Henry Carr

Henry Carr (November 27, 1941 – May 29, 2015) was an American track and field athlete who won two gold medals at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.<ref name=sr>Henry Carr Template:Webarchive. Sports Reference</ref>

Early life

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1941,<ref>Richard Goldstein (June 7, 2015) Henry Carr, Olympic Sprinter and a Football Giant, Dies at 73. New York Times.</ref> Carr moved with his family to Detroit, Michigan when he was young.<ref name="nyt_obit">Template:Cite news</ref>

Prior to bringing his athletic talents to Arizona State University (ASU), Carr was a state champion sprinter for Northwestern High School in Detroit having posted a 100-yard time of 9.3 seconds. While competing for the ASU Sun Devils, he won three national titles; along the way setting world records at 220 yards and as a member of the Sun Devil 4 × 440 yard relay team.

Henry Carr won the 1963 NCAA title at 200 meters in 20.5; the same year he ran 20.69 to tie Paul Drayton for the USA title. Twice that season Carr ran world records; a non-ratified 20.4 for 220 yards and, three days later in a college triangular meet, a 20.3 for 220 yards. Henry Carr ran even faster in 1964; setting a world record of 20.2 for 220 yards. He also defeated Drayton into second place to win the national title.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Olympics

It was at the 1964 Olympics where Carr would achieve his greatest fame; Carr won the 200 meters (in an Olympic Record time) and anchored the winning 4 × 400 meter relay team to a world record 3:00.7 (with Ollan Cassell, Mike Larrabee and Ulis Williams).

Carr had a fright in his qualification for the Olympics. He had won the semi-final trials held in New York in July and only had to prove his fitness at the final trials in September in Los Angeles. However, he was well beaten into fourth place in the final there and with only 3 to qualify he could have been eliminated. His earlier win was enough though to convince the selectors that he should go to the Olympics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>E L Quercetani & G Pallicca, A World History of Sprint Racing 1850-2005, p 90-91.</ref>

Professional football career

Following the Olympics, Carr played American football in the National Football League. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 1965 NFL draft by the New York Giants and played three seasons as a safety and cornerback with the Giants. In his last year with them he was hampered by a knee injury.<ref name="nyt_obit"/>

In 1969, he had a try-out with the Detroit Lions but quit their training camp.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref>

Personal life

After he left the NFL he found difficulty in adjusting and finding work. He found new purpose in 1973 when he became a Jehovah's Witness.<ref name=sr/><ref name="nyt_obit"/> In the mid-1970s he was described as living a simple life with his family outside Atlanta, Georgia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In later life, Carr became a Jehovah's Witness elder, and was reported to have done contracting work and owned a restaurant.<ref name="nyt_obit"/> He died of cancer on May 29, 2015, in Griffin, Georgia.<ref>Jeff Metcalfe (June 2, 2015) ASU, Olympic track champion Henry Carr dies at 73. azcentral.com</ref>

Accolades and awards

Carr was a 1975 Charter inductee in the Arizona State Sun Devils Athletics Hall of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1997, he was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

World records

Carr set the following world records during his track career:<ref>Progression of IAAF World Records 2011 Edition, Editor Imre Matrahazi, IAAF Athletics, p. 462.</ref>

• 220 y of 20.3 s at Tempe, Arizona on March 23, 1963, in a tri Meet ASU-Utah-USC;
• 4 × 440 y of 3:04.5 at Walnut, California on April 27, 1963, at the Mt. SAC Relays for the ASU;
• 220 y of 20.2 s at Tempe, Arizona on April 4, 1964, in a dual meet ASU-SC Striders;
• 4 × 400 m of 3:00.7 at Tokyo, Japan on October 21, 1964, in the Olympic final.

Note: he also ran a 20.4 s for 220 y on March 19, 1963, that was never ratified as a world record.

World rankings

Carr was ranked among the best in the US and the world in the 100, 200 and 400 m sprint events in the period 1962–64, according to the votes of the experts of Track and Field News.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>

100 meters

Year	World rank	US rank
1962	6th	4th
1963	3rd	2nd
1964	6th	3rd

200 meters

Year	World rank	US rank
1962	-	-
1963	1st	1st
1964	1st	1st

400 meters

Year	World rank	US rank
1962	-	-
1963	5th	4th
1964	-	5th

External links

• Henry Carr: Detroit Northwestern High School 1961, Michtrack Template:Webarchive
• Whether at ASU, the Olympics or NFL, Carr could motor. Arizona Daily Star, July 16 2011.
• Template:USATF Hall of Fame