Milt Campbell: Olympic Decathlon Champion “Famous for not being Famous”

Author:

Wiggins David K.1

Affiliation:

1. Professor Emeritus, George Mason University, dwiggin1@gmu.edu

Abstract

Abstract Milt Campbell, an outstanding African American athlete from Plainfield, New Jersey, captured the silver medal in the decathlon in the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki and garnered the gold medal in the same event in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. Despite these great performances, Campbell is arguably the least known of all the decathlon gold medalists from the United States and was very slow to receive the honors and awards he deserved relative to his Olympic triumphs in track and field’s most grueling event. This essay assesses the possible reasons why Campbell received belated honors and has been lost from historical memory, ultimately contending that it resulted from the years he spent living in Canada in relative obscurity, his outspoken position on racial issues, his tendency to shun the spotlight, and a combination of other factors.

Publisher

University of Illinois Press

Reference51 articles.

1. 1. Margery Miller, “High School Senior Outstanding Athlete,” Christian Science Monitor, May 28, 1953, 19.

2. 2. For general information on Campbell’s life and career, see Keith McClellan, “Campbell, Milton Gray (“Milt”),” in Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures, accessed January 20, 2019, https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/campbell-milton-gray-milt. See also:

3. 3. Writers would sometimes mention that in contrast to other great athletes Campbell never appeared on the cover of a Wheaties box. A survey of the list of athletes who have appeared on the cover of the famous cereal box, however, indicates that Bob Mathias and Rafer Johnson also suffered the same fate. The American decathlon champions to appear on the cover of a Wheaties box are Bruce Jenner (1977, 2012), Dan O’Brien (1996), and Bryan Clay (2008). The first black athlete to appear on the cover of a Wheaties box was Jesse Owens in 1936.

4. 4. An individual cannot be considered for induction into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame until six years after their retirement from competition. Campbell, of course, exceeded that requirement many times over.

5. 5. Dave D’Alessandro, “Somehow, Despite All He Accomplished, the Great Milt Campbell Never Got His Proper Due,” New Jersey Star-Ledger, November 3, 2012, https://www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/11/somehow_despite_all_he_accompl.html.

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