Born February 6, 1914, Fitzgerald, Ga. Died April 4, 1991.

Tall (6-2) and blessed with 9.7 100-yard dash speed, Forrest "Spec" Towns revolutionized the high hurdles, dropping the world record an incredible four-tenths of a second to become the first person to break 14 seconds for the 110-meter race.

Also an excellent football player at the University of Georgia, Towns five times had equalled the world record of 14.1 for the high hurdles and won the 1936 Olympic high hurdles title in 14.2. Three weeks later at Oslo, Norway, he blasted a 13.7, a time considered so unbelievable that it was investigated two years before being accepted. Besides winning the Olympic gold medal in 1936, Towns also won the national collegiate and AAU crowns, repeating as the NCAA champion in 1937. His 13.7 lasted 11 years before another Hall of Famer, Harrison Dillard, broke it in 1948. He stayed on as a coach at Georgia and was the Bulldogs' head coach from 1946 to 1975. While competing for Georgia, his coach was Weems Baskin, also a Hall of Famer.