Very few of the highest honor the Olympics bestow have been given out. One of them went to former PSU Coach and preeminent Olympic scholar of the 20th Century,
Dr. John Lucas. We were lucky enough to entice Dr. Lucas to our Friday night reception with the help of fellow Olympian
Greg Fredericks. Dr. Lucas then regaled us with a short lecture on the greatest moments in his Olympic experience. As it turns out, the number one moment for him was the 10,000 M victory of
Billy Mills in Tokyo in 1964. Here's a photo of the beautiful
Olympic Order necklace and a color video of Billy Mills' race. (Billy Mills,
Billy Mills,
Billy Mills.)
In 46 years of being involved in Track and Field meeting Dr. Lucas is one of the best memories I have.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for Honoring him.
I just heard back from Billy Mills himself, as I sent the link to him via Facebook. He is honored that Coach Lucas considers his race No. 1. He's a golfer too!
ReplyDeleteI was kicking myself the next day for not asking him about the 2 HS distance runners that were also in the '64 Olympics - Ryun and Lindgren. Ryun was a Junior in HS at the time. LTM
ReplyDeleteThe number of our comrades who don't know about Dr.Lucas astounds me. He also predated the jogging craze by 2 decades, amassing 160,000 miles (straight from his mouth!). He was also in 4 Hollywood movies as an extra, including the chariot scene in Ben Hur. In another movie he was asked to not shave for weeks to play a prisoner in the background and earned $200 for 1/2 hour work.
ReplyDeleteDr. Lucas is a national treasure. It has been my pleaseure to see him at least once per year every year since graduating, and he always remembers me. His son Mark and I used to hang out in State College when he was home from Maryland, and I had the great pleasure of seeing him (Mark) last year at Penn Relays. What a special man Dr. Lucas is, and one that we need to continue to include in our functions as much as we can for as long as we can.
ReplyDeleteDr. Lucas is a national treasure, and we are very fortunate that we have him as a Penn Stater. I see him about once per year, and he always remembers who I am. His son Mark and I hadn't see each other in years until last year at Penn Relays. What a great surprise it was to see him, Dr. Lucas and Gunny Roger Roll all on the same day. We need to keep Dr. Lucas involved in as many activities as we can for as long as we can. He is a very special person.
ReplyDelete