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Bobby Morrow

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For other people with similar names, seeRobert Morrow (disambiguation).

Bobby Morrow
Morrow with wife Jo Ann in 1956
Personal information
Born(1935-10-15)October 15, 1935
Harlingen, Texas,U.S.[1]
DiedMay 30, 2020(2020-05-30)(aged 84)
San Benito,Texas, U.S
Resting placeRestlawn Memorial Park
La Feria, Texas
Height186 cm (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Weight75 kg (165 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event100–400 m
ClubACU Wildcats, Abilene[2]
Achievements and titles
Personalbest(s)100 m – 10.2 (1956)
200 m – 20.75 (1956)
400 m – 47.7 (1959)[2][3]
Medal record
RepresentingtheUnited States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne 100 meters
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne 200 meters
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne 4 × 100 m relay

Bobby Joe Morrow(October 15, 1935 – May 30, 2020) was an Americansprinterwho 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 heroJesse Owens".[4]

Early life[edit]

Morrow was born inHarlingen,Texas,[2]on October 15, 1935,[5]and raised on a cotton and carrot farm on the outskirts ofSan Benito,Texas.[6][7]Before becoming asprinter,Morrow playedfootballforSan Benito High School.[6]Morrow also was a sprinter atAbilene Christian University,[6]and became a member of the men's club Frater Sodalis in 1955.[8]

Career[edit]

Morrow won the 1955AAU100-yard title. His most successful season was in 1956, when he was chosen bySports Illustratedas "Sportsman of the Year".[6]Morrow won the sprint double in the national college championships and defended his AAU title. Morrow then went to the1956 Summer OlympicsinMelbourne,where he won three gold medals and was the leader of the American sprint team. First, he was victorious in the100-meter dash.He then led an Americansweep of the medalsin the200-meter dash,while equaling theworld recordat that distance with a time of 20.6 seconds (unofficially auto-timed at 20.75). He won his third gold by anchoring the4 × 100-meter relayteam to a world record time.[2][3][9]He was the first sprinter sinceJesse Owensin1936to win gold medals in those three events.[10]

Morrow achieved great fame after winning his three gold medals, and was featured on the covers ofLifeandSPORT,as well asSports Illustrated.He appeared onThe Ed Sullivan ShowandArthur Godfrey and His Friends,and addressed a joint session of theTexas legislature.[11]

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 the1960 Olympic Games,but failed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team.[8]

Legacy[edit]

In October 2006, San Benito High School named its new 12,000 seat sporting facility inSan Benito,used for football and soccer, Bobby Morrow Stadium.[12]Morrow was on hand to help dedicate the new facility. He was inducted into theNational Track and Field Hall of Famein 1989[1]and into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016.[13]

Personal life[edit]

Morrow in a college chemistry lab. in 1956

Morrow was married to Jo Ann Strickland, whom he met in high school,[7]in what was described as a "fairy-tale marriage".[8]They moved toOdessa,and later toHouston,where he restarted his career in banking that he had put on hold to train for the 1960 Olympics. They divorced around 1968.[8]He subsequently moved toOhio,where he met and married Judy.[8]

Morrow died of natural causes on May 30, 2020, at his home in Harlingen, Texas, at the age of 84.[6][14]

References[edit]

  1. ^abBobby MorrowArchivedJune 27, 2020, at theWayback Machine.USATF Hall of Fame
  2. ^abcdeEvans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen;Mallon, Bill;et al."Bobby Morrow".Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.Sports Reference LLC.Archived fromthe originalon April 17, 2020.
  3. ^abBobby Morrow.trackfield.brinkster.net
  4. ^Sears, Edward Seldon (2001).Running Through the Ages.Jefferson, North Carolina:McFarland & Company.pp. 236–238.ISBN9780786409716.
  5. ^Puente, Nathaniel (May 30, 2020)."Bobby J. Morrow, Olympic medal winner, San Benito native, passes away at 84".ValleyCentral News.KVEO-TV.RetrievedMay 30,2020.
  6. ^abcde"Bobby Joe Morrow, 3-time winner in 1956 Olympics, dies at 84".Associated Press News.May 30, 2020.RetrievedMay 30,2020.
  7. ^ab"Bioperse: Bobby Morrow".Sports Illustrated.Vol. 5 (1 ed.). July 2, 1956. p. 59.Archivedfrom the original on May 31, 2020.RetrievedMay 30,2020.
  8. ^abcdeMartin, William (August 1984)."The Fastest Nice Christian Boy in the World".Texas Monthly.RetrievedMay 30,2020.
  9. ^Morrow—and a day of medal memories,The Age,(Wednesday, 12 February 1975), p.1.
  10. ^"Bobby Joe Morrow".Encyclopedia Britannica.Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. October 11, 2019.RetrievedMay 30,2020.
  11. ^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.
  12. ^Bobby Morrow Stadium – San Benito, Texas.Texasbob.com (April 14, 2013). Retrieved on 2017-08-21.
  13. ^Inductees – Name, Category, YearArchivedJanuary 16, 2017, at theWayback Machine.TX TF Hall of Fame.
  14. ^Former ACU track star, Olympic gold medal winner Bobby Joe Morrow dies

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toBobby Morrow.
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