Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

[Guest]

Does anyone know more about Jackie Robinson's running at UCLA in the late 30's. Did he win the NCAA long jump championship during his tenure as a Bruin? Just asking.

And if there were a 1940 Olympics, could he have been the Jesse Owens of that Olympiad?

And what was Wilt's best high jump at Kansas? Could he have qualified for Melbourne 56 or Rome 60?

[Guest]

Re: Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

Yes, Jackie won the 1940 NCAA long jump title. I think he jumped about 24' 10". I know Wilt never won an NCAA high jump championship and I believe he never placed in the NCAA championship meet. I do think Wilt could have been a very good decathlete if he had worked on it for about five years. Who knows?

[gh]

Re: Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

Robinson was clearly a mind-boggling long jump talent. He got his PR of 25-6 1/2 for Pasadena JC in 1938, setting a World Junior Record and having the farthest jump in the world that year. I've only got a passing knowledge of his activities in those days, but far as I know, football and baseball occupied most of his time, so unlikely he would have been an Olympics kind of guy. In 1940, the year he won the NCAA, 6th-place in the AAU was under 23-feet, so i doubt he even competed.

For Wilt's (non)talent in high juming, do a search on this forum and read other recent threads that have already dealt with it in exhausting depth.

ps--in 1938, when Jackie led the world, brother Mack ('36 Olympic 200 silver medalist) was No. on the list at 24-10 1/2. Anybody think of two brothers on the top 10 of the world list in the same year in an event?

[Guest]

Re: Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

The Harrisons?

[Guest]

Re: Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

yeah, Jackie squandered his talent on baseball when he could have gone on to challenge Jesse's LJ WR. (just kidding) I'm old enough to remember seeing him at the Polo Grounds in '55, when I was 9. Pretty intense player.(first time I ever used binocs - a guy worth watching with binocs.)

[Guest]

Re: Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

How many other outstanding long jumpers frittered away their best years playing baseball just for the love of money? Didn't Willie Davis of the Dodgers jump at or near 25 feet in high school? And I recall seeing Bobby (not Barry) Bonds jumping very impressively at a couple of high school meets about 40 years ago. And on that topic, didn't Bobby Bonds have a brother named Robert? And a sister named Bobbi?

[Guest]

Re: Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

>The Harrisons?>>

I thought we settled this on another thread: there's only one Harrison; he just alternates names every year. Alvin's the even-year dude, Calvin the odd.

[Guest]

Re: Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

Bobby Bonds was the California state high school long jump champion in 1964. I think he jumped around 25' 3". 1964 was a great year for high school track (especially in California). He was a wonderful athlete who concentrated on baseball. I think he could have jumped close to 27 feet if he continued with track and field. His sister was Rosie Bonds and she was 8th place in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic 80 meter hurdles. Not a bad athletic family. Barry Bonds has a younger brother named Bobby. Bobby never competed in track and field, however I believe he could have been pretty good. Maybe not as good as his dad.

[Guest]

Re: Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

Don't forget Gary (U.S.) Bonds!

[Guest]

Re: Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

He could have been a good jumper, but the money was in singing. I think he went into stocks and bonds.

[Guest]

Re: Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

Did Barry ever compete in track when he was younger. Despite the recent explosion in his upper body, he looked like a great athlete!

Clay

[Guest]

Re: Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

>He could have been a good jumper, but the money
>was in singing. I think he went into stocks and
>bonds.>>

I went into stocks, but not bondage.

[billthedog]

Re: Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

DF's original question was about Robinson's "running" at UCLA. I was there and saw him in Northern California meets and read about the others. I don't recall his competing in anything except the broad jump. Brother Mack, on the other hand, was a sprinter, low hurdler and broad jumper. However, as I've said on another thread, there is no doubt that Robinson was the greatest athlete of the Century. After winning the broad in the Stanford-UCLA meet, he'd go over and play short stop in the Sunken Diamond. And he was as good as anybody on the Coast at the time in football and basketball. That is to say nothing of his winning golf and tennis tournaments.

[Guest]

Re: Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

GHill wrote: "Robinson was clearly a mind-boggling long jump talent. He got his PR of 25-6 1/2 for Pasadena JC in 1938, setting a World Junior Record and having the farthest jump in the world that year. I've only got a passing knowledge of his activities in those days, but far as I know, football and baseball occupied most of his time, so unlikely he would have been an Olympics kind of guy. In 1940, the year he won the NCAA, 6th-place in the AAU was under 23-feet, so i doubt he even competed.

ps--in 1938, when Jackie led the world, brother Mack ('36 Olympic 200 silver medalist) was No. on the list at 24-10 1/2. Anybody think of two brothers on the top 10 of the world list in the same year in an event."

Comment: Robinson was also a starter on UCLA's basketball team and as I recall led the old PCC in scoring one year and was All Coast. As a wingback ob UCLA's football team he set an NCAA record for average yards per carry (9.something) which was later bested by a pretty good high school track man himself by the name of Glenn Davis (Mr. Outside of Army football fame) who was a good sprinter and jumper at Bonita H.S. in Laverne, CA

I played basketball and was a lousy high jumper at Los Angeles Pierce Junior College in '57-'59 and one of our conference rivals was Pasadena CC. I was amazed when we went there to play basketball and I saw on their sports honors board their school records for track and field and there was Jackie Robinson's name with school records of 9.6 (100yd), 21.2 (220yd) and 25'6" (long jump).

I also heard he was a scratch golfer. Didn't someone have a message on T&F freaks of nature? Well Jackie Robinson was the best all around athlete that ever lived. And just think of what he would have done in baseball if he had broken in before he was 29 years old.

[Guest]

Re: Jackie Robinson And Wilt Chamberlain

... Bobby Bonds (25-3 in '64) has an older brother - Robert, who was the Cal State high & low (180y) hurdle champion in 1960 ... 13.9/18.8. I seem to recall that there was another brother named 'Bob' (so what about 'Bob'?) - go figure. If there had been girls high school track in the 60s - Rosie would have terrorized.

My family lived around the corner from the Bonds family in Riverside in the late 60s ... and didn't know it until after we moved. When we were there Barry would have been 3-4 yrs old. That's right, we go way back. Undoubtedly one of the most accomplished and talented athletic families anywhere.