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Jim Golliday

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Jim Golliday
Personal information
Born(1931-04-23)April 23, 1931
Sacramento, California, U.S.
DiedApril 10, 1971(1971-04-10) (aged 39)
Downey, Illinois, U.S.
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Weight76 kg (168 lb)[1]
Sport
SportTrack and field
Events
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)100 y: 09.3 s, =WR (Evanston, USA; March 14, 1955)[2]

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

Career

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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

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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
Year World rank US rank
1951 1st 1st
1952 2nd 2nd
1953 7th 5th
1954 3rd 2nd
1955 1st 1st

References

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  1. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19550814&id=RUYxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6w8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6021,7084496, Milwaukee Sentinel, August 14, 1955
  4. ^ a b c d e Warren, Peter. "Northwestern Sports Time Machine: Jim Golliday, 1952". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  5. ^ "Track & Field News: A History of the Results of the National Track & Field Championships of the USA from 1876 Through 2003". Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2012. A History of the Results of the National Track & Field Championships of the USA From 1876 Through 2003, Track and Field News, Retrieved February 3, 2012
  6. ^ a b Duncanson N, The Fastest Men on Earth, p. 112
  7. ^ a b c http://www.legacy.usatf.org/statistics/champions/OlympicTrials/HistoryOfTheOlympicTrials.pdf Archived March 27, 2016, at the Wayback Machine The History of the United States Olympic Trials – Track & Field, R Hymans, USA Track & Field, 2008
  8. ^ a b "The Sunday News Journal – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  9. ^ Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. June 10, 1954.
  10. ^ Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. May 26, 1955.
  11. ^ "The Milwaukee Journal – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  12. ^ "The Age – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  13. ^ sportsillustrated.cnn.com Sports Illustrated, July 2, 1956, Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  14. ^ a b "The Milwaukee Journal – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Archived from the original on April 1, 2016.
  15. ^ "World Rankings Index—Men's 100 meters" (PDF). Track and Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  16. ^ "U.S. Rankings Index—Men's 100 meters" (PDF). Track and Field News. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2012.

Further reading

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  • Duncanson, Neil, "The Fastest Men on Earth", Andre Deutsch, 2011.
  • R L Quercetani & G Pallicca, "A World History of Sprint Racing 1850–2005", SEP Editrice Srl, 2006.
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