(1908-1992)
D Vautier
5/23
Paul Jessup was my 1st cousin once removed (My dads 1st cousin) and was perhaps one of the more famous of all the Jessups. He was the son of Patrick W. Jessup and Kittie Waterman Jessup. Paul Jessup was a big guy standing at 6'5'' when he was 17 and still growing eventually to reach 6'6". He lettered in football at the University of Washington in 1928, 1929 and 1930. The team unfortunately had a dismal record that last year: 2 wins, 6 losses. The wins were out of conference.
Paul Jessup held the world record in discus for a couple of years (1930-32). His record was 169 Ft. 7 and 7/8 In. He went to the 1932 Olympics in LA but failed to qualify--probably exhausted. My mom described his difficulties getting to Los Angeles. Can you imagine what the drive from Seattle to LA was like in 1932 with no freeways and he did it non stop. He was completely exhausted and did not perform well at the Olympics.
But no one broke his collegiate record in LA. The silver medal winner broke it the following year. Paul is still recognized by some as one of the top 10 throwers of discus and shot put of all time.
Paul also was captain of the Washington Football team playing offensive tackle and defensive center. Jessup improved further in 1930, setting his personal bests that year. In an early dual meet against Stanford University, he threw the discus 48.23 meters (158 ft 2 and 78 in).
After he graduated he went into law practice.
He died in Palm Beach, Florida.
Below are some articles about Paul.
