Editing Eddie Tolan (section)

==Vaudeville and hard times==
[[File:Bill Robinson.jpg|thumb|right|130px|After the 1932 Olympics, Tolan appeared in vaudeville with [[Bill Robinson|Bill "Bojangles" Robinson]].]]
Less than six months after winning Olympic gold medals and the title of the "world's fastest human," Tolan garnered national press when he fell on hard times. Syndicated columnist William H. Beatty wrote that "the heady wine of victory has turned overnight to vinegar" for Tolan.<ref name=Job>{{cite news|author=William H. Beatty|title=Eddie Tolan Retired, Is Glad to Have a Job Now|publisher=Daily Capital News|date=January 24, 1933}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=William H. Beatty|title=Tolan Sick on Victory Wine: Feted Littled Colored Hero's Dreams of Becoming a Great Physician Shattered as He Toils at County Clerk's Job; Eddie Says He May Never Run Again|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=January 24, 1933}}</ref> Tolan noted that, when he was met at the train station by a welcoming committee, his half-brother was collecting waste paper in the grass of the park in front of the train station. Tolan noted that his half-brother was "luckier than I am," because he had a job.<ref name=Job/> His parents had both been unemployed for many months, and it was not until January 1933 that Tolan was able to get a low-paying job as a filing clerk in a county office.<ref name=Job/> Tolan's lifetime dream of becoming a physician was waning, as he had been "unable to make enough to support himself and his parents."<ref name=Job/>

Desperate to earn a living, Tolan "walked the streets of many cities, seeking work," and even briefly appeared in vaudeville in 1932 with [[Bill Robinson|Bill "Bojangles" Robinson]].<ref name=Job/> They made a good team; Tolan had set world records for running forwards, and Robinson had set world's records for running backwards: 50 yards backward sprint (6 seconds), 75 yards backwards sprint (8.2 seconds), and 100 yards backwards sprint (13.2 seconds).

Because of his brief appearance in vaudeville, the Michigan [[Amateur Athletic Association]] stripped Tolan of his amateur status in June 1933.<ref>{{cite news|title=Eddie Tolan Ruled 'Pro' by A.A.U.|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=June 24, 1933}}</ref> And in April 1934, Tolan's bad luck continued as an automobile he was driving struck and seriously injured an 80-year-old pedestrian.<ref>{{cite news|title=Eddie Tolan Car Injures Man|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=April 2, 1934}}</ref>