“Bullet Bob” Hayes Wins Lone Shot At NCAAs
Bob Hayes might have only appeared once at the NCAA Track & Field Outdoor Championships, but he certainly made that opportunity count 56 years ago.
Hayes, who competed for Florida A&M, toed the starting line of the 200 meters alongside seven men who had grandeur visions of taking down the World’s Fastest Man. That’s not a typo: Hayes was the only man in world history to that point to run 100 yards in 9.1 (He actually did so four times, with one mark ratified as the world record).
Fast running began in the semifinals with 20.3 wins from both Hayes and Edwin Roberts from North Carolina Central, who edged 1962 winner Harry Jerome from host Oregon. The times were wind-aided but second only under any conditions to the world record (20.2).
Hayes took immediate control of the final, running “the curve faster, probably, than it has ever been run as he went all out to open a 3-yard lead,” wrote Cordner Nelson, co-founder of Track & Field News. Despite the lead, Hayes nearly got caught as Roberts closed exceptionally well.
Hayes and Roberts were both credited with finishing times of 20.4w, but the former earned the victory by a whisker. It was the fifth time in the past six years that the final was too close to call.
“I made a mistake,” Hayes explained afterwards. “I lost two tenths looking at the wrong line. I dove at the tape and actually it wasn’t even a tape.”
Later that year, Hayes won a pair of gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, cementing his place among historians as perhaps the best sprinter ever. He tied the world record of 10.06 in his 100-meter victory and then anchored the Americans to victory in the 4×100 relay with a scintillating hand-timed split between 8.5-8.9 seconds.
His future thereafter was in football, where he starred with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys from 1965-1974 – winning a Super Bowl with them in 1971 – and then with the San Francisco 49ers in 1975. He caught 371 passes for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns and was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
Hayes’ prowess in football and track & field is unmatched, as the only athlete with both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring, while he and Jim Thorpe are the only Pro Football Hall of Fame members with an Olympic gold medal.
The NCAA and collegiate track & field will mark a momentous milestone in the spring of 2021 -- the 100th anniversary of the NCAA Championships and with that, the NCAA Track & Field Championships. In June 1921, the University of Chicago hosted the first track & field championships in NCAA history.
This point can’t be emphasized enough: Not only was the event the first for NCAA track & field, but the first championships for any sport under the sponsorship of the NCAA.
To celebrate, over each of the next 365 days, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) will celebrate moments, student-athletes, and coaches that have made a century’s worth of championships special. From humble beginnings to important historical milestones to the modern-day, collegiate track & field has evolved with the American society.
The 2021 edition of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships begin with preliminary round action on May 27-29 in Jacksonville, Fla., and College Station, Texas. The championships final site and culmination of the celebration is slated for June 9-12, 2021 at the newly rebuilt Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Carr Displayed His World Record Speed
Henry Carr set a meet record in the 220 yards of 20.5 at the 1963 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Joaquim Cruz’d To Meet Record, 800-1500 Double
Joaquim Cruz won three career titles at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships. In 1983, he set a meet record in the 800 of 1:44.91 & completed the 800-1500 double in 1984.
Back-To-Back 200-Meter Crowns For Annelus
Anglerne “Angie” Annelus won back-to-back 200m titles at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships in 2018 & 2019. Her 22.16 winner from 2019 is the 4th fastest mark in collegiate history.
Indoors? Outdoors? Johnson Starred In The PV
Jan Johnson won the pole vault title at the 1970 NCAA Division I Outdoor T&F Championships and tied the meet record of 17-7.
Beard Capped Sensational Year At NCAAs
Jessica Beard won the 400 & then split the fastest 4×400 leg ever recorded at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships to lead Texas A&M to a relay crown.
Biles Brothers Boast Historic Winning Feat
Martin Biles & Robert Biles were the first siblings to win the same event at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships. Marty won the javelin in 1940 & 1941, while Robert did so in 1942.
Branta Set NCAA MRs In 1500, 3000
Cathy Branta set meet records in back-to-back years at the NCAA DI Outdoor T&F Championships: 8:59.57 in the 3000 (1984); 4:12.64 in the 1500 (1985) as part of a 1500-3K double.
Brophy Led “Deca Central” With MR In 1992
Brian Brophy led a 1-2 finish by Tennessee athletes in the decathlon at the 1992 NCAA Division I Outdoor T&F Championships. He won with a meet record of 8276 points.
UCLA’s Brenner Won Amazing SP Duel In 1984
John Brenner completed the discus-shot put double at the 1984 NCAA Division I Outdoor T&F Championships and won the shot put after an incredible duel against Michael Carter.
Ellerbe, Misipeka Dominated The Hammer
Dawn Ellerbe and Lisa Misipeka went 1-2 in each of the first two years that the women’s hammer was contested at the NCAA DI Outdoor Track & Field Championships.