I've deleted 95% of the posts in this thread and some temporary bans have been handed out for people going off topic.
Please use this as a friendly reminder, keep threads on topic. If you want to start a thread about inner city gun violence, start a thread on that. This is a thread about the death of an Olympic sprinter.
King came along just before track becomes openly professionalized. Had there been more structure and support perhaps he could have enjoyed a longer and more successful career. Very talented times with he and Calvin Smith teammates at Alabama briefly while competing against Harvey Glance, Willie Smith (who tragically passed earlier this year as well in the Birmingham area) and Stanley Floyd all in Alabama plus at Tennessee you had Willie Gault and Sam Grady. There were some great sprinters but just not enough legit money in the sport.
Emmitt King was one of the first world class sprinters to actually wear New Balance instead of the Nikes, adidas, Puma & Converse of the early & mid 1980s.
So sad. When I first started watching athletics I remember him running in a leg on your 4 x 100 relay team at the 83 World Champs: Smith, Gault, King,Lewis. Although apart from Lewis who ran the anchor leg , what your running order was.
There was something very special about those 83 world champs as the previous 2 olympics and next olympics had been watered down by boycotts . my friends dad had it on VHS and we watched it so many times . I always thought Emmitt King had gone to NFL . RIP .. gone too soon
Two other great names: Ron Brown, Mel Lattany.
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