His sons followed in his pole-vaulting footsteps. Until 2012, he had lived on a ranch in Santo, Texas, which he named the Crossbar Ranch and which was involved in numerous commercial activities, including oil and gas exploration and horse and cattle grazing. Hes out there in the middle of the fight.. He also won decathlon championships in the 1951 and 195455 AAU meets. When he turned 20, Mr. Richards was ordained in the Church of the Brethren. Corrections? Mike Harrington: His team looks good, even without Alex Tuch. He was 97. Bob Richards 1951.jpg 455 731; 156 KB. Bob Richards Gold Medalist Monday, February 15, 2016, 7:30 p.m.. A two-time Olympic gold medalist in pole vaulting - and the first person ever to appear on a Wheaties cereal box - will be this year's speaker at the Hill College Alden J. Blanar Smith Speaker Series on Feb. 15 in the Vara Martin Daniel Performing Arts Center in Hillsboro. His son, Brandon, wrote in a social media post that his father "passed in his sleep peacefully surrounded by loved ones.". Mayor Lori Lightfoot came in third and becomes the first elected Chicago mayor to lose a reelection bid since 1983, when Jane Byrne, the citys first female mayor, lost her Democratic primary. Mr. Richards purchased a 300 acre ranch on the Brazos River in Waco, known as the Crossbar Ranch. Dozens killed after ship carrying migrants wrecks off Italy coast. 1 pick, Rep. Niemerg Office helps with Professional Licensing Applications and Renewals, Abbott Elementary: Chris Perfetti on Jacobs Mural Meltdown & Big SAG Awards Win, Bust-up! He was 97. If you want to get a clear picture, Mr. Richards once said, give todays vaulters a stiff pole.. . The year 1951 also saw Richards become just the second man in history to clear the 15-foot mark in the pole vault, which he accomplished at the Millrose Games, and subsequently . Wrote Brandon Richards of his dad: We lost a national treasure. He added that his father always motivated us kids the same way to be the best we could be. His son, Brandon, wrote in a social media post that his father "passed in his sleep peacefully surrounded by loved ones.". 1. Wrote Brandon Richards of his dad: We lost a national treasure. He added that his father always motivated us kids the same way to be the best we could be. 1 pole vaulter for eight consecutive years. American pole vaulter Bob Richards won the bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in London in 1948. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. "I saw it more as a mission than a job," says Richards, who was the General Mills cereal's . ', 'Saturday Night Live' skit with Woody Harrelson takes place at Naval Submarine Base New London, Los Charros Cantina closes in Essex, will relocate to Branford, Second winter storm could hit parts of CT Friday, National Weather Service says, Bo Hickey, former New Canaan hockey, football coach and NFL player, has died. With the help of gynecologic oncology specialists at Providence, Amy beat cancerand found the courage to accomplish things shed never dreamed of. He was 97. Richards competed at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Olympics in the pole vault, and eventually appeared on a box of Wheaties cereal. The versatile athlete known as the Vaulting Vicar also competed in the Olympic decathlon in 1956. Bob Richards of La Verne . Although he broke Olympic records and Russian hearts, and he became one of Americas most lionized and familiar celebrities a motivational speaker and Wheaties pitchman who personified wholesome values and once ran for president of the United States on a third party ticketRichards, even at the peak of his athletic power, was not the greatest American pole-vaulter of all time. It sounds cornball, but when you finally realize that dream and you walk up that podium and The Star-Spangled Banner plays, Im telling you, the tears just start flowing. So did his grandson Riley, who won two state championships for China Spring High School before going on to compete at Baylor. His son, Brandon, wrote in a social media post that his father passed in his sleep peacefully surrounded by loved ones.. Bob Richards of the US team eases over the bar to set a new record for the Olympics pole vault. Richards' exploits in track and field earned him three Olympic medals, a record, and 20 national titles. Richards was interested in athletics from boyhood, participating in diving and tumbling before . Richards, a two-time Olympic pole vault gold medalist who also became an ordained minister, has . Richards competed at the 1948, 52 and 56 Olympics in the pole vault. She died in 2019. In his Facebook post, Brandon Richards said his father began reading the Bible and preaching as a way to overcome his stuttering. Robert Eugene Bob Richards (born February 20, 1926) is an American athlete who made three U.S. Olympic Teams in two events the 1948, 1952, and 1956 Summer Olympics as a pole vaulter and as a decathlete in 1956. 1 pole vaulter for eight consecutive years. Baylor freshman Riley Richards' pole-vault lineage can be traced all the way back to the 1940s. And the bigger your challenge, the bigger you become as a person. Bob Richards, the only male two-time winner of the Olympic pole vault, who in the 1950s became a hero of American Cold War competition with the Soviet Union and . Capitalizing on his fame, Richards became director of the Wheaties Sports Federation, founded in 1958 after President Dwight D. Eisenhower called for a national physical fitness campaign. His sons followed in his pole-vaulting footsteps. His parents were divorced when he was a teenager, but a minister gave him a home, steered him away from the streets and awakened his interest in religion. Bob Richards, byname of Robert Eugene Richards, (born February 20, 1926, Champaign, Illinois, U.S.died February 26, 2023, Waco, Texas), American athlete, the first pole-vaulter to win two Olympic gold medals. Sam Kendricks (Nik) 19-2 | 5.85: 2t. Last month, union members overwhelmingly authorized union leadership to call a strike if the two sides could not reach an agreement. Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. The school said in a release he held the ranking as the No. Bob Richards is Illinois greatest pole vaulter in school history, while also earning a spot as one of the best U.S. vaulters in the history of the event. Richards passed at the age of 97 "peacefully in his sleep and surrounded by loved ones" according to his son Brandon's social media post.. 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He is an actor, . Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Bob Richards, the first person to win two Olympic pole vault gold medals and the first athlete to appear on the front of a Wheaties box, died at age 97 on Sunday. Richards was also a family man, and all four of his sons followed in their fathers footsteps as pole vaulters. Updated Wed., March 1, 2023 at 11:18 a.m. Ghislaine Maxwell appeals conviction, argues she was unfair proxy for Jeffrey Epstein to satisfy public outrage over financiers jail suicide, Georgia prisons see unprecedented number of suicides , Greece in mourning after dozens die in head-on train collision , Police: UGA football staffer drunk, traveling 104 mph before fatal crash , Brothers who crashed a wedding reception are convicted of beating the groom to death , Stephanie Vigil, longtime KHQ-TV news anchor, announces June departure to travel and start pickleball clothier, Spokane rape kit leads to cold case arrest in 1979 Lake Tahoe killing, Judge allows post-conviction DNA testing in Starbuck case, Key matchup: Former four-star prospect Wesley Cardet Jr. brings versatility to small-ball Chicago State lineup. American pole vaulter Bob Richards, left, talks with Brazilian pole vaulter Helcio Buck-Silva during a break in a training session in Helsinki, July 11, 1952. And he was perfect on the Wheaties box: a muscular all American with a smile that radiated confidence, health and upright living. In the United States presidential election, 1984 Richards ran for President of the Uni FILE - American pole vaulter Bob Richards, left, talks with Brazilian pole vaulter Helcio Buck-Silva during a break in a training session in Helsinki, July 11, 1952. He was a six-time NCAA champion and won 20 national AAU titles, including 17 in the pole vault and three in decathlon. Bob Richards is a remarkable human being. He was 97. Bob Richards, a two-time Olympic pole . Bob Richards, a two-time . ), Mr. Richards started but didnt complete a doctorate in philosophy. After winning a second goal medal, Mr. Richardss career as pitchman took off, buoyed not just by Wheaties but also his popular 1959 autobiography Heart of a Champion.. Story Links. He is Bart Starr on third down., Mr. Richards told them, I want to set you on fire; I want to get you to go, to act. And: Youve got to go through that line, youve got to figure out ways to beat the opposition. He taught sociology at the University of Illinois in the late 1940s and later was a member of the faculty of La Verne College (California; now University of La Verne) as well as holding pulpits in the Church of the Brethren. Illinois pole vaulting legend Bob Richards has passed away. Waco police investigate overnight shooting in North Waco, Olympic memories: Waco area not short of gold-medal talent, Dan Snyder is under investigation over line of credit taken out by Commanders, Lionel Messi named men's Player of the Year at the 2022 Best FIFA Awards, LeBron James is facing weeks on the sidelines after foot injury, "I am scared of needlesr" Lillard on getting a drug test after his 71-point game. 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