Lee Calhoun
Lee Quincy Calhoun, born on February 23, 1933, in Laurel, Mississippi, was a distinguished American track and field athlete, best known for his remarkable achievements in the 110-meter hurdles. Growing up in a rural environment, he developed physical strength and agility through farm chores. After moving to Gary, Indiana, he initially joined the high school track team as a high jumper but transitioned to hurdles, where he quickly excelled. Calhoun attended North Carolina Central University, where he became a prominent hurdler, winning multiple titles and eventually qualifying for the 1956 Olympic Games held in Melbourne, Australia. He secured a gold medal in that event and repeated his success at the 1960 Rome Olympics, making history as the first athlete to win consecutive Olympic golds in the 110-meter hurdles.
Beyond his athletic accomplishments, Calhoun had a significant coaching career, mentoring future athletes at various universities and serving as an assistant Olympic coach. His legacy is honored through annual track meets named after him, including the Lee Calhoun Memorial Track Meet at Western Illinois University and the Lee Calhoun High School Track and Field Invitational at North Carolina Central University. Calhoun's influence extends to his daughter, Brenda Calhoun-Cash, a successful sprinter and coach, ensuring that his legacy in athletics continues to inspire.
Lee Calhoun
Athlete
- Born: February 23, 1933
- Birthplace: Laurel, Mississippi
- Died: June 22, 1989
- Place of death: Erie, Pennsylvania
Sport: Track and field (hurdles)
Early Life
Lee Quincy Calhoun was born February 23, 1933, in rural Laurel, Mississippi. He grew up with champion long-jumper Ralph Boston and opera star Leontyne Price. Much of Lee’s time was spent on a farm performing chores—such as chasing pigs and chickens and picking cotton—that built quickness, strength, and stamina.
During the early 1940’s, the Calhoun family relocated to Gary, Indiana, where Lee attended Roosevelt High School. He tried out for football but was too light at 130 pounds. As a junior, he joined the track team, specializing in the high jump and regularly leaping 5 feet 11 inches. In 1951, he was pressed into service as a hurdler when the school’s star in the event could not compete. Lee took second behind the state champion, and afterward, he competed in hurdles and high jump and entered both events at the state championships.
The Road to Excellence
After graduation from high school, Lee went to work at a steel mill in Gary. In 1953, at twenty years old and a solid 6 feet 1 inch and 165 pounds, he was accepted at North Carolina Central University, in Durham. Specializing in the 120-yard and 110-meter hurdles, he competed frequently for the university, both nationally and internationally. Lee began compiling victories while improving his times. In 1954, he took first in Seoul, Korea, and Tokyo, Japan, with times of 14.7 seconds. In 1955, he won the Army Championships hurdles in 14.6 seconds. At the South Carolina State Invitational in 1956, he won in 14 seconds. He capped a productive season in 1956 by capturing the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 110-meter-hurdles and the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) 110-meter-hurdles titles. The championships qualified him for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. Between June and October, 1956, Lee swept to victory in five successive final Olympic trials and pre-Olympic meets. He was ready to travel “Down Under” and compete against the world’s best.
The Emerging Champion
In Australia for the 1956 Olympic Games, Lee continued to improve. During trials, he beat his personal best time in the hurdles by nearly 1 full second. In the final, he ran in 13.5 seconds and lunged at the finish to beat teammate Jack Davis, winning the gold medal and leading an American sweep of the event.
Following his Olympic triumph, Lee returned to college and continued his winning ways in track. In 1957, he took first at the South Carolina Collegiate Invitational, Winston-Salem Relays, Penn Relays, and California Relays and finished the season by repeating as NCAA and AAU hurdles champion.
Lee graduated from North Carolina Central University in 1957. The following year, Lee married his wife Gwendolyn on Bride and Groom, one of the first television game shows to be broadcast in color. However, because the couple accepted gifts for its appearance—a violation of stringent AAU rules for amateurs—Lee was suspended from competition for a year. He returned strongly in 1959, finishing first in the Quantico Relays, Coliseum Relays, Carolinas AAU, Compton Invitational, and Meet of Champions before repeating as AAU hurdle champion.
Though not considered a favorite for the 1960 Rome Olympics because of his age, Lee qualified for the Games and tied the 110-meter hurdles world record, at 13.2 seconds, in a pre-Olympic meet. At the Games, he duplicated his feat of four years earlier, nipping teammate Willie May at the wire. Lee became the first man to win gold medals in successive Olympics in the 110-meter high hurdles while leading American sweeps in the event.
Continuing the Story
After the Rome Olympics, Lee competed just twice more—finishing second both times—before retiring from sports. The father of two children, he eventually got a job as assistant track coach at Grambling State University from 1967 to 1969. He later held a similar position at Yale University from 1970 to 1975 before serving as head track coach at the university from 1976 to 1979. In 1976, he was also an assistant Olympic coach. From 1980 to 1989, he was head track coach at Western Illinois University. In ill health his last few years, he died June 22, 1989, at the age of fifty-six, from complications following a stroke.
Lee—a seven-time national champion who held world hurdle records at 110, 70, 60, and 50 meters—was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1974. He was inducted posthumously into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1991. Beginning in 1990, Western Illinois University began hosting the Lee Calhoun Memorial Track Meet every spring. In 1993, North Carolina Central University began its tradition of the Lee Calhoun High School Track and Field Invitational to honor the university’s first Olympic gold medalist. Lee’s legacy also lives on in his daughter, Brenda Calhoun-Cash. A four-time all-American sprinter and hurdler at Arizona State University, she later coached track at the University of Memphis.
Summary
Considered one of the best hurdlers ever, Lee Calhoun was the first athlete to win the 110-meter high hurdles at consecutive Olympic Games. Lee’s efforts helped maintain U.S. dominance of the event: in twenty-seven modern Olympics through 2008, the United States took nineteen firsts, and collected fifty-five of the seventy-nine medals awarded. As a coach, Lee trained new generations of athletes and inspired his own daughter to achieve excellence in track and field.
Bibliography
Finding, John E., and Kimberly D. Pelle, eds. Historical Dictionary of the Modern Olympic Movement. Oxford, England: Greenwood Press, 1996.
Guttman, Allen. The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2002.
Holst, Don, and Marcia S. Popp. American Men of Olympic Track and Field: Interviews with Athletes and Coaches. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, 2004.
Wallechinsky, David, and Jaime Loucky. The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press, 2008.