born Aug. 18, 1935, Hillsboro, Texas, U.S.
U.S. decathlete.
While a student at UCLA, he won the decathlon gold medal at the 1955 Pan-American Games. At the 1960 Olympic Games he became the first African American athlete to carry the U.S. flag in the Olympic procession, and he captured the decathlon gold medalby narrowly defeating his UCLA teammate, Yang Chuan-kwang of Taiwan.