Access
Advance notice required for access.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Curator of the Korean
Heritage Library. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Korean Heritage Library as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Sammy Lee, 1989
Preferred Citation
[Box/Folder# or Item name]. Sammy Lee Papers, Collection no. 3030, Korean Heritage Library, USC Libraries, University of Southern
California.
Processing Information
This collection is not fully processed.
Organization
The collection is organized in the following four series: Biographical materials, Awards and certificates, Audiovisual materials,
and Scrapbooks.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Asian American men -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Divers -- United States -- Archival resources
Korean American physicians -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Olympic athletes -- United States -- Archival resources
Books
Ephemera
Scrapbooks
Video recordings
Olympics -- History -- Archival resources
Lee, Sammy, 1920-2016 -- Archives
Louganis, Greg, 1960- -- Archives
Korean-American Medical Association -- Archives
Olympic Games (14th : 1948 : London, England) -- Archives
Olympic Games (15th : 1952 : Helsinki, Finland) -- Archives
Biographical materials /repositories/6/archival_objects/246063469067
Box 1, Item 1
"Not Without Honor: The Story of Sammy Lee" [published edition signed by Sammy Lee] /repositories/6/archival_objects/246064469068
1987
Box 1, Folder 1-13
"Not Without Honor: The Story of Sammy Lee" [typescript, 402 leaves, double-spaced] /repositories/6/archival_objects/246065469069
1990
Physical Description: 13 folders
Box 1, Item 2
Korean-American Medical Association. 24th Anniversary Membership Directory /repositories/6/archival_objects/246066469070
1974-1998
Awards and certificates /repositories/6/archival_objects/246067469071
Box 1, Folder 14
Awards and certificates /repositories/6/archival_objects/540363
1953-1995
Physical Description: 1 folder
Language of Material: English.
Box 1, Folder 15
Awards and Certificates /repositories/6/archival_objects/540365
1996-2016
Physical Description: 1 folder
Language of Material: English.
Box 1, Item 3
Skull and Dagger Initiation /repositories/6/archival_objects/540366
1989
Physical Description: 1 clamshell albums
Language of Material: English.
Box 1, Item 4
Paul Harris Fellow /repositories/6/archival_objects/540367
undated
Physical Description: 1 clamshell albums
Language of Material: English.
Audiovisual materials /repositories/6/archival_objects/246071469076
Box 1, Item 5
(DVD) Sammy Lee: two programs (1. Helsinki, 1952; 2. Sammy & Greg) /repositories/6/archival_objects/246074469079
Box 1, Item 6
(VHS) Sammy Lee/Greg Louganis, Seoul '88 (16:32) /repositories/6/archival_objects/246072469077
Box 1, Item 7
(VHS) Sam & Greg, Seoul '88: 16 Days of Glory Part 2 (44:09) /repositories/6/archival_objects/540368
Language of Material: English.
Box 1, Item 8
(VHS) Dr. Sammy Lee /repositories/6/archival_objects/246073469078
Scrapbooks /repositories/6/archival_objects/500256
Box 2
Olympic Games London, England /repositories/6/archival_objects/540369
1948
Physical Description: 1 oversize box.
Language of Material: English.
Box 3
Olympic Games, Helsinki, Finland /repositories/6/archival_objects/540370
1952
Physical Description: 1 scrapbooks.
Box 4
Additional materials /repositories/6/archival_objects/675460
