From collection Member List
From the Spring 2024 Phi Gamma Delta Magazine (Volume 145, Edition 2):
What can you do for an encore after winning the Olympic decathlon at the age of 17? This was the pleasant dilemma that confronted Bob Mathias in 1948, just two months after graduation from Tulare High School in central California. At the London Games that year, he became the youngest winner of a men’s track and field event in the history of the Olympics, and this in the event thought by many to require the most physical and mental maturity.
While most great track and field athletes are pegged rather quickly by their coaches for their area of specialty, decathletes often take a circuitous route to the multi-event, trying their hand first at a variety of events. This was the case for Bob, although when his Tulare coach first hit upon the idea of the decathlon for Bob, he did not even know which 10 events were included in the competition. Less than two months later, Bob competed in the Olympic tryouts and beat the three-time national champion. Although both coach and pupil had thought the 1952 Games were a more realistic goal, Mathias was now America’s prime contender in London.
Rain fell for much of the two days of the 1948 decathlon competition. At the end of the five events of the first day, Bob was third behind competitors from Argentina and France. On the second day, he took the lead with the third event, the pole vault. The next to last event, the javelin, began around 10:00 p.m., 12 hours after the competition had started that morning. Because there were no lights on the infield, cars were driven into the stadium, and their headlights were used to illuminate the foul line.
Although he did not have the longest javelin toss, Bob scored enough points to maintain his lead. When he crossed the finish line in the 1500-meter run about a half hour later, he became the youngest winner of a men’s track and field event in Olympic history.
After spending the following year at Kiski Prep in Pennsylvania, Bob enrolled at Stanford in fall of 1949. By the time of his initiation by the Lambda Sigma Chapter in October 1950, he had won two more National AAU decathlon titles and had set a world record. He set another world record in 1952 shortly before the Helsinki Olympics.
In 1952, he eclipsed his world record yet again and won the decathlon competition by the largest margin in Olympic history. He was the first athlete to win the Olympic decathlon twice. Two others have achieved that feat since 1952.
Brother Mathias would serve four terms as a Republican congressman from California from 1967-75 and later was director of the U.S. Olympic Training Center for six years. He passed ad astra on September 2, 2006.
What can you do for an encore after winning the Olympic decathlon at the age of 17? This was the pleasant dilemma that confronted Bob Mathias in 1948, just two months after graduation from Tulare High School in central California. At the London Games that year, he became the youngest winner of a men’s track and field event in the history of the Olympics, and this in the event thought by many to require the most physical and mental maturity.
While most great track and field athletes are pegged rather quickly by their coaches for their area of specialty, decathletes often take a circuitous route to the multi-event, trying their hand first at a variety of events. This was the case for Bob, although when his Tulare coach first hit upon the idea of the decathlon for Bob, he did not even know which 10 events were included in the competition. Less than two months later, Bob competed in the Olympic tryouts and beat the three-time national champion. Although both coach and pupil had thought the 1952 Games were a more realistic goal, Mathias was now America’s prime contender in London.
Rain fell for much of the two days of the 1948 decathlon competition. At the end of the five events of the first day, Bob was third behind competitors from Argentina and France. On the second day, he took the lead with the third event, the pole vault. The next to last event, the javelin, began around 10:00 p.m., 12 hours after the competition had started that morning. Because there were no lights on the infield, cars were driven into the stadium, and their headlights were used to illuminate the foul line.
Although he did not have the longest javelin toss, Bob scored enough points to maintain his lead. When he crossed the finish line in the 1500-meter run about a half hour later, he became the youngest winner of a men’s track and field event in Olympic history.
After spending the following year at Kiski Prep in Pennsylvania, Bob enrolled at Stanford in fall of 1949. By the time of his initiation by the Lambda Sigma Chapter in October 1950, he had won two more National AAU decathlon titles and had set a world record. He set another world record in 1952 shortly before the Helsinki Olympics.
In 1952, he eclipsed his world record yet again and won the decathlon competition by the largest margin in Olympic history. He was the first athlete to win the Olympic decathlon twice. Two others have achieved that feat since 1952.
Brother Mathias would serve four terms as a Republican congressman from California from 1967-75 and later was director of the U.S. Olympic Training Center for six years. He passed ad astra on September 2, 2006.
