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DID YOU KNOW...
ONE OF THE BEST OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL SPRINTERS WAS FROM SAN BENITO, TEXAS?
By Dr. Kimberly Selber
In the pantheon of Valley greats, Bobby Morrow stands alone as its only Olympic champion. Born in Harlingen and raised on a farm in San Benito, Texas, Morrow’s journey to athletic stardom began on the football field and track of San Benito High School. His early prowess in sports earned him a place at Abilene Christian University, where he captured 80 of 88 individual races and won 14 championships.
Morrow’s sprinting career took off in 1955 when he won the AAU 100-yard title. However, it was the following year that marked his most successful season. In 1956, Morrow was honored by Sports Illustrated as the “Sportsman of the Year” after he dominated the national college championships, securing the sprint double and defending his AAU title.
The pinnacle of Morrow’s career came at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. There, he won three gold medals and led the American sprint team. Morrow triumphed in the 100-meter dash, led an American sweep in the 200-meter dash while equaling the world record at 20.6 seconds, and anchored the 4x100-meter relay team to a world record time. His remarkable achievements made him the first man since Jesse Owens in 1936 to win three gold medals in a single Olympics.
The 1956 event included 72 countries, with 2,939 men and 376 women athletes participating. Known as the ‘Friendly Games,’ these were the first to be contested in the Southern Hemisphere and were held in November due to Australia’s seasonal differences.
Following his Olympic success, Morrow became a national sensation. He graced the covers of Life magazine, SPORT magazine, and Sports Illustrated. His fame extended to appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, and Arthur Godfrey and His Friends. He even addressed a joint session of the Texas Legislature, solidifying his status as a sports icon.
Morrow recorded 80 wins and only eight losses throughout his collegiate career at Abilene Christian College. He won the NAIA sprint titles three times and was named to the NCAA All-America team three times. Morrow ran the 100-yard dash in 9.3 seconds on at least seven occasions, cementing his status as a world-class sprinter.
His success continued in 1957 when he repeated the national collegiate sprint double and won the Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete. In 1958 he secured the AAU sprint double, his last major title. He tied the world records in the 100 and 200 six times and ran on Abilene Christian quartets that set world marks in the 4x110-yard and 4x220-yard relays.
Morrow’s legacy extended beyond the track. He was elected to the U.S. National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1975, was inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 1988, the National Track and Field and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Texas Track Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2006, San Benito CISD named its new athletic facility “Bobby Morrow Stadium” in his honor.
RGV OLYMPIANS
Billy Gene Pemelton from Mercedes. Competed in the pole vault in the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Lucious “Luke” Jackson from San Marcos. Graduated from Pan American College (now The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) in 1964. Won a gold medal in the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics with the U.S. men’s basketball team.
Aaron Ramirez from Mission. Competed in the men’s 10,000 meters at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
Germán Madrazo from Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico, but lives in McAllen. Competed in men’s 15km cross-country skiing in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
Shaine Casas, from McAllen. Will be competing in the men’s 200m individual medley in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
