View source for Charles Bacon

{{Short description|American athlete (1885–1968)}}
{{for-multi|the American geologist|Charles R. Bacon|the British 19th century sculptor|Charles Bacon (sculptor)}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name        = Charles Bacon
| image       = Charles Bacon 1909.jpg
| alt         = 
| caption     = Charles Bacon Jr. at the 1908 Olympic Games
| full_name   = Charles James Bacon Jr.
| height      = 6 ft 0 in
| weight      = 170 lb
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1885|1|9}}
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1968|11|15|1885|1|9}}
| birth_place = [[Brooklyn, New York]]
| death_place = [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]]
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport|Men's [[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|athletics]]}}
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition | Olympic Games}}
{{MedalGold| [[1908 Summer Olympics|1908 London]] | [[Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 400&nbsp;metre hurdles|400&nbsp;m hurdles]]}}
}}
[[File:Charles_Bacon_Mecca_card_front2.jpg|thumb|Charles Bacon on a 1910 Mecca Cigarettes trading card]]
'''Charles James Bacon Jr.''' (January 9, 1885 – November 15, 1968) was an American [[Athletics (sport)|athlete]] and a member of the [[Irish American Athletic Club]] and the [[New York City Police Department]]. He won the [[400&nbsp;metres hurdles]] at the [[1908 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78064 |title=Charles Bacon |work=Olympedia |access-date=January 17, 2021}}</ref>

He was born in [[Brooklyn, New York]] and died in [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]].

At the [[1904 Summer Olympics]] he finished ninth in the [[Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500&nbsp;metres|1500&nbsp;metres event]].

Two years later at the [[1906 Summer Olympics]] he finished fifth in the [[Athletics at the 1906 Summer Olympics|400&nbsp;metres competition]] and sixth in the [[Athletics at the 1906 Summer Olympics|800&nbsp;metres event]].

Just a month and a half before the [[1908 Olympic Games]] in [[London]], Bacon ran in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]] setting a new unofficial [[world record]] of 55.8 in the [[400&nbsp;metre hurdles]].

At the Olympic Games in 1908, he and fellow American [[Harry Hillman]] went over the last hurdle simultaneously, after which Bacon pulled away on the straight to win in a new world record of 55.0&nbsp;seconds. This record was recognized by [[IAAF]], thus Bacon became the first world record holder in the [[400&nbsp;metres hurdles]]. The same year, Bacon set the world record for the 440&nbsp;yards, 10 hurdles, 3&nbsp;feet 6&nbsp;inches at Celtic Park, Queens, New York, the home of the [[Irish American Athletic Club]] on October 11, 1908.<ref>[http://www.wingedfist.com/bacon.html 1910 Mecca Cigarettes Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter Series trading card.]</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book |author=Cook, Theodore Andrea |title=The Fourth Olympiad London 1908 Official Report |publisher=[[British Olympic Association]] |location=London |date=May 1909 |url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1908/1908.pdf |accessdate=2008-12-29 |archive-date=2013-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116164837/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1908/1908.pdf |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite web | last = De Wael | first = Herman | year = 2001 | url = http://users.skynet.be/hermandw/olymp/ath1908.html | title = Athletics 1908 | work = Herman's Full Olympians | access-date = 2008-12-29 | archive-date = 2006-09-27 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060927093153/http://users.skynet.be/hermandw/olymp/ath1908.html | url-status = dead }}
*{{cite book | last = Greenberg | first = Stan | year = 1987 | title = Olympic Games: The Records | publisher = Guinness Books | location = London | isbn = 0-85112-896-3 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/olympicgamesreco00gree }}
*{{cite book | last = Kieran | first = John | year = 1977 | title = The Story of the Olympic Games; 776 B.C. to 1976 | publisher = J.B. Lippincott Company | location = Philadelphia and New York | isbn = 0-397-01168-7 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/storyofolympicga0000kier_j1r1 }}

==External links==
* {{sports links}}
*[http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/aia/primarydocs/iaac/iaac01.htm Irish America Archives - NYU]
*[http://www.wingedfist.org Winged Fist Organization]

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{{succession box|before=—|title=[[400 metre hurdles|Men's 400&nbsp;m hurdles World Record Holder]]|years=July 22, 1908 – June 26, 1920|after={{flagicon|USA}} [[John Norton (athlete)|John Norton]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions 400&nbsp;m hurdles Men}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, Charles}}
[[Category:1885 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:American men middle-distance runners]]
[[Category:American men hurdlers]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1906 Intercalated Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:World record setters in the sport of athletics]]
[[Category:New York City Police Department officers]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]


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