Class of 1991
| 1991 Inductees | ||
|---|---|---|
| Lee Calhoun Bart Conner Willie D. Davenport |
Dorothy Hamill Charley Paddock |
William E. Simon Peter Vidmar |
| Lee Calhoun | |
|---|---|
| Calhoun was the first man to win the Olympic 110-meter hurdles twice, and remained the only man to do it until Roger Kingdom won his second gold in the event in 1988. In both races, Calhoun led U.S. medal sweeps, including an Olympic-record performance in 1956. Calhoun served as head coach for the 1968 U.S. Olympic Team, and as an assistant in 1976. He was a seven-time national champion and broke five world records during his great career. | |
| Bart Conner | |
|---|---|
| Photo: Steve Powell/Getty Images | |
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A three-time Olympian, Conner reached the apex of his sport at the 1984 Olympic Games, winning a gold medal in the parallel bars on the strength of two perfect scores. He also was part of the gold medal-winning U.S. men's team that year in Los Angeles. Conner also won a gold medal in the parallel bars at the 1979 World Championships. Now a gymnastics broadcaster, Conner is married to 1976 gymnastics all-around gold medalist Nadia Comaneci. |
| Willie D. Davenport | |
|---|---|
| Davenport had a long and distinguished Olympic career. He competed in five Olympic Games, and is one of eight U.S. athletes to have competed in both the summer and winter Games. Davenport won a gold medal in the 110-meter hurdles in Mexico City in 1968, and took a bronze in the same event in Montreal in 1976. After four Olympic appearances in the hurdles, Davenport was a member of the U.S. four-man bobsled team in 1980. | |
| Dorothy Hamill | |
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| Photo: Tony Duffy/Getty Images | |
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Hamill is one in a long line of great U.S. ladies' figure skaters. She entranced the world with her gold medal-winning performance in Innsbruck in 1976. She also entranced the judges, as evidenced by their unanimous vote. Hamill won two world championships and three U.S. championships in her skating career. She also had a big impact on women's fashion, as Life magazine called her "wedge" hairstyle "one of the most important fashion statements in 50 years." |
| Charlie Paddock | |
|---|---|
| Paddock was nick-named the fastest man alive in the first part of the 20th century. At the 1920 Olympic Games, he won gold medals in the 100-meter dash and 4×100-meter relay, along with a silver in the 200 meters. He came back in 1924 to add a second silver in the 200 meters. In 1923, Paddock broke four world records in one day. Paddock is perhaps best known now as British runner Harold Abrahams' rival in the movie "Chariots of Fire." | |
| William E. Simon | |
|---|---|
| USOC President from 1981-85
Simon's long association with the U.S. Olympic Movement began in 1964, when he spearheaded a national fundraising campaign. He went on to serve on the USOC's Executive Board and Administrative Committee, and later became its treasurer (in 1977) and president (1981). Simon is a recipient of the Silver Award of the Olympic Order from the International Olympic Committee. In addition to his many successes in private business, Simon was appointed as the 63rd secretary of the U.S. Treasury in 1974. |
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| Peter Vidmar | |
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| Photo: Steve Powell/Getty Images | |
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Vidmar joined Conner in bringing the mens’ team gold medal to the U.S. at the 1984 Games. Competing in his hometown of Los Angeles, he also became the first American ever to win an Olympic gymnastics medal, taking the silver in the all-around competition. He added another gold on the pommel horse. His performance made him the most decorated men’s gymnast in U.S. Olympic history. |