high jump ultra trivia

[jhc68]

Ok, this is obscure, who was an olympic high jumper who went on to play on an NFL team (maybe the first and only such)? Some impressive athlete, he!

[EastBayprepoftheweek67]

Re: high jump ultra trivia

Well, Jim Thorpe for starters.

[jhc68]

Re: high jump ultra trivia

You are right, I had overlooked Thorpe. He was a 6'5" high jumper (what style? scissors?)and was 4th in Stockholm. So there are at least two in this category, Thorpe and who else?

[bf]

Re: high jump ultra trivia

just a guess - Ken Wiesner?('52) (just sounds like someone I had an old football card of..

[dj]

Re: high jump ultra trivia

Gotta be Brick Muller. Or is there someone even later than 1920?

[richard hymans]

Re: high jump ultra trivia

I think this was Australia's Colin Ridgway, a 7'0 1/2" jumper in about 1964 (from memory) who was at U.of Houston and was a punter

[jhc68]

Re: high jump ultra trivia

Too good, you are right, RH, Ridgeway was who I had in mind... he was 7th at the Melbourne Olympics as a teenager, then played Aussie rules football for a bit, came to the US and eventually kicked for the Dallas Cowboys. According to an Aussie newspaper column he was murdered a few years ago in Florida. Any other footballers I left out? Dennis Smith jumped 7'2" at USC before becoming a franchise defensive back for the Broncos, but he never made an Oly team.

[Pego]

Re: high jump ultra trivia

Donald Driver, a wide receiver of the Packers, in the 7'5''-7'7'' (around 230) range, I believe.

[EastBayprepoftheweek67]

Re: high jump ultra trivia

>Gotta be Brick Muller. Or is there someone even later than 1920?

Dave Johnson asks on another thread if his Brick Muller answer is correct.

It depends. Harold "Brick," the great multi-sport star at the University of California, was the silver medalist in the HJ at the 1920 Olympics. Later, he used his football skills to play at least one season of professional football with the Los Angeles Buccaneers, whose season included some games against the NYC and Canton NFL teams. I do not know if that counts as "NFL" experience.

[highjumpfan]

Re: high jump ultra trivia

Driver never jumped that high.

[jhc68]

Re: high jump ultra trivia

Green Bay Packers propaganda says the Driver had a PR of 7'6 1/2", was "ranked No. 1 in the nation that year" (1996), and "Likely would've qualified for 2000 Sydney Olympics in high jump had he concentrated solely on track". He must be a terrific athlete and the PR seems believable (he was SWAC champion at Alcorn St.) but I don't see him ranked #1 on any lists I have access to and the idea that he would have made the 2000 team is probably baseless.

[hjsteve]

Re: high jump ultra trivia

Driver finished 18th ( last) in the 1996 NCAA at 2.12/6/ 11 1/2". He did not make the US list for that year that ends at 2.17/7"2 1/4".

Where does this type of BS come from ?!

[jhc68]

Re: high jump ultra trivia

The BS comes from the same propaganda sources that attribute 40 yard times to football players that Houston McTear could not have matched !!!

[gh]

Re: high jump ultra trivia

I dont' have access to all T&FN files on the road, but a look at Tilastopaja indicates a 2.25 (7-4.5) in '96 with a "questionable" tag. Only other mark listed is an indoor 2.13 (6-11.75) in '98.

If I had to guess, he was entered in the NCs w/ a 2.25 that was his only mark of the year and then he bombed at NCs. Probably at Pelican Relays, which has had some Q stuff throujghout the years.

[Bauchwalzer]

HJer into pro football

'52 Olympic team alternate Emery Barnes reportedly went into pro football as well as Don Stewart (two-time winner at the NCAA). Neither were Olympians but both were world ranked. Calvin Hill, a great pro footballer, was an excellent HJer in college while Charles Dumas tried out with the San Diego Chargers in the summer of '61, bad pin and all. He was cut soon after but was able to regain his amateur status in time for a shot at the '64 Oly team. Ed Caruthers was drafted in the 11th round of the NFL draft in '69 by the Detroit Lions and received a $10,000 signing bonus. He was cut on 1 September and, two and some years later, offered to give back that bonus if he could get his amateur status back in time for a try for the '72 Oly team. The AAU said "no" and a year later he was among the first professionals on the ITA tour. As an aside, the '60 Olympic team had more of its team members try out/make it in pro football than any other squad. Ray Norton, Frank Budd, Stone Johnson, alternate Ted Woods, Dumas, Glenn Davis, Dick Howard, Bo Roberson and Don Bragg.