Vol. 4 No. 40 Mel Patton R.I.P.

News came from Ernie Cunliffe this morning that Mel Patton, Olympic 200 meter champion 1948, and first man to legally run a 9.3  100 yards, and a WR 220  20.2.  From Los Angeles, Mel ran for Southern Cal and was twice a double winner in the 100 and 220 in the NCAA, 1947 and 1948.
The following link contains a thirty page interview with Mel Patton done for the LA 84 Foundation.

http://library.la84.org/6oic/OralHistory/OHpatton.pdf

Barney Ewell, Mel Patton, Harrison Dillard on the
boat to London 1948

Winning the 200 meters, 1948 London

Below is his Olympic record from Sports Reference

Full name: Melvin Emery "Mel" Patton
Gender: Male
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
Weight: 159 lbs (72 kg)
Born: November 16, 1924 (Age 89) in Los Angeles, California, United States
Affiliations: USC Trojans, Los Angeles (USA)
Country:  United States
Sport: Athletics

Medals: 2 Gold (2 Total)

Biography

During his three seasons of competition, Mel Patton was the undisputed king of American sprinters.  A highly nervous runner, he never competed in the AAU championships, but he won the NCAA 100y in  1947 and took both sprints in 1948 and 1949. After twice running 9.4 for 100y in 1947, Patton ran the  first official 9.3 at the West Coast Relays in 1948. In 1949 he ran a wind-assisted 9.1 and at the same  meet, when the wind had dropped, he ran a legal 20.2 for a new world 220y record. One of Patton's  rare defeats came in the Olympic 100 m final in 1948 when he placed fifth. His only other losses during  his peak years came at the 1948 Final Trials when he lost to Harrison Dillard in the heats and to  Barney Ewell in the final. Patton was also a fine relay runner who twice ran on world- record-setting 4×220y teams for Southern Cal. After his retirement from amateur competition, he ran a series of  pro races in Australia. He then became manager of the Washington office of Sanders Associates, Inc.,  an electronics company. Personal Bests: 100 – 10.44 (1948); 200 – 20.7 (1948).

Results

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Games	Age	City	Sport	Event	Team	NOC	Rank	Medal
1948 Summer	23	London	Athletics	Men's 100 metres	United States	USA	5
1948 Summer	23	London	Athletics	Men's 200 metres	United States	USA	1	Gold
1948 Summer	23	London	Athletics	Men's 4 × 100 metres Relay	United States	USA	1	Gold

Men's 100 metres

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Games	Age	City	Sport	Country	Phase	Unit	Rank		ATM	L	T(H)	T(A 1/10)
1948 Summer	23	London	Athletics	United States	Final		5		at 0.17	1
1948 Summer	23	London	Athletics	United States	Semi-Finals	Heat Two	1	QU			10.4	10.6
1948 Summer	23	London	Athletics	United States	Quarter-Finals	Heat Three	1	QU			10.4	10.6
1948 Summer	23	London	Athletics	United States	Round One	Heat Two	1	QU			10.6	10.7

Men's 200 metres

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Games	Age	City	Sport	Country	Phase	Unit	Rank		T(H)	T(A 1/10)	L	ATM
1948 Summer	23	London	Athletics	United States	Final		1		21.1	21.3	2
1948 Summer	23	London	Athletics	United States	Semi-Finals	Heat One	2	QU	21.6			at 0.26
1948 Summer	23	London	Athletics	United States	Quarter-Finals	Heat Four	1	QU	21.4
1948 Summer	23	London	Athletics	United States	Round One	Heat Six	1	QU	21.6

Men's 4 × 100 metres Relay

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Games	Age	City	Sport	Team	NOC	Phase	Unit	Rank		T(H)	T(A 1/10)	L
1948 Summer	23	London	Athletics	United States	USA	Final		1		40.6	40.7	3
1948 Summer	23	London	Athletics	United States	USA	Round One	Heat One	1	QU	41.1	41.2

A brief account of Patton's pro career was found in a 1954 edition of the Lewiston, 

Maine Evening Journal by the sports editor Norman S. Thomas.  

"As you no doubt recall, Mel Patton, the American sprinter turned pro and went to Australia

Most of what happened didn't get on the wire this far North, but in the 75 yard

dash he was fifth.  In the 130 yard race he was in front with 50 yards to go when 

he turned his ankle and had to drop out.  All races are run on a handicap basis.

Keith Alton won the 75 yard event in 7.5.  Herb McKenley of Jamaica won the longer 

race in 12.5.