Once Upon a Time in the Vest

Saturday, September 24, 2016

V 6 N. 69 Ed Temple R.I.P.

October 13, 1956,  Ed Temple surrounded by
Wilma Rudolph, Isabelle Daniels, Willie White, Lucinda Williams
Mae faggs, and Margaret Matthews on their way to Melbourne, Australia
photo  John Corn/The Tennessean
Former Coach of Wilma Rudolph and many other Olympians, Ed Temple has passed away at age 89.

Ed Temple

In the 1950s when women's track and field was almost a once every four years occurence,  Ed Temple coaching the Tennessee Tigerbelles, brought the sport forward with giant steps.   His athletes were the dominant force on US women's national teams from 1956 until well into the 1960s when the rest of the nation began catching up.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

i can remember some of those women and temple coming to welcome stadium during a previous incarnation.

Bill Schnier said...

Very frankly, for about 10-20 years Ed Temple and the Tigerbelles were US women's track and field. There were no women's college teams and very few clubs. There was no Title IX to protect what he was doing. In fact, other teams and the legistators followed his lead. He got fast women into college, coached them up, and represented the US very, very well. I talked with him once at Laidly Field in Charleston, W.Va. at a meet sponsored by Marshall. He seemed old them and that was about 25 years ago. I consider him to be one of the true giants in our sport but also a person about whom every spoke the best.

V 14 N. 71 Dallas Long R.I.P. 1940-2024

                                                         Dallas Long                                                ( from USC Athletics ) D...