Bill Skinner
6 ft 6+1⁄2 in (199 cm)[2]
Representing the United States | ||
---|---|---|
Pan American Games | ||
1971 Cali | Javelin throw |
Bill Skinner (December 27, 1939 – October 5, 2015) was an American javelin thrower. He held the national title in 1970 and 1971 and won a silver medal at the 1971 Pan American Games.[1]
Born in Wilmington and raised in New Castle, Delaware, Skinner was trained as a metalsmith and welder, as were his father and grandfather. In January 1957, aged 17, he quit high school and enlisted to the U.S. Navy; he completed his service in spring 1961.[3] After that he played semi-professional football with the Wilmington Clippers and trained in boxing and weightlifting before changing to javelin throw. By March 1968 he quit his welding job to attend the University of Tennessee and graduated in industrial education. In 1971, his refusal to shave his mustache led to his removal from the University of Tennessee track team, an infamous incident covered by Sports Illustrated. He continued his javelin career throwing for the New York Athletic Club. In 1971 he captained the U.S. team at the Pan American Games. Later that year he received an elbow injury and was stabbed while trying to stop a bar fight in Knoxville; as a result he missed the 1972 Summer Olympics.[2]
Skinner married in late 1962 and had a daughter. He divorced in 1970. The same year his younger brother, Jimmy, was killed in a car accident after returning from Vietnam.[3] He remarried in 1971 and had two more daughters. After retiring from competitions, Skinner lived in Kentucky and worked for John Deere company. He was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame in 1981,[4] and into the Delaware Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1994. He was posthumously inducted into the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016 as part of the first class honoring male athletes. His likeness appears (uncredited) on the side of the original arcade version of the Konami Track & Field video game. He died of pancreatic cancer aged 75.[2]
References
- ^ a b c Bill Alley. sports-reference.com
- ^ a b c d Kevin Tresolini (October 6, 2015) Delaware Sports Hall-of-Famer Bill Skinner dies. Delaware Online
- ^ a b Gwilym S. Brown (June 14, 1971) IS A MUSTACHE JUST PEANUTS? Sports Illustrated
- ^ "Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in Wilmington, Delaware - 1981". www.desports.org.
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Amateur Athletic Union
- 1909: Ralph Rose
- 1910: Bruno Brodd
- 1911: Ollie Snedigar
- 1912: Harry Lott
- 1913: Bruno Brodd
- 1914–19: George Bronder
- 1920–21: Milton Angier
- 1922: Flint Hanner
- 1923: Harry Hoffman
- 1924: John Leyden
- 1925: Zeke Bonura
- 1926: John Kuck
- 1927: Charles Harlow
- 1928: Creth Hines
- 1929: Jess Mortensen
- 1930–31: James DeMers
- 1932: Malcolm MetcalfNote
- 1933: Lee Bartlett
- 1934: Ralston LeGore
- 1935: Horace Odell
- 1936: John Mottram
- 1937: William Reitz
- 1938: Nick Vukmanic
- 1939–42: Boyd Brown
- 1943–44: Martin Biles
- 1945: Earl Marshall
- 1946: Garland Adair
- 1947–48: Steve Seymour
- 1949: Bud Held
- 1950: Steve Seymour
- 1951: Bud Held
- 1952: Bill Miller
- 1953–55: Bud Held
- 1956: Cy Young
- 1957: Bob Voiles
- 1958: Bud Held
- 1959–60: Al Cantello
- 1961: John Fromm
- 1962: Dan Studney
- 1963: Larry Stuart
- 1964: Frank Covelli
- 1965: Bill Floerke
- 1966: John Tushaus
- 1967: Delmon McNabb
- 1968: Frank Covelli
- 1969: Mark Murro
- 1970–71: Bill Skinner
- 1972: Fred Luke
- 1973: Cary Feldmann
- 1974: Sam Colson
- 1975: Richard George
- 1976: Fred Luke
- 1977: Bruce Kennedy
- 1978: Bill Schmidt
- 1979: Duncan Atwood
The Athletics Congress
- 1980: Duncan Atwood
- 1981: Bruce Kennedy
- 1982: Bob Roggy
- 1983: Rod Ewaliko
- 1984: Curt Ransford
- 1985–86: Tom Petranoff
- 1987: Duncan Atwood
- 1988: Dave Stephens
- 1989: Mike Barnett
- 1990: Vince Labosky
- 1991: Mike Barnett
- 1992: Tom Pukstys
USA Track & Field
- 1993: Tom Pukstys
- 1994: Todd Riech
- 1995: Tom Pukstys
- 1996: Todd Riech
- 1997–99: Tom Pukstys
- 2000–07: Breaux Greer
- 2008: Bobby Smith
- 2009: Chris Hill
- 2010: Sean Furey
- 2011: Mike Hazle
- 2012: Sam Humphreys
- 2013: Riley Dolezal
- 2014–15: Sean Furey
- 2016: Cyrus Hostetler
- 2017: Riley Dolezal
- 2018: Curtis Thompson
- 2019: Michael Shuey
- 20212020 OT: Curtis Thompson
- The 1920, 1928, 1932, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.
- 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Kenneth Churchill had the longest throw in the 1932 competition (which doubled as the Olympic Trials), ahead of Malcolm Metcalf. However, Churchill qualified for the final only due to a late rule change by the U.S. Olympic Committee, allowing eight rather than five finalists. As this rule change applied only to the Olympic Trials, Churchill is considered to have won at the Trials and Metcalf at the national championships, even though they were the same meet.