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Encyclopedia > Bob Mathias
Olympic medal record
Men's athletics
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. A womens 400 metre hurdles race on a typical outdoor red rubber track. ... The Games of the XIV Olympiad were held in 1948 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. ... mens hammer throwing champion ... The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. ... // Milestones Emil Zatopek (TCH) won the 5 000m, the 10 000m and then went on to win a third gold medal in his first marathon, this perform is still unique up to now. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... // The Decathlon Day 1: 100 m long jump shot put High Jump 400 m Day 2: 110m hurdles discus throw pole vault javelin throw 1500 m Decathlon sprouted from the ancient game pentathlon. ... The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920. ... Seal of the House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress, the other being the Senate. ...

Contents

Early life and athletic career

Bob Mathias on the cover of the July 21, 1952 issue of TIME magazine
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Bob Mathias on the cover of the July 21, 1952 issue of TIME magazine

Bob Mathias was born in Tulare, California and took up the decathlon at the suggestion of his coach 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. Image File history File links Bobmathias_time. ... Image File history File links Bobmathias_time. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Notable Time magazine covers from the dates May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... Tulare (pronounced: ) is a city in Tulare County, California, United States. ... See also: 1947 in sports, 1949 in sports and the list of years in sports. Baseball January 29: Commissioner Happy Chandler fines the Yankees, Cubs, and Phillies $500 each for signing high school players. ... The Games of the XIV Olympiad were held in 1948 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ...


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. Shot put The shot put is an athletics (track and field) event involving putting (throwing in a pushing motion) a heavy metal ball, also called the shot, as far as possible. ... Gold medal winner Ethel Catherwood of Canada scissors over the bar at the 1928 Summer Olympics. ...


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 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, and played college football for two years. Mathias set his first decathlon world record in 1950 and led Stanford to a Rose Bowl appearance in 1952. The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. ... Founded 1550 Country Finland Province Southern Finland Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Area[1] - Of which land - Rank 185. ... The James E. Sullivan Award is awarded annually by the Amateur Athletic Union to the top amateur athlete in the United States. ... The Kiski School in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania is the oldest remaining all-male boarding school in the United States. ... Saltsburg is a borough located in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. ... Stanford redirects here. ... A college football game between Colorado State University and the Air Force Academy. ... See also: 1949 in sports, other events of 1950, 1951 in sports and the list of years in sports. // Auto Racing NASCAR Championship - Bill Rexford AAA Racing: Henry Banks won the series championship Johnnie Parsons won the Indianapolis 500 Formula One Champion: The first World Championship for drivers under the... The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football game, usually played on January 1 (New Years Day) at the stadium of the same name in Pasadena, California. ... See also: 1951 in sports, 1953 in sports and the list of years in sports. Auto Racing NASCAR Championship - Tim Flock AAA Racing: Troy Ruttman won the Indianapolis 500 Chuck Stevenson won the season championship Formula One Championship - Italy 24 hours of Le Mans: Hermann Lang / Fritz Reiss won, driving...


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. A training center created specifically for Olympic athletes to come and prepare for the Olympics, but used mainly by the United States. ...


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.


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. Seal of the House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives (or simply the House) is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress, the other being the Senate. ... GOP redirects here. ... The eight-county San Joaquin Valley is the part of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton. ... SSS redirects to here, you may also want the Social Security System The Selective Service System, in the United States, is a system to register all males over the age of 18 for the purpose of having information available about potential soldiers in case of war. ... Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. ...


He died in Fresno, California on September 2, 2006 at the age of 75 from cancer. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis. ...


Timeline

Year Comment
Nov. 17, 1930 Bob Mathias is born, the second of four children to Dr. Charles and Lillian Mathias.
1948 At age 17, graduates from Tulare high school after an illustrious prep career. Wins National Decathlon Championship at Bloomfield, N.J.

Wins 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 Sullivan Award, presented each year to America's top amateur athlete.
1949 Wins National Decathlon Championship at meet staged in Tulare.

Enrolls at Stanford, where he would star in track and football.
1950 Wins National Decathlon Championship at meet staged in Tulare.
1951 Jan. 1, plays fullback for Stanford in the Rose Bowl.

Plays football during junior and senior years at Stanford. In USC-Stanford football game, Mathias returns Frank Gifford's kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown.


Spends summer at U.S. Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego.
1952 Wins National Decathlon Championship at meet staged in Tulare.

Wins gold medal in decathlon at Olympics in Helsinki.
1953 Graduates from Stanford. Drafted by the Washington Redskins, though never played in NFL.
1954 Marries his first wife, Melba. They will have three daughters, Romel, Megan and Marissa. Mathias and his wife star in the movie "The Bob Mathias Story."

Enters active duty in the Marine Corps as a 2nd lieutenant.
1954-56 Visits more than 40 countries as America's Good Will Ambassador.
1956-60 Continues work for the State Department as a Good Will Ambassador to the world.

Acting career takes off, as he is first employed by John Wayne. Stars 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 Loses election for fifth term.
1976 Mathias and wife, Melba, divorce.
1977 Appointed director of U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Bob and Gwen marry. They will have 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 Returns to the Valley, where he builds a home in rural Fresno County.
1996 Sim Iness dies. He was Mathias' high school classmate and winner of the discus gold medal during the 1952 Olympics.

Doctors discover 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, is held in Tulare. More than 300 people attend, including Olympic medal-winners Sammy Lee, Bill Toomey, Dave Johnson and Pat McCormick, and Sim Iness' widow, Dolores.

References

  • "The Bob Mathias Story" by Bob Mathias with Robert Mendes; Derryl Dumermuth;
  • "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.

External links

Olympic champions in the all around, pentathlon and decathlon
As all-around: Tom Kiely
As pentathlon: Hjalmer Mellander | Jim Thorpe | Eero Lehtonen (twice)
As decathlon: Jim Thorpe | Helge Løvland | Harold Osborn | Paavo Yrjölä | James Bausch | Glenn Morris | Bob Mathias (twice) | Milt Campbell | Rafer Johnson | Willi Holdorf | Bill Toomey | Nikolay Avilov | Bruce Jenner | Daley Thompson (twice) | Christian Schenk | Robert Změlík | Dan O'Brien | Erki Nool | Roman Šebrle
Preceded by:
Harlan Hagen		 United States Representative for the 18th Congressional District of California
1967–1975		 Succeeded by:
William M. Ketchum

  Results from FactBites:
 
Bob Mathias; Congressman, Twice Olympic Champion - washingtonpost.com (458 words)
Bob Mathias, 75, who won the decathlon in the Olympic Games as a teenager and then went on to win it a second time and to represent a California district in Congress, died Sept. 2 at his home in Fresno.
Mathias served four terms in the House of Representatives as a Republican, from 1967 to 1974.
Bob Jennings, a family friend, said Rep. Mathias was drafted to play football for the Washington Redskins but never joined the team.
Bob Mathias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (313 words)
Born in Tulare, California, Bob Mathias took up the decathlon at the suggestion of his coach at Tulare High School early in 1948.
Mathias continued to fare well in decathlons in the four years between the London games and the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.
Mathias set his first decathlon world record in 1950 and led Stanford to a Rose Bowl appearance in 1952.
  More results at FactBites »

 

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