Jim Golliday Explained

Jim Golliday
Sport:Track and field
Birth Date:1931 4, mf=yes
Birth Place:Sacramento, California, U.S.
Death Place:Downey, Illinois, U.S.
Height:1.76 m[1]
Weight:76 kg
Pb:100 y: 9.3 s, =WR (Evanston, USA; 14/03/1955)[2]

Jim Golliday was an American sprinter, specializing in the 100 yards and 100 meters events. He was the United States 100 yards champion in 1951.

Career

Originally a champion school football player at Wendell Phillips High School in Chicago, Golliday did not take track and field seriously until his senior year in 1949, winning the Illinois school's 100 yard title.[3] [4]

As a student at Northwestern University, Golliday was USA champion in the 100 yard sprint in 1951.[5] This despite, as a freshman, being unable to compete for his university.[4]

He was considered the favourite for the 100 meters title at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics[6] but injury denied him a chance to compete.[7] [4]

A successful indoor season and a win in the 1952 NCAA 100 yards event showed he was in good early season form (10.4 s into a stiff wind[1]). However, the recurrence of a muscle injury suffered in a semi-final of the 1952 AAU meet meant that he hobbled out of his heat at the 1952 US Olympic Trials.[7] Lindy Remigino, the winner of 100 meters title at the 1952 Olympics, magnanimously stated that "of course, Jimmy Golliday was the favourite in the trials. I think he was the fastest of us all".[6] [4]

In 1952 he entered the United States Army, and competed on service teams in Europe, before returning to the United States and Northwestern University in 1954.[3] [8] [9]

In 1955, he matched the world record for the 100 yards at 9.3 seconds.[8] [10]

In 1956, he set an indoors world record for the 60 yards dash.,[11] [12] but injury again denied him a chance to compete at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.[7] He trailed in last in his semi-final of the 100 meters due to a muscle injury - another occurrence of the type of injury that plagued him throughout his career.[13] [4]

After retirement, he lived in California selling insurance, before returning to Chicago because of ill health.[14]

He died in 1971, aged only 39. The cause of death was listed as pneumonia, a condition he suffered as a complication following surgery for ulcers at Downey Veterans Hospital in Illinois.[14]

World rankings

Golliday was ranked by Track and Field News as among the best in the US and the world in the 100 meters sprint event in the period from 1951 to 1955.[15] [16]

100 meters
YearWorld rankUS rank
19511st1st
19522nd2nd
19537th5th
19543rd2nd
19551st1st

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. E L Quercetani & G Pallicca, A World History of Sprint Racing 1850-2005, p 74
  2. E L Quercetani & G Pallicca, A World History of Sprint Racing 1850-2005, p 288.
  3. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19550814&id=RUYxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6w8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6021,7084496, Milwaukee Sentinel, August 14, 1955
  4. Web site: Warren . Peter . Northwestern Sports Time Machine: Jim Golliday, 1952 . The Daily Northwestern . 29 May 2024.
  5. Web site: Track & Field News: A History of the Results of the National Track & Field Championships of the USA from 1876 Through 2003 . 2012-06-17 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130609231459/http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/archive/usa-nat-champs-history.html . 2013-06-09 . A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2003, Track and Field News, Retrieved 3 February 2012
  6. Duncanson N, The Fastest Men on Earth, p. 112
  7. http://www.legacy.usatf.org/statistics/champions/OlympicTrials/HistoryOfTheOlympicTrials.pdf The History of the United States Olympic Trials - Track & Field, R Hymans, USA Track & Field, 2008
  8. Web site: The Sunday News Journal - Google News Archive Search. news.google.com. 2016-04-11.
  9. Book: Jet. 1954-06-10. Johnson Publishing Company. en.
  10. Book: Jet. 1955-05-26. Johnson Publishing Company. en.
  11. Web site: The Milwaukee Journal - Google News Archive Search. news.google.com. 2016-04-11.
  12. Web site: The Age - Google News Archive Search. news.google.com. 2016-04-11.
  13. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1132039/3/index.htm Sports Illustrated, 2 July 1956, Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  14. Web site: The Milwaukee Journal - Google News Archive Search . news.google.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160401135827/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19710413&id=Yh8qAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gSgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7267,1767469 . 2016-04-01.
  15. Web site: World Rankings Index--Men's 100 meters. Track and Field News. 2012-02-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20130609225745/http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/rankings/men/100worldbyathlete.pdf. 2013-06-09. dead.
  16. Web site: U.S. Rankings Index--Men's 100 meters. Track and Field News. 2012-02-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20130609230915/http://trackandfieldnews.com/rankings/men/100usbyathlete.pdf. 2013-06-09. dead.