George Harris
Member of the first United States Olympic judo team
- Born
- 15 January 1933, Kittrell
- Died
- 7 January 2011, Brick Township
- Citizenship
- United States
- Sport
- judo
- Occupation
- judoka
- Height
- 189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
- Weight
- 100 kg (220 lb)
George Lee Harris (January 15, 1933 – January 7, 2011) was a member of the first United States Olympic judo team. He was born in Kittrell, North Carolina.
He was a 10th dan in Judo. Harris began his judo career after 1952. Harris while speaking at Jack Krystek's School of Judo stated he was initially a boxer before becoming a Judoka. Harris was a gold medalist at the Pan American Games, four-time United States National Champion, and six time Air Force Champion. He also trained at the Kodokan where he earned his blackbelt.
Harris had a long involvement with military judo in the United States Air Force, and later served as president of the United States Judo Association.
He starred in the late-1970s martial-arts film, "The Year of the Gentle Tiger", a forerunner to "The Karate Kid". He also appeared on talk shows and was twice a guest on "To Tell the Truth".
Competitions
| Competition | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 Summer Olympics | 1964 |
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q5540265 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.