“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.
O’Brien Glides To Shot Put Dominance
Parry O’Brien, who invented the “O’Brien Glide” technique, won back-to-back shot put titles at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 1952 & 1953, each by more than two feet!
LSU’s Echols Set Lofty Long Jump Record
Sheila Echols of LSU set a still-standing meet record in the Women’s Long Jump of 6.94m (22-9¼) at the 1987 NCAA Division I Outdoor T&F Championships.
Livers’ Three Titles Made Triple Jump History
Ron Livers of San Jose State was the first three-time winner in the Men’s Triple Jump at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Huber Three-Peats In 3000 Meters
Vicki Huber of Villanova was the first woman to win three consecutive titles in the 3000 Meters at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
ACU’s Morrow Doubled Twice, Set WRs
Bobby Morrow completed the 100-200 double twice at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Both times, he set a world record in one of the events.
Williams Blazed Trail For Black Throwers
George Williams made history when he won the javelin title at the 1932 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Chicago, Illinois.
Falcon Flew To NCAA Distance Glory
Joe Falcon of Arkansas is the only man in the history of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships with career national titles in the 1500 & 10,000!
Kyra Jefferson Chomps Collegiate Record
Kyra Jefferson of Florida set the current collegiate record and NCAA Outdoor meet record in the Women’s 200 Meters of 22.02 at the 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Florida State’s Dix Ruled NCAA Outdoor Meet
Walter Dix of Florida State left an incredible legacy at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships with six total titles.
Mosqueda’s 10K Record Caps Incredible Year
Sylvia Mosqueda capped an incredible academic year in 1987-88 with a collegiate- and meet-record in the 10,000 Meters at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.