Bobby Morrow

Bobby Joe Morrow (October 15, 1935Template:SpndMay 30, 2020) was an American sprinter who 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 hero Jesse Owens".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Early life

Morrow was born in Harlingen, Texas,<ref name=SR/> on October 15, 1935,<ref name=Puente>Template:Cite news</ref> and raised on a cotton and carrot farm on the outskirts of San Benito, Texas.<ref name=AP>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=SI>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Before becoming a sprinter, Morrow played football for San Benito High School.<ref name=AP/> Morrow also was a sprinter at Abilene Christian University,<ref name=AP/> and became a member of the men's club Frater Sodalis in 1955.<ref name=Martin>Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

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".<ref name=AP/> 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, where he won three gold medals and was the leader of the American sprint team. 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 with a time of 20.6 seconds (unofficially auto-timed at 20.75). He won his third gold by anchoring the 4 × 100-meter relay team to a world record time.<ref name=SR/><ref name=tf/><ref>Morrow—and a day of medal memories, The Age, (Wednesday, 12 February 1975), p.1.</ref> He was the first sprinter since Jesse Owens in 1936 to win gold medals in those three events.<ref name=EB>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

Morrow achieved great fame after winning his three gold medals, and was featured on the covers of Life and SPORT, 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.<ref name=TM>Template:Cite news</ref>

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 Olympic Games, but failed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team.<ref name=Martin/>

Legacy

In October 2006, San Benito High School named its new 12,000 seat sporting facility in San Benito, used for football and soccer, Bobby Morrow Stadium.<ref>Bobby Morrow Stadium – San Benito, Texas. Texasbob.com (April 14, 2013). Retrieved on 2017-08-21.</ref> Morrow was on hand to help dedicate the new facility. He was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1989<ref name=hall/> and into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016.<ref>Inductees – Name, Category, Year Template:Webarchive. TX TF Hall of Fame.</ref>

Personal life

File:Bobby Morrow 1956c.jpg

Morrow in a college chemistry lab. in 1956

Morrow was married to Jo Ann Strickland, whom he met in high school,<ref name=SI/> in what was described as a "fairy-tale marriage".<ref name=Martin/> They moved to Odessa, and later to Houston, where he restarted his career in banking that he had put on hold to train for the 1960 Olympics. They divorced around 1968.<ref name=Martin/> He subsequently moved to Ohio, where he met and married Judy.<ref name=Martin/>

Morrow died of natural causes on May 30, 2020, at his home in Harlingen, Texas, at the age of 84.<ref name=AP/><ref>Former ACU track star, Olympic gold medal winner Bobby Joe Morrow dies</ref>

External links

• Template:World Athletics
• Template:USATF Hall of Fame
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• Template:Olympics.com profile
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