View source for Joe Rantz

{{Short description|American rower (1914–2007)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| honorific_prefix = 
| name             = 
| honorific_suffix = 
| image            =File:Joe Rantz pic.jpg
| image_size       = <!-- only when absolutely necessary -->
| image_upright    = 
| landscape        = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank -->
| alt              = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption          = Rantz in 1936
| headercolor      = lightsteelblue
| textcolor        = 
<!-- Personal information -->
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| birth_name       = <!-- if different than name -->
| full_name        = <!-- if different than name/birth_name -->
| nickname         = 
| nationality      = <!-- will not display if national_team is defined -->
| national_team    = <!-- only for the country represented in international competition -->
| citizenship      = 
| birth_date       =  {{birth date|1914|03|31}} 
| birth_place      = [[Spokane, Washington]], U.S.
| death_date       ={{death date and age|2007|09|10|1914|03|31}} 
| death_place      = [[Redmond, Washington]], U.S.
| resting_place    = 
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| monuments        = 
| hometown         = 
| education        = 
| alma_mater       = 
| occupation       = 
| years_active     = 
| employer         = 
| agent            = 
| height           = <!-- X cm, X m, or X ft Y in (automatic conversion) plus optional year and reference -->
| weight           = <!-- X kg, X lb, or X st Y lb (automatic conversion) plus optional year and reference -->
| spouse           = 
| life_partner     = 
| children         = 
| parents          = <!-- or | mother = | father = -->
| relatives        = 
| other_interests  = 
| website          = <!-- {{URL|www.example.com}} -->
| module           = 
<!-- Sport -->
| country          = 
| sport            = 
| position         = 
| shoots           = 
| catches          = 
| disability       = 
| disability_class = 
| weight_class     = 
| weight_class_type = 
| rank             = 
| event            = 
| event_type       = 
| universityteam   = 
| collegeteam      = 
| league           = 
| league_type      = 
| club             = 
| team             = 
| turnedpro        = 
| turnedpro_type   = 
| partner          = 
| former_partner   = 
| coach            = 
| retired          = 
| coaching         = 
| module2          = 
<!-- Achievements and titles -->
| worlds           = 
| regionals        = 
| nationals        = 
| olympics         = 
| paralympics      = 
| commonwealth     = 
| highestranking   = 
| pb               = 
<!-- Medal record -->
| show-medals      = 
| medaltemplates   =
{{MedalSport | Men's [[Rowing (sport)|rowing]]}}
{{MedalCountry|the {{USA}}}}
{{MedalGold| [[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Berlin]]|[[Rowing at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's eight|Men's eight]]}}
| medaltemplates-title = 
| module3          = 
}}

[[File:JoeRantzGoldMedal1936Olympics.jpg|thumb|Joe Rantz's gold medal from the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, currently on display at the [[Conibear Shellhouse]], University of Washington campus courtesy of the Rantz family]]

'''Joseph Harry Rantz''' (March 31, 1914 – September 10, 2007) was an American [[Rowing (sport)|rower]] who won Olympic gold in the men's eight at the [[Rowing at the 1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Summer Olympics]].<ref name=withers>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Craig |title=Undefeated UW rowers Rantz earned gold | newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=September 12, 2007 |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskies/2003880103_obit12.html }}</ref>

==Early life==
Born in [[Spokane, Washington]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-22 |title=Shawn Vestal: Before becoming a boy in the boat, rower grew up hard in Spokane and North Idaho |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/dec/22/shawn-vestal-before-becoming-a-boy-in-the-boat-row/ |access-date=2025-05-27 |website=Spokesman.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-03-24 |title=No ordinary Joe |url=https://www.sequimgazette.com/life/no-ordinary-joe/ |access-date=2025-05-27 |website=Sequim Gazette |language=en-US}}</ref> Joe Rantz had a harsh childhood in Boulder City, Idaho and, later, [[Sequim, Washington]]. His mother, Nellie Maxwell (1881–1918), died from throat cancer when Rantz was four.<ref name=brown/> His father, Harry Rantz (1880–1966), remarried in 1921, but Rantz did not connect well with his stepmother, Thula LaFollete (1897–1935), who struggled to raise Rantz and her four younger biological children.<ref name=brown/> From age 15, Rantz reared himself in an unfinished house abandoned by his father and stepmother and put himself through high school. He gained admission to the [[University of Washington]].<ref name=brown/>

==Rowing and later career==
Rantz rowed in the [[University of Washington]] senior varsity eights which won US national [[Intercollegiate Rowing Association]] titles in 1936 and 1937 as well as the victorious sophomore eight of 1935 and freshman eight of 1934.<ref name=brown/><ref name=historylink>{{cite web| last = Lange | first = Greg  | title = HistoryLink: Rowing crew of the University of Washington wins the Olympic Gold Medal on August 14, 1936  | url = http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=700  | date = 1999-01-15
  | publisher = [[HistoryLink.org]]  | access-date = 2013-12-11}}</ref>  Rantz is the central character in the non-fiction book ''[[The Boys in the Boat]]'', which chronicles his struggles through life in his early years, culminating with his Olympic gold medal win from the seven seat of the US men's eight at Berlin in 1936.<ref name=brown>Brown, Daniel James (2013). ''The Boys In The Boat'', Viking / Penguin Group, New York. {{ISBN|978-0-670-02581-7}}.</ref> The book inspired the [[PBS]] documentary ''American Experience: The Boys of '36'' and [[The Boys in the Boat (film)|a 2023 feature film]] directed by [[George Clooney]], where Rantz was portrayed by [[Callum Turner]].

Rantz earned a chemical engineering degree from the university and worked for [[Boeing]] for 35 years following his retirement from rowing, contributing to the invention of the [[cleanroom]]. 

==Personal life==
In 1939 Rantz  married his college sweetheart, Joyce Simdars. They were married for 63 years until Joyce's death in 2002. They had five children.<ref>https://nfhs.org/articles/profile-joe-rantz-s-opportunity-began-in-high-school</ref>

Rantz died of [[congestive heart failure]] in [[Redmond, Washington]], at age 93.<ref name=withers/><ref name=brown/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{databaseOlympics|RANTZJOS01|archive=20070319003522}}
* {{Olympedia}}
* {{Olympics.com profile}}
* {{World Rowing}}

{{Olympic champions – Men's eight}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rantz, Joseph}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:American male rowers]]
[[Category:Rowers at the 1936 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in rowing]]
[[Category:Washington Huskies men's rowers]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Spokane, Washington]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Boeing people]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]