“Bullet” Bob Hayes
Robert “Bob” Lee Hayes attended Matthew Gilbert High School (now a middle school) in Jacksonville, where he was a backup halfback on the football team. The 1958 Gilbert High Panthers finished 12–0, winning the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Association black school state championship with a 14–7 victory over Dillard High School of Fort Lauderdale before more than 11,000 spectators. In times of segregation laws, their achievement went basically unnoticed, yet 50 years later they were recognized as one of the best teams in FHSAA history. (Courtesy Wikipedia)
Hayes was an Olympic sprinter who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics. He also was a wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He was a two-sport stand-out in college in both track and football at Florida A&M University. He has one of the top 100 meter times by NFL players. Hayes was enshrined in the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 2001 and was selected for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in January 2009. Hayes is the second Olympic gold medalist to be inducted to the Hall of Fame, after Jim Thorpe.
Once considered the world’s fastest man by virtue of his multiple world records in the 60-yard, 100-yard, 220-yard, and Olympic 100-meter dashes, Hayes is the first man to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring.
Hayes passed away in 2002 at the age of 59, but is commemorated by many honors including a statue and an annual track & field invitational meet at Willliam M. Raines High School. He remains one of the most recognizable and celebrated sports figures of all time.
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