Bob Mathias
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| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Bob Mathias |
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| Men's Athletics | |||
Competitor for  United States |
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| Olympic Games | |||
| Gold | 1948 London | Decathlon | |
| Gold | 1952 Helsinki | Decathlon | |
Robert Bruce Mathias (November 17, 1930 - September 2, 2006) was an American decathlete, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and United States Congressman.
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[edit] Early life and athletic career
Bob Mathias was born in Tulare, California and took up the decathlon at the suggestion of his coach, Virgil Jackson, at Tulare High School early in 1948. During the summer, he qualified for the United States Olympic team for the 1948 Summer Olympics held in London.
In the Olympics, Mathias' naïveté for the decathlon was exposed[1]. He was unaware of the rules in the shot put and nearly fouled out of the event. He almost failed in the high jump but was able to recover. Mathias overcame his difficulties and won the Olympic gold medal easily. He was the youngest gold medalist to win a track and field event.
Mathias continued to fare well in decathlons in the four years between the London games and the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. In 1948, Mathias won the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete, but because his scholastic record in high school did not match his athletic achievement, he spent a year at The Kiski School, a well respected all boys boarding school in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania. He then entered Stanford University in 1949, played college football for two years and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Mathias set his first decathlon world record in 1950 and led Stanford to a Rose Bowl appearance in 1952.
At Helsinki, Mathias asserted himself as one of the world's best athletes. He won the decathlon by 912 points, an astounding margin, becoming the first to successfully defend an Olympic decathlon title. He returned to the United States as a national hero. In 1952, he was, therefore, the first person to ever compete in an Olympics and a Rose Bowl the same year.
After the 1952 Olympics, Mathias retired from athletic competition. He later became the first director of the United States Olympic Training Center, a post he held from 1977 to 1983.
In 1954 a film about his early life called The Bob Mathias Story was released, in which he and his wife Melba played themselves. He also starred in a number of mostly cameo-type roles in a variety of movies and TV shows throughout the 1950s.
[edit] Political career
Between 1967 and 1975, Matthias served four terms in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican, representing the northern San Joaquin Valley of California. In 1974, he was defeated in his election bid for a fifth term in Congress. From June through August of 1975 he served as Deputy Director of the Selective Service. Mathias was also involved in the unsuccessful 1976 presidential election campaign of president Gerald Ford.
He died in Fresno, California on September 2, 2006 at the age of 75 from cancer.
[edit] Timeline
| Year | Comment |
| 17 November 1930 | Bob Mathias was born, the second of four children to Dr. Charles and Lillian Mathias. |
| 1948 | At age seventeen, graduated from Tulare high school after an illustrious prep career. Wins National Decathlon Championship at Bloomfield, N.J.
Won gold medal in decathlon at Olympics in London. After huge celebration and parade in Tulare, presented with "Key to the City" by Mayor Elmo Zumwalt. Enrolls at Kiskiminetas Prep School, Saltsburg, Pa. Honored with the James E. Sullivan Award, presented each year to America's top amateur athlete. |
| 1949 | Won National Decathlon Championship at meet staged in Tulare.
Enrolled at Stanford, where he would star in track and football. |
| 1950 | Won National Decathlon Championship at meet staged in Tulare. |
| 1951 | 1 January, plays fullback for Stanford in the Rose Bowl.
Played football during junior and senior years at Stanford. In USC-Stanford football game, Mathias returns Frank Gifford's kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. Spent summer at U.S. Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego. |
| 1952 | Won National Decathlon Championship at meet staged in Tulare.
Won gold medal in decathlon at Olympics in Helsinki. |
| 1953 | Graduated from Stanford. Drafted by the Washington Redskins, though never played in NFL. |
| 1954 | Married his first wife, Melba. They later had three daughters, Romel, Megan and Marissa. Mathias and his wife starred in the movie "The Bob Mathias Story."
Entered active duty in the Marine Corps as a second lieutenant. |
| 1954-56 | Visited more than forty countries as America's Good Will Ambassador. |
| 1956-60 | Continued work for the State Department as a Good Will Ambassador to the world.
Acting career took off, employed by John Wayne. Starred in the movie "China Doll" with Victor Mature, the TV series "The Troubleshooters" with Keenan Wynn, as King Theseus in the movie "Theseus and the Minotaur" and in the movie "It Happened in Athens," opposite Jayne Mansfield. |
| 1966 | Elected to U.S. Congress as a Republican, serving four terms. |
| 1974 | Lost election for fifth term. |
| 1976 | Mathias and wife, Melba, divorced. |
| 1977 | Appointed director of U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Bob and Gwen married. They later had a daughter, Alyse, and a son, Reiner.
Tulare high school stadium renamed in Mathias' honor. |
| 1983 | Appointed executive director of the National Fitness Foundation. |
| 1988 | Returned to the Valley, where he builds a home in rural Fresno County. |
| 1996 | Sim Iness died. He was Mathias' high school classmate and winner of the discus gold medal during the 1952 Olympics.
Doctors discovered a cancerous tumor in Mathias' throat. |
| June 6, 1998 | "Across the Fields of Gold," a tribute dinner honoring Mathias on the 50th anniversary of his first Olympic medal, was held in Tulare. More than 300 people attended, including Olympic medal-winners Sammy Lee, Bill Toomey, Dave Johnson and Pat McCormick, and Sim Iness' widow, Dolores. |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- "The Bob Mathias Story" by Bob Mathias with Robert Mendes;
- "Bob Mathias, Champion of Champions," by Jim Scott;
- "Bob Mathias: The Life of the Olympic Champion," by Myron Tassin;
- "Bob Mathias, Across the Fields of Gold," by Chris Terrence;
- Tulare Historical Museum;
- Advance-Register archives and staff reports.
[edit] External links
- The Official Bob Mathias Website
- Bob Mathias biography at USA Track and Field
- Boy-wonder Mathias elevated decathlon ESPN.com, 2005.
- Mathias dead at 75, Sports Illustrated.com, September 2, 2006
- United States Congress Biographical Information for Bob Mathias, retrieved September 3, 2006
- Former congressman Bob Mathias dies at 75, USA Today retrieved September 5, 2007
- Bob Mathias at Find A Grave Retrieved on 2008-02-24
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| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dick Kazmaier |
Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year 1952 |
Succeeded by Ben Hogan |
| Preceded by Harlan Hagen |
United States Representative for the 18th Congressional District of California 1967–1975 |
Succeeded by William M. Ketchum |
| Records | ||
| Preceded by Glenn Morris |
Men's Decathlon World Record Holder June 30, 1950 – June 11, 1955 |
Succeeded by Rafer Johnson |
