I would have to go with Bobby Joe Morrow then Mel Patton and Thane Baker.By the 60's the white sprinters started to dry up.I think blacks were more likely to do steroids than whites.Speaking of white sprinters does anybody out there know if Rod Richard,Bill Mathis and Larry Dunn were white?
All-time best white U.S. sprinters
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I don't know if any of those guys were white, but you should be able to find out through an Internet search, though it is sometimes difficult to find info about anything that happened pre-Internet, or before 1995! Welcome to the Caste Football board.
white lightning
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I think that Matis and Dunn were but not sure about Richard. I will try to find out for sure on all 3 guys
and get back on this subject later.
and get back on this subject later.
Colonel Callan
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Morrow and Patton were the best. If Morrow had been black, the press would have accorded him legend status.
I've always felt blacks were far more likely to be steroid abusers - years before the truth began to leak out. They are far more likely to use drugs "recreationally", so why would athletes be different?
I've always felt blacks were far more likely to be steroid abusers - years before the truth began to leak out. They are far more likely to use drugs "recreationally", so why would athletes be different?
sport historian
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I am surprised that the other top sprinter of the 1956 period hasn't been mentioned. Namely, Dave Sime. In the Spring of 1956, many thought that Sime was even better than Morrow. However, he pulled a muscle in the Trials and missed the 1956 Olympics were Morrow swept the 100 and 200 meters. If you can, find the June 4 and July 2 1956 issues of Sports Illustrated. The July 2 issue has Sime and Morrow posing together on the cover.
In the 1960 Olympics, Sime lost narrowly to West German sprinter Armin Hary after a poor start in the 100 meters. He ran a great anchor leg in the 100 by 4 relay to make up a two meter-deficit on the West Germans and broke the tape in a world record. However, Sime's black teammates made a faulty baton exchange, so they were disqualified.
Sime became an opthamologist, treating Bob Griese and Sugar Ray Leonard among others. He is the father-in-law of former Bronco WR Ed MacCaffrey. It's interesting how unknown Dave Sime is considering his accomplishments. There was a "Catching Up With" segment on him in SI sometime in 2001.
In the 1960 Olympics, Sime lost narrowly to West German sprinter Armin Hary after a poor start in the 100 meters. He ran a great anchor leg in the 100 by 4 relay to make up a two meter-deficit on the West Germans and broke the tape in a world record. However, Sime's black teammates made a faulty baton exchange, so they were disqualified.
Sime became an opthamologist, treating Bob Griese and Sugar Ray Leonard among others. He is the father-in-law of former Bronco WR Ed MacCaffrey. It's interesting how unknown Dave Sime is considering his accomplishments. There was a "Catching Up With" segment on him in SI sometime in 2001.
Welcome and thanks for the contribution, sport historian. What do you and others think of Richmond Flowers? Does he merit consideration among the fastest white sprinters? I'm curious about him because his very talented son, who plays wide receiver, has been totally shunned by the NFL in spite of his pedigree.
sport historian
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I saw Richmond Flowers play in person and catch TD passes several times. I am a long-time Tennessee fan. I would rate him very good, but not an all-time great as a WR. He was a very classy guy, gave the University of Tennessee a lot of good publicity. ESPN sometimes runs a Sports Century piece on him calling him "the fastest white boy alive." Oddly, he wasn't even the fastest white track athlete at UT at the time. One of them was on the football team, but didn't get higher than fourth-team. I don't think Flowers was as fast as the sprinters mentioned above. Still, Flowers really scared the opposition. They gave him so much cushion that Tennessee could complete passes underneath all day.
Flowers ran the 110 meter hurdles, mostly. During 1965-67, Willie Davenport beat him something like 12 out of 13 times. Then in early 1968 Flowers beat Davenport three times in a row and was a sure bet to make the 1968 Olympic team at the very least. However, he pulled a muscle later that Spring while loosening up. He went to the Olympic Trials, but couldn't make the team, which is hard to do with a pulled muscle. Davenport won the Gold. Who knows if Flowers had been healthy?
Flowers went on to play the 1968 football season at Tennessee and played several years in the NFL as a safety. He never seemed to get over his disappointment about not competing in the Olympics.
Flowers ran the 110 meter hurdles, mostly. During 1965-67, Willie Davenport beat him something like 12 out of 13 times. Then in early 1968 Flowers beat Davenport three times in a row and was a sure bet to make the 1968 Olympic team at the very least. However, he pulled a muscle later that Spring while loosening up. He went to the Olympic Trials, but couldn't make the team, which is hard to do with a pulled muscle. Davenport won the Gold. Who knows if Flowers had been healthy?
Flowers went on to play the 1968 football season at Tennessee and played several years in the NFL as a safety. He never seemed to get over his disappointment about not competing in the Olympics.
white lightning
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Welcome to the board SportsHistorian.I have a question for you.Who would you say was a better 100 meter sprinter,Armin Harry or V.Borzov.Even though Harry had a
p.b. of 10.00 flat,I would put Borzov above him.Borzov
was a great 200 meter runner to.I really believe that Borzov sometimes only ran fast enough to win and coasted
sometimes.It was said that he ran sub 10's in practice.
That is the only thing missing from his resume.Armin had
a good career to.Is there any sprinters today that you think have the best chance of eventually running a sub
10. The ones that I think have a chance are Nic Macrozonaris,Matt Shirvington,Morne Nagel,Till Helmke,
Sebastian Ernst,Tobias Unger,Matic Osovnikar,Lukasz Chyla,Dusty Stamer,Clint Venter,and a couple from England who I can't recall the names.Are there others that you can add to the list?
p.b. of 10.00 flat,I would put Borzov above him.Borzov
was a great 200 meter runner to.I really believe that Borzov sometimes only ran fast enough to win and coasted
sometimes.It was said that he ran sub 10's in practice.
That is the only thing missing from his resume.Armin had
a good career to.Is there any sprinters today that you think have the best chance of eventually running a sub
10. The ones that I think have a chance are Nic Macrozonaris,Matt Shirvington,Morne Nagel,Till Helmke,
Sebastian Ernst,Tobias Unger,Matic Osovnikar,Lukasz Chyla,Dusty Stamer,Clint Venter,and a couple from England who I can't recall the names.Are there others that you can add to the list?
sport historian
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Borzov almost certainly was better than Armin Hary. Hary's strong point was his start, not his top speed. Sorry, but I'm not a close follower of Track, so I can't help you on today's sprinters. A few years ago, I did some research on Sime and Morrow. I have always been interested in football history, both college and pro. I stopped actively following the NFL about twenty years ago after being an avid fan from childhood in the late 50's. Ihave a large collection of sports books, magazines, and videos. I'm still loyal to my favorite college team, though I don't suppose the Tennessee Vols are a favorite of this Forum.
One caveat about Hary's 10 second time is that the
watches or clocks or whatever that they used at the
time were inferior to what's used now. I believe it's
been said that a 10 second time back then would be
somewhere around 10.2-10.28 now. Obviously a
great time back then (and even a decent one now),
but he couldn't run a 10.00 with today's equipment. A
sub-10 would be one of the greatest feats for a white
athlete to achieve. A clean white sprinter may not
ever get it, I don't know. Then again, a clean black
sprinter may not ever get it either!
watches or clocks or whatever that they used at the
time were inferior to what's used now. I believe it's
been said that a 10 second time back then would be
somewhere around 10.2-10.28 now. Obviously a
great time back then (and even a decent one now),
but he couldn't run a 10.00 with today's equipment. A
sub-10 would be one of the greatest feats for a white
athlete to achieve. A clean white sprinter may not
ever get it, I don't know. Then again, a clean black
sprinter may not ever get it either!