Bobby Morrow ('58) is often called the greatest sprinter of all time. While at ACU, under Coach Oliver Jackson, he won 80 of 88 races and claimed 14 national sprint championships. During his sprinting career he tied the world records in the 100 and 200-yard dashes (three times each) and was a part of the ACU relay teams that set world records in the 4x110-yard and 4x220-yard relays in 1958.
In 1955 Morrow began to attract attention when he won the Amateur Athletic Union 100-yard dash title as a freshman. In 1956 he claimed the national collegiate sprint double (100-200), and the AAU 100 for the second straight year.
At the 1956 Olympic Games held in Melbourne, Australia, Morrow won gold medals in the 100 and 200 and anchored the winning 4x100-meter relay team, becoming the first man since Jesse Owens to win three Olympic gold medals. That same year Morrow was recognized by Sports Illustrated as the 1956 Sportsman of the Year.
In 1957 he again took the national sprint double and was awarded the Sullivan Award as the nation’s top amateur athlete. At the end of his college career in 1958, Morrow won the AAU sprint double.
Morrow was recognized for his outstanding track career when he was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1975, the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1989.
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