Bobby Morrow
Bobby MorrowMorrow with wife Jo Ann in 1956 |
|
Born | (1935-10-15)October 15, 1935 Harlingen, Texas, U.S. |
---|
Died | May 30, 2020(2020-05-30) (aged 84) San Benito, Texas, U.S |
---|
Resting place | Restlawn Memorial Park La Feria, Texas |
---|
Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) |
---|
Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) |
---|
|
Sport | Athletics |
---|
Event | 100–400 m |
---|
Club | ACU Wildcats, Abilene |
---|
|
Personal best(s) | 100 m – 10.2 (1956) 200 m – 20.75 (1956) 400 m – 47.7 (1959) |
---|
|
Bobby Joe Morrow (October 15, 1935 – May 30, 2020) was an American sprinter who won three gold medals at the 1956 Olympics. He has been called "the dominant sprinter of the 1950s" and "the most relaxed sprinter of all time, even more so than his hero Jesse Owens".
Early life
Morrow was born in Harlingen, Texas, on October 15, 1935, and raised on a cotton and carrot farm on the outskirts of San Benito, Texas. Before becoming a sprinter, Morrow played football for San Benito High School. Morrow also was a sprinter at Abilene Christian University, and became a member of the men's club Frater Sodalis in 1955.
Career
Morrow won the 1955 AAU 100-yard title. His most successful season was in 1956, when he was chosen by Sports Illustrated as "Sportsman of the Year". Morrow won the sprint double in the national college championships and defended his AAU title. Morrow then went to the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, where he won three gold medals and was the leader of the American sprint team. First, he was victorious in the 100-meter dash. He then led an American sweep of the medals in the 200-meter dash, while equaling the world record at that distance with a time of 20.6 seconds (unofficially auto-timed at 20.75). He won his third gold by anchoring the 4 × 100-meter relay team to a world record time. He was the first sprinter since Jesse Owens in 1936 to win gold medals in those three events.
Morrow achieved great fame after winning his three gold medals, and was featured on the covers of Life and SPORT, as well as Sports Illustrated. He appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and Arthur Godfrey and His Friends, and addressed a joint session of the Texas legislature.
Morrow's success on a national level continued after the Olympics, but he retired in 1958 to become a farmer and a woodworker. He made a short comeback before the 1960 Olympic Games, but failed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team.
Legacy
In October 2006, San Benito High School named its new 12,000 seat sporting facility in San Benito, used for football and soccer, Bobby Morrow Stadium. Morrow was on hand to help dedicate the new facility. He was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1989 and into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016.
Personal life
Morrow in a college chemistry lab. in 1956
Morrow was married to Jo Ann Strickland, whom he met in high school, in what was described as a "fairy-tale marriage". They moved to Odessa, and later to Houston, where he restarted his career in banking that he had put on hold to train for the 1960 Olympics. They divorced around 1968. He subsequently moved to Ohio, where he met and married Judy.
Morrow died of natural causes on May 30, 2020, at his home in Harlingen, Texas, at the age of 84.
References
- ^ a b Bobby Morrow Archived June 27, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. USATF Hall of Fame
- ^ a b c d e Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Bobby Morrow". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020.
- ^ a b Bobby Morrow. trackfield.brinkster.net
- ^ Sears, Edward Seldon (2001). Running Through the Ages. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 236–238. ISBN 9780786409716.
- ^ Puente, Nathaniel (May 30, 2020). "Bobby J. Morrow, Olympic medal winner, San Benito native, passes away at 84". ValleyCentral News. KVEO-TV. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Bobby Joe Morrow, 3-time winner in 1956 Olympics, dies at 84". Associated Press News. May 30, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- ^ a b "Bioperse: Bobby Morrow". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 5 (1 ed.). July 2, 1956. p. 59. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Martin, William (August 1984). "The Fastest Nice Christian Boy in the World". Texas Monthly. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- ^ Morrow—and a day of medal memories, The Age, (Wednesday, 12 February 1975), p.1.
- ^ "Bobby Joe Morrow". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. October 11, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
- ^ Martin, William (August 1984). "The Fastest Nice Christian Boy in the World: Then Bobby Morrow Lost His Speed and He Began to Have Certain Doubts". Texas Monthly. Austin, Texas. pp. 114–201.
- ^ Bobby Morrow Stadium – San Benito, Texas. Texasbob.com (April 14, 2013). Retrieved on 2017-08-21.
- ^ Inductees – Name, Category, Year Archived January 16, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. TX TF Hall of Fame.
- ^ Former ACU track star, Olympic gold medal winner Bobby Joe Morrow dies
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Bobby Morrow.
Olympic champions in men's 4 × 100 metres relay |
---|
- 1912: David Jacobs, Henry Macintosh, Victor d'Arcy, Willie Applegarth (GBR)
- 1920: Charley Paddock, Jackson Scholz, Loren Murchison, Morris Kirksey (USA)
- 1924: Loren Murchison, Louis Clarke, Frank Hussey, Al LeConey (USA)
- 1928: Frank Wykoff, James Quinn, Charley Borah, Henry Russell (USA)
- 1932: Bob Kiesel, Emmett Toppino, Hector Dyer, Frank Wykoff (USA)
- 1936: Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalfe, Foy Draper, Frank Wykoff (USA)
- 1948: Barney Ewell, Lorenzo Wright, Harrison Dillard, Mel Patton (USA)
- 1952: Dean Smith, Harrison Dillard, Lindy Remigino, Andy Stanfield (USA)
- 1956: Ira Murchison, Leamon King, Thane Baker, Bobby Morrow (USA)
- 1960: Bernd Cullmann, Armin Hary, Walter Mahlendorf, Martin Lauer (EUA)
- 1964: Paul Drayton, Gerry Ashworth, Richard Stebbins, Bob Hayes (USA)
- 1968: Charles Greene, Mel Pender, Ronnie Ray Smith, Jim Hines (USA)
- 1972: Larry Black, Robert Taylor, Gerald Tinker, Eddie Hart (USA)
- 1976: Harvey Glance, Lam Jones, Millard Hampton, Steve Riddick (USA)
- 1980: Vladimir Muravyov, Nikolay Sidorov, Aleksandr Aksinin, Andrey Prokofyev (URS)
- 1984: Sam Graddy, Ron Brown, Calvin Smith, Carl Lewis (USA)
- 1988: Viktor Bryzhin, Vladimir Krylov, Vladimir Muravyov, Vitaliy Savin (URS)
- 1992: Michael Marsh, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell, Carl Lewis, James Jett (USA)
- 1996: Robert Esmie, Glenroy Gilbert, Bruny Surin, Donovan Bailey, Carlton Chambers (CAN)
- 2000: Jon Drummond, Bernard Williams, Brian Lewis, Maurice Greene, Tim Montgomery, Kenny Brokenburr (USA)
- 2004: Jason Gardener, Darren Campbell, Marlon Devonish, Mark Lewis-Francis (GBR)
- 2008: Keston Bledman, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender, Richard Thompson, Aaron Armstrong (TTO)
- 2012: Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, Usain Bolt, Bailey-Cole (JAM)
- 2016: Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake, Nickel Ashmeade, Usain Bolt, Jevaughn Minzie, Kemar Bailey-Cole (JAM)
- 2020: Lorenzo Patta, Marcell Jacobs, Fausto Desalu, Filippo Tortu (ITA)
|
Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year |
---|
- 1954: Roger Bannister
- 1955: Johnny Podres
- 1956: Bobby Morrow
- 1957: Stan Musial
- 1958: Rafer Johnson
- 1959: Ingemar Johansson
- 1960: Arnold Palmer
- 1961: Jerry Lucas
- 1962: Terry Baker
- 1963: Pete Rozelle
- 1964: Ken Venturi
- 1965: Sandy Koufax
- 1966: Jim Ryun
- 1967: Carl Yastrzemski
- 1968: Bill Russell
- 1969: Tom Seaver
- 1970: Bobby Orr
- 1971: Lee Trevino
- 1972: Billie Jean King & John Wooden
- 1973: Jackie Stewart
- 1974: Muhammad Ali
- 1975: Pete Rose
- 1976: Chris Evert
- 1977: Steve Cauthen
- 1978: Jack Nicklaus
- 1979: Terry Bradshaw & Willie Stargell
- 1980: U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
- 1981: Sugar Ray Leonard
- 1982: Wayne Gretzky
- 1983: Mary Decker
- 1984: Edwin Moses & Mary Lou Retton
- 1985: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- 1986: Joe Paterno
- 1987: Bob Bourne, Judi Brown King, Kipchoge Keino, Dale Murphy, Chip Rives, Patty Sheehan, Rory Sparrow, & Reggie Williams
- 1988: Orel Hershiser
- 1989: Greg LeMond
- 1990: Joe Montana
- 1991: Michael Jordan
- 1992: Arthur Ashe
- 1993: Don Shula
- 1994: Bonnie Blair & Johann Olav Koss
- 1995: Cal Ripken Jr.
- 1996: Tiger Woods
- 1997: Dean Smith
- 1998: Mark McGwire & Sammy Sosa
- 1999: U.S. Women's Soccer Team
- 2000: Tiger Woods
- 2001: Curt Schilling & Randy Johnson
- 2002: Lance Armstrong
- 2003: David Robinson & Tim Duncan
- 2004: Boston Red Sox
- 2005: Tom Brady
- 2006: Dwyane Wade
- 2007: Brett Favre
- 2008: Michael Phelps
- 2009: Derek Jeter
- 2010: Drew Brees
- 2011: Mike Krzyzewski & Pat Summitt
- 2012: LeBron James
- 2013: Peyton Manning
- 2014: Madison Bumgarner
- 2015: Serena Williams
- 2016: LeBron James
- 2017: José Altuve & J. J. Watt
- 2018: Golden State Warriors
- 2019: Megan Rapinoe
- 2020: Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, Naomi Osaka, & Breanna Stewart
- 2021: Tom Brady
- 2022: Stephen Curry
- 2023: Deion Sanders
|
US National Championship winners in men's 100-meter dash |
---|
1876–1878 New York Athletic Club |
|
---|
1879–1888 NAAAA |
|
---|
1888–1979 Amateur Athletic Union |
|
---|
1980–1992 The Athletics Congress |
|
---|
1993–present USA Track & Field |
|
---|
Notes |
- Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships
- OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, and since 1992, championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
- 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Distance:Until 1927 the event was over 100 yards, and again from 1929-31
- ro:In 1886 the event was won after a run-off
|
---|
US National Championship winners in men's 200-meter dash |
---|
1876–1878 New York Athletic Club |
|
---|
1879–1888 NAAAA |
|
---|
1888–1979 Amateur Athletic Union |
|
---|
1980–1992 The Athletics Congress |
|
---|
1993–onwards USA Track & Field |
|
---|
Notes |
- Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships
- OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, and since 1992, championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
- 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- *USA: Leading American athlete
|
---|
USTFCCCA Collegiate Track & Field/Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame |
---|
Class of 2022 |
| |
---|
Class of 2023 |
|
---|
Class of 2024 |
|
---|