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...I was in the navy and stationed at San Diego. It was our 6th week (I think) of boot camp when we had our mini Olympics. That would be a basketball tourney and a track meet. Each company was to have it's teams. My job being the athlectic PO was to put these teams together. So I called the company together one night and asked..."anyone play basketball?" I found my team. Then I had to ask.."any track athletes here?" That got a few hands.
Afterwards...
Robert Gene (tall black guy from Louisiana)...I can run the hundred.
me...cool! What did you run it in Robert?
RG...I ran a 9.5.
me..(I was into track even back then and knew what a 9.5 was)...a 9.5??? Hmmm?
Well he did look like he could run and I didn't have a lot of options. So he'd be my 100 guy. We were allowed one guy per event, Robert wouldn't be allowed on the 4x1. There was no 220yds.
So there they were six guys in tennis shoes on a terrible dirt track. Robert was in lane five. At the gun the race was already over. Robert was out like a rocket, then he just pulled away winning by a huge margin. The time...10.2! (yds)
I have looked in old Track & Field News, I've never found Robert's 9.5. I have no doubts he had that kind of ability yet there he was in the navy....why? Why wasn't he running at Southern U or Grambling? Would have loved to have seen him on our 4x1 relay. We got beat bad, could he have pulled off a Bob Hayes 1964...hmmm?
I guess this is a ...what might have been.
Afterwards...
Robert Gene (tall black guy from Louisiana)...I can run the hundred.
me...cool! What did you run it in Robert?
RG...I ran a 9.5.
me..(I was into track even back then and knew what a 9.5 was)...a 9.5??? Hmmm?
Well he did look like he could run and I didn't have a lot of options. So he'd be my 100 guy. We were allowed one guy per event, Robert wouldn't be allowed on the 4x1. There was no 220yds.
So there they were six guys in tennis shoes on a terrible dirt track. Robert was in lane five. At the gun the race was already over. Robert was out like a rocket, then he just pulled away winning by a huge margin. The time...10.2! (yds)
I have looked in old Track & Field News, I've never found Robert's 9.5. I have no doubts he had that kind of ability yet there he was in the navy....why? Why wasn't he running at Southern U or Grambling? Would have loved to have seen him on our 4x1 relay. We got beat bad, could he have pulled off a Bob Hayes 1964...hmmm?
I guess this is a ...what might have been.