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Elmer Gray

Elmer J. "Bulldog" Gray ('32) was the first student athlete from ACU to compete in the Olympic trials in track and field.  He ran the 800 meters in Los Angeles in 1932, narrowly missing a place on the U.S. team. 

Gray was captain of the 1931 ACU track team, and in 1932 he placed third in the NCAA halfmile.  He was the first athlete at ACU to run under 50 seconds in the quartermile, and he ran on winning relay teams at the Texas, Kansas and Drake Relays.

Gray served as a member of the university's National Development Council and Advisory Board.  In 1969 the Board of Trustees named the university's track stadium for Gray after he and his wife made a gift to ACU for an all-weather track and scholarships.  Gray was inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.

Gray and his wife, Virgie, had a son, Eddie, and a daughter, Bennie.  Elmer Gray died in 1986.

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Last Update: December 10, 2007
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