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{{Short description|American sprinter (1935–2020)}}
{{similar names|Robert Morrow (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Bobby Morrow
| image = Bobby Morrow with wife 1956.jpg
| caption = Morrow with wife Jo Ann in 1956
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1935|10|15}}
| birth_place = [[Harlingen, Texas]], U.S.<ref name=hall/>
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|5|30|1935|10|15}}
| death_place = [[San Benito, Texas|San Benito]], Texas, U.S
| resting place = Restlawn Memorial Park<br/>[[La Feria, Texas]]
| sport = Athletics
| event = 100–400 m
| height = 186 cm<ref name=SR/>
| weight = 75 kg
| pb = 100 m – 10.2 (1956)<br>200 m – 20.75 (1956)<br>400 m – 47.7 (1959)<ref name=SR/><ref name=tf/>
| club = ACU Wildcats, Abilene<ref name=SR/>
| show-medals = yes
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalCountry|the {{USA}}}}
{{MedalOlympics}}
{{MedalGold | [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Melbourne]] | [[Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics|100 meters]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Melbourne]] | [[Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics|200 meters]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Melbourne]] | [[Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics|4 × 100 m relay]]}}
}}

'''Bobby Joe Morrow''' (October 15, 1935{{spnd}}May 30, 2020) was an American [[sprint (running)|sprinter]] who won three gold medals at the 1956 Olympics. He has been called "the dominant sprinter of the 1950s" and "the most relaxed sprinter of all time, even more so than his hero [[Jesse Owens]]".<ref>{{cite book|last=Sears|first=Edward Seldon|title=Running Through the Ages|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2001|location=[[Jefferson, North Carolina]]|pages=236–238|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxxOw3FvOgwC&pg=PA236|isbn=9780786409716}}</ref>

==Early life==
Morrow was born in [[Harlingen, Texas|Harlingen]], [[Texas]],<ref name=SR/> on October 15, 1935,<ref name=Puente>{{cite news|title=Bobby J. Morrow, Olympic medal winner, San Benito native, passes away at 84|url=https://www.valleycentral.com/news/local-news/bobby-j-morrow-olympic-medal-winner-san-benito-native-passes-away-at-84/|first=Nathaniel|last=Puente|date=May 30, 2020|access-date=May 30, 2020|work=ValleyCentral News|publisher=KVEO-TV}}</ref> and raised on a cotton and carrot farm on the outskirts of [[San Benito, Texas|San Benito]], Texas.<ref name=AP>{{cite news|title=Bobby Joe Morrow, 3-time winner in 1956 Olympics, dies at 84|url=https://apnews.com/cc34f8fe4de070c2f07debdfa7ce5164|date=May 30, 2020|access-date=May 30, 2020|work=Associated Press News}}</ref><ref name=SI>{{cite magazine|title=Bioperse: Bobby Morrow|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1956/07/02/bioperse-bobby-morrow|date=July 2, 1956|page=59|volume=5|edition=1|magazine=Sports Illustrated|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531022552/https://vault.si.com/vault/1956/07/02/bioperse-bobby-morrow|archive-date=May 31, 2020|access-date=May 30, 2020}}</ref> Before becoming a [[Sprint (running)|sprinter]], Morrow played [[American football|football]] for [[San Benito High School (Texas)|San Benito High School]].<ref name=AP/> Morrow also was a sprinter at [[Abilene Christian University]],<ref name=AP/> and became a member of the men's club Frater Sodalis in 1955.<ref name=Martin>{{cite news|title=The Fastest Nice Christian Boy in the World|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-fastest-nice-christian-boy-in-the-world/|first=William|last=Martin|date=August 1984|access-date=May 30, 2020|magazine=Texas Monthly}}</ref>

==Career==
Morrow won the 1955 [[Amateur Athletic Union|AAU]] 100-yard title. His most successful season was in 1956, when he was chosen by ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' as "[[Sportsman of the Year]]".<ref name=AP/> Morrow won the sprint double in the national college championships and defended his AAU title. Morrow then went to the [[1956 Summer Olympics]] in [[Melbourne]], where he won three gold medals and was the leader of the American sprint team. First, he was victorious in the [[100 metres|100-meter dash]]. He then led an American [[List of medal sweeps in Olympic athletics|sweep of the medals]] in the [[200 metres|200-meter dash]], while equaling the [[world record]] at that distance with a time of 20.6 seconds (unofficially auto-timed at 20.75). He won his third gold by anchoring the [[4 × 100 metres relay|4 × 100-meter relay]] team to a world record time.<ref name=SR/><ref name=tf/><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uNJaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NJIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6077%2C2318855 Morrow—and a day of medal memories, ''The Age'', (Wednesday, 12 February 1975), p.1.]</ref> He was the first sprinter since [[Jesse Owens]] in [[Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics|1936]] to win gold medals in those three events.<ref name=EB>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|title=Bobby Joe Morrow|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bobby-Joe-Morrow|date=October 11, 2019|access-date=May 30, 2020|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.}}</ref>

Morrow achieved great fame after winning his three gold medals, and was featured on the covers of ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' and ''[[SPORT (magazine)|SPORT]]'', as well as ''Sports Illustrated''. He appeared on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'', ''[[To Tell The Truth]]'' and ''[[Arthur Godfrey and His Friends]]'', and addressed a joint session of the [[Texas legislature]].<ref name=TM>{{cite news|last=Martin|first=William|title=The Fastest Nice Christian Boy in the World: Then Bobby Morrow Lost His Speed and He Began to Have Certain Doubts|newspaper=[[Texas Monthly]]|location=[[Austin, Texas]]|pages=114–201|date=August 1984|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bSsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA116}}</ref>

Morrow's success on a national level continued after the Olympics, but he retired in 1958 to become a farmer and a woodworker. He made a short comeback before the [[1960 Summer Olympics|1960 Olympic Games]], but failed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team.<ref name=Martin/>

==Legacy==
In October 2006, San Benito High School named its new 12,000 seat sporting facility in [[San Benito, Texas|San Benito]], used for football and soccer, Bobby Morrow Stadium.<ref>[http://www.texasbob.com/stadium/stadium.php?id=1046 Bobby Morrow Stadium – San Benito, Texas]. Texasbob.com (April 14, 2013). Retrieved on 2017-08-21.</ref> Morrow was on hand to help dedicate the new facility. He was inducted into the [[National Track and Field Hall of Fame]] in 1989<ref name=hall/> and into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016.<ref>[http://ttfca2.wixsite.com/txtfhalloffame/inductees Inductees – Name, Category, Year] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116170038/http://ttfca2.wixsite.com/txtfhalloffame/inductees|date=January 16, 2017}}. TX TF Hall of Fame.</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Bobby Morrow 1956c.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Morrow in a college chemistry lab. in 1956]]
Morrow was married to Jo Ann Strickland, whom he met in high school,<ref name=SI/> in what was described as a "fairy-tale marriage".<ref name=Martin/> They moved to [[Odessa, Texas|Odessa]], and later to [[Houston]], where he restarted his career in banking that he had put on hold to train for the 1960 Olympics. They divorced around 1968.<ref name=Martin/> He subsequently moved to [[Ohio]], where he met and married Judy.<ref name=Martin/>

Morrow died of natural causes on May 30, 2020, at his home in Harlingen, Texas, at the age of 84.<ref name=AP/><ref>[https://ktxs.com/news/local/former-acu-track-star-olympic-gold-medal-winner-bobby-j-morrow-dies Former ACU track star, Olympic gold medal winner Bobby Joe Morrow dies]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=hall>[http://www.legacy.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=114 Bobby Morrow] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627055652/http://legacy.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=114 |date=June 27, 2020 }}. USATF Hall of Fame</ref>
<ref name=SR>{{cite Sports-Reference |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417094441/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/mo/bobby-joe-morrow-1.html |title=Bobby Morrow |archive-date=2020-04-17 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/mo/bobby-joe-morrow-1.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name=tf>[http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=4628&Gender=M Bobby Morrow]. trackfield.brinkster.net</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bobby Morrow}}
* {{World Athletics|name=Bobby Joe Morrow}}
* {{USATF Hall of Fame}}
* {{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=bobby-joe-morrow|name=Bobby Joe Morrow|old_id=Bobby-Joe-Morrow|archive=20230720071705}}
* {{Olympics.com profile}}
* {{Olympedia|name=Bobby Joe Morrow}}

{{Footer_Olympic_Champions_100_m_Men}}
{{Footer_Olympic_Champions_200_m_Men}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 4x100 m Men|1956}}
{{SI Sportsman of the Year}}
{{Sullivan Award winners}}
{{Footer US NC 100m Men}}
{{Footer US NC 200m Men}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1956 Summer Olympics}}
{{Footer Collegiate Track Field Cross Country Athlete Hall of Fame}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrow, Bobby}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:Abilene Christian Wildcats men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:American members of the Churches of Christ]]
[[Category:American men sprinters]]
[[Category:World record setters in the sport of athletics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:James E. Sullivan Award recipients]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Abilene, Texas]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Harlingen, Texas]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Texas]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:People from San Benito, Texas]]
[[Category:USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]