R.I.P. Wayne Collett

I'll second that.

Wayne Collett? the great 1/4 miler from UCLA died? I've seen nothing on this. I saw him run in the early 70s. He and John Smith were awesome.

Wayne Collett was born in Los Angeles and went to Gardena High School. He was intellectual, as well as a great man, an athlete, and an Olympic medalist. Wayne earned an MBA and law degree from UCLA. We will see you again soon, Wayne. Goodbye.

Watching UCLA track meets with both Smith and Collett in the early 70's was indeed awesome, with both of them being a constant world record threat in the quarter. I was in high school in LA then and was in awe of them. His "protest" in Munich 72 was not as dramatic or as well thought out as that of Smith and Carlos in 68, but you have to admire him for taking a stand against what he saw as injustice. And anything that could be done to further embarrass racist IOC head Avery Brundage has to be applauded, and Brundage made him pay the price. RIP Wayne C.

RIP, a good man.

zbt runner wrote:

Watching UCLA track meets with both Smith and Collett in the early 70's was indeed awesome, with both of them being a constant world record threat in the quarter. I was in high school in LA then and was in awe of them. His "protest" in Munich 72 was not as dramatic or as well thought out as that of Smith and Carlos in 68, but you have to admire him for taking a stand against what he saw as injustice. And anything that could be done to further embarrass racist IOC head Avery Brundage has to be applauded, and Brundage made him pay the price. RIP Wayne C.

Sounds like an interesting story. Do you have a link to anything that goes into more detail?

It is nice he finds peace and respect in his passing. It's a shame he could not show that to others for 2 minutes of his life while a song played. Condolences to his family.

Requiescat in Pace

I would tend to agree. There are other ways of disrespecting the IOC and not your country...

But he was a remarkable man, accomplished both on the track and afterwards. RIP

Running Bear wrote:

zbt runner wrote:

Watching UCLA track meets with both Smith and Collett in the early 70's was indeed awesome, with both of them being a constant world record threat in the quarter. I was in high school in LA then and was in awe of them. His "protest" in Munich 72 was not as dramatic or as well thought out as that of Smith and Carlos in 68, but you have to admire him for taking a stand against what he saw as injustice. And anything that could be done to further embarrass racist IOC head Avery Brundage has to be applauded, and Brundage made him pay the price. RIP Wayne C.

Sounds like an interesting story. Do you have a link to anything that goes into more detail?

The gold medalist who also protested with Collett in 72, Vince Matthews, wrote his own book about it and his life, "My Race Be Won," Vincent Matthews with Neil Amdur, (New York Charterhouse, 1974), though it is hard to find.

Tommie Smith also wrote a book about what he did with Carlos and what gave rise to it: "Silent Gesture, The Autobiography of Tommie Smith," Tommie Smith with David Steele (Philadelphia, Temple University Press 2007). Write him directly at his website and he might send you an autographed copy.

After reading those book, make up you own mind as to whether what they did was disrectful to the national anthem or "non-violent civil disobedience" in the tradition of MLK and many Vietnam protestes of the era.

A lot has been written about what a terrible (and hypocritical) person Avery Brundage was. You can simply look up his entry in Wikipedia, or if you want to go into more depth:

“Avery Brundage: The Man Behind The Mask". Sports Illustrated. Jeremiah (1984-01-16).

"An In-depth Look At Both The Seemly And Seamy Sides Of Avery Brundage". Sports Illustrated.

"The Games Must Go On," Allen Guttman (Irvington, NY, Columbia University Press 1983)

Institute for Historical Review, Machinations of the Anti-Defamation League By Paul N. McCloskey, Jr., The Journal of Historical Review, Sept.-Dec. 2001 (Vol. 20, No. 5-6), p. 13-24.

Sport in the third millemium International Symposium Ferdinand Landry 1991 The secret history of the Olympics Fleur Taylor Jaher, Frederic Cople. Anti-Semitism in American Athletics.

R.I.P. Wayne Collett

You ran a good race

Wayne Collett was a gentleman and an awesome person. His inspiring presence will be missed by many.

"A great soul serves everyone all the time. A great soul never dies. It brings us together again and again." Maya Angelou

I am a suburban white dude born in 1950. I watched what Collett and Matthews and what they did in 1972 and didn't think there was anything that extreme and inappropriate about it. Maybe you had to there, as they say. It was part of a particular historical arch in time.

Of course, John Smith, who is now a coach of some renown, was in that 400 final and had been the favorite before the Games but he was hurt and couldn't make it through. What would he have done on the podium...and would he have been as welcome as a coach by certain powers in the sport?

Someone mentioned Avery Brundage. Younger folks may not realize what a completely reprehensible and evil guy he was, and in how many ways he singlehandedly held back the sport. And he's in all the Halls of Fame. Go figure.

Camoo wrote:

I am a suburban white dude born in 1950. I watched what Collett and Matthews and what they did in 1972 and didn't think there was anything that extreme and inappropriate about it. Maybe you had to there, as they say. It was part of a particular historical arch in time.

I'm a little younger than you and also white but from small town midwest, and I agree. They just stood on top of the podium and chatted during the national anthem. I didn't see it as an overt protest. I was mystified as to why they were immediately booted off of the team.

Not that I want to move the focus off Wayne Collett but if you take the time to read about Avery Brundage you are left disgusted with the man as a human being. No wonder no American has headed the International Olympic Comm. since then. The man was a horrible, arrogant white guy, and I am white!

In the 1960's my parents wanted me and my sister to go to Gardena High School or Dorsey High School too like Wayne did. He was able to get a 1st class education at Gardena High because the school had 2/3rds Japanese kids. In those days, LAUSD would not teach Chem, Physics, Calculus in South Central or East L.A. schools. LAUSD figured Mexicans and Blacks only needed shop, art, music, PE classes. The Japanese parents complained and they even taught Japanese at Gardena, Dorsey, and at Manual Arts. My folks had two jobs each but still could not afford the 1st and last month rent to move us those neighborhoods. My dad died early because he worked like hell. My parents tried to register us anyways and were turned down. I went to Jordan High School, Long Beach State.

Wow. God bless your parents for trying to give you the best. Its too bad you didn't get to go there but it seems you learned a lot from them as well.