WILLIE DAVENPORT HURDLES (Inducted 1982)

Born June 8, 1943, Troy, Ala. Died June 17, 2002.

A four-time competitor at the Summer Olympic Games as a high hurdler, Willie Davenport achieved a unique distinction in 1980 by becoming one of the few athletes to ever compete in both Summer and Winter Olympic Games. That year, Davenport competed in the Winter Olympics as a bobsledder but did not place.

His Olympic credentials on the track, however, were far more impressive. He won the gold medal at the 1968 Olympics with a meet record 13.3 and in other Olympic appearances he failed to make the final in 1964, was fourth in 1972 and third in 1976. He competed as late as 1984 and made a bid for the Olympic team but was stopped by injury. He won or shared nine AAU high hurdles titles, five of them indoors. As a collegian, he competed for Southern University in Louisiana. Elected to U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1990. After his competitive career, he became an officer in the U.S. Army.