Bobby Joe Morrow, the Texas sprinter who won three gold medals in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics while a student at Abilene Christian University, died Saturday. He was 84. (More Sports News)
Morrow's family said he died of natural causes at home in San Benito.
Morrow won the 100 and 200 metres in Melbourne and anchored the United States' champion 400 relay team, matching the world record of 20.6 seconds in the 200 and helping the relay squad set a world record.
Earlier in 1956 he successfully defended his AAU 100-yard title and swept the sprints for Abilene Christian at the national college championships. He was honoured as "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated, and won the AAU's James E. Sullivan Award the following year.
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Morrow spent most of his life in the Rio Grande Valley along the Gulf of Mexico near the Mexican border. He was born in Harlingen and grew up in San Benito. He starred in track and football at San Benito High School, where the football stadium is named Bobby Morrow Stadium.
"On behalf of our entire San Benito CISD family, I extend our most sincere condolences and deepest sympathy to the Morrow family. They will be in our thoughts and prayers," Carman said in the post.
"Mr. Morrow's legacy will live on forever in San Benito," the San Benito school district said on Facebook.
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Morrow was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1989.
(AP)
