Thomas Gives NCAA Meet First 7-Footer

No contest.

John Thomas of Boston U. was such a dominant high jumper that his winning the individual title in the event at the 1960 NCAA Championships was a practically a foregone conclusion. The meet’s first 7-foot (2.14m) clearance seemed like a slam dunk as well.

In 1960, Thomas was a sophomore and finally eligible to compete in the NCAA. He was the world record holder and unbeaten since becoming the first athlete to clear 7-0 indoors a year earlier as a freshman. Upon entering his first NCAA meet, he had run his count of indoor world bests to eight with his highest clearance at 7-2½ (2.20m) with two WRs outdoors. His best mark outdoors, at the time, was 7-1¾ (2.17m), more than an inch better than the next best.

There would be little drama in Berkeley, California.

The NCAA meet was over at 6-10 (2.08m), which only Thomas could clear. He followed with the NCAA meet’s first 7-footer, but could go no higher, winning by three inches. Tied for third was Charles Dumas of USC, the reigning Olympic gold medalist from 1956, who was also the world’s first to clear 7 feet outdoors.

Thomas later revealed he knew his real high jump competition. “The bar is the thing you have to beat,” he told the Boston Globe in 1967. “That is also the thing that defeats you.”

Two weeks after the NCAA meet, Thomas would twice again raise the world record and later in the summer take bronze at the Rome Olympics, despite competing with a sports hernia. He added Olympic silver in 1964.

A Boston native, he became the first black member of the Boston Athletic Association. One of BU’s top indoor meets – the John Thomas Terrier Classic – is named after him.