The Mighty Burner
Larry James was born on November 6, 1947, in
Mount Pleasant, New York, and took up track in seventh grade. He attended
White Plains High School, where he competed in the intermediate hurdles and the triple jump.
[1]
Athlete
A double medalist at the
1968 Summer Olympics in
Mexico City, James also set world records and won
NCAA
titles during his track career. James won the silver medal in the 400 m
with his time of 43.97 seconds at the 1968 Summer Olympics, bettering
the existing
world record but placing him second behind teammate (and fellow Hall of Famer)
Lee Evans (43.86). James added a gold medal at the Mexico City Games by running the third leg on the U.S. 4x400 m
relay team, which set a
world record of 2:56.16 seconds, which was eventually tied in 1988 but was not beaten until 1992.
James set the 400 m world record of 44.1 seconds in placing second to Evans at the 1968
Olympic Trials at
Echo Summit,
California, when Evans' winning time of 44.0 was disallowed by the
IAAF
because he wore illegal brush spike shoes. James was a double gold
medalist at the 1970 World University Games, winning the 400 m hurdles
and running the anchor leg on Team USA's 4x400 m relay team (3:03.33).
As a collegian at
Villanova University under Hall of Fame coach
Jumbo Elliott, James won the
NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship 440 yd (400 m) title in 1970 and
NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship crowns at that distance in 1968, 1969 and 1970. At the 1968
Penn Relays,
his anchor leg of 43.9 was the fastest ever run in the history of the
relay carnival and sparked Villanova's scintillating comeback victory
over
Rice University.
Coaching
The head manager for Team USA at the
2003 World Outdoor Championships, James was chair of
USATF's
budget committee and had recently retired after 28 years as the Dean of
Athletics and Recreational Programs and Services at the
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. The soccer and track-and-field stadium at the College is named for him, and features a large touchstone at its entrance.
In addition to the bachelor's degree in business administration that he earned from Villanova, James received a
Master of Public Policy in 1987 from
Rutgers University.
[1]
In 2003, James was inducted into the
National Track and Field Hall of Fame.
[2]
He died on his 61st birthday on November 6, 2008, at his home in
Galloway Township, New Jersey of
colon cancer
