Born March 3, 1941, Boston, Mass.

Another athlete who reached stardom as a teenager, John Thomas stunned the track world with a world indoor best of 7-1 1/4 in 1959 while still a 17-year-old freshman at Boston University. That launched him on a high jump career that spanned two Olympics and nine national titles.

During his career, Thomas broke the outdoor world record three times, all in 1960, and his top effort of 7-3 3/4 lasted four years. He was upset at the 1960 Olympic Games but still took the bronze medal and was the silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. He won two national collegiate titles and seven National AAU titles between 1959 and 1966, two outdoors and five indoors. Also a good high hurdler, Thomas became a track coach before entering business.