Saul Welger (18 April 1931 – 10 October 2002) from Brooklyn, New York, was a United States Paralympic athlete. In the 1960 Summer Paralympics and 1964 Summer Paralympics he competed in multiple sports, including wheelchair basketball.

Saul Welger
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born(1931-04-18)18 April 1931
New York City, New York, United States
Died10 October 2002(2002-10-10) (aged 71)
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Spouse
(m. 1962⁠–⁠2002)
Sport
SportAthletics
Wheelchair basketball
Medal record
Representing  United States
Paralympic Games
Athletics
Bronze medal – third place 1960 Rome Men's Shot Put C
Wheelchair basketball
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Men's Tournament Class B
Gold medal – first place 1964 Tokyo Men's Tournament Class B Incomplete

Welger competed at the 1958 and 1959 Stoke Mandeville Games. In the 1960 and 1964 Paralympics he was a member of the winning United States wheelchair basketball team. In 1976, Welger was inducted into the NWBA Hall of Fame.[1] He hired Junius Kellogg as the first Black coach in wheelchair basketball.[2]

Welger married West German wheelchair athlete Christa E. Zander in 1963; they had two children, born in 1966 and 1970. Saul Welger died in 2002. After Christa Welger's death in 2019, the Christa & Saul Welger Foundation was established, to continue their work in supporting accessible sports opportunities for physically disabled youth.[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Saul Welger". 17 August 2014.
  2. ^ "Kellogg To Coach Wheelchair Cage Team In Paralympics". The Chicago Defender. December 1, 1956. p. 8 – via ProQuest.
  3. ^ "Christa and Saul Welger Foundation". Retrieved 2021-07-28.