Bobby Joe Morrow (born October 15, 1935) is a former American athlete and winner of three Olympic gold medals in 1956.
Morrow 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".[ 1]
Biography
Bobby Joe Morrow was born in Harlingen, Texas ,[ 2] and raised on a farm in 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 a member of the men's club Frater Sodalis.
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 , Australia , where he won three gold medals and was the leader of the American sprint team.
In all, Morrow won three gold medals. 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. He won his third gold by anchoring the 4×100 meter relay team to a World Record time. The three performances are encapsulated in this youtube video .
Morrow achieved great fame after winning his three gold medals, and was featured on the covers of Life magazine and SPORT magazine, 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.[ 3]
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 Olympics but failed to qualify for the US Olympic team.
In October 2006, San Benito High School named its new 11,000 seat sporting facility Bobby Morrow Stadium.[ 4] Mr. Morrow was on hand to help dedicate the new facility.
References
External links
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 )
2024 : Aaron Brown , Jerome Blake , Brendon Rodney , Andre De Grasse (CAN )
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: Jose 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
1876–1878New York Athletic Club 1879–1888NAAAA 1888–1979Amateur Athletic Union 1980–1992The Athletics Congress 1993–presentUSA 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
* : Penalized one yard for false start
G1 : Race was won by Don Quarrie (Jamaica) competing as a guest
1876–1878New York Athletic Club 1879–1888NAAAA 1888–1979Amateur Athletic Union 1980–1992The Athletics Congress 1993–onwardsUSA 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
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