Posted on 07/15/2007 8:04:11 PM PDT by Dysart
In a corner of A. Philip Randolph Park, a statue surrounded by red, white and pink flowers captures "Bullet" Bob Hayes at his Olympic peak - the 1964 Tokyo games - whizzing past the competition in the anchor leg of the 4x100 meter relay.
Yet, on the other side of the city, the final resting place for Jacksonville's most revered athlete is nothing more than a bare patch of grass.
Local monuments and events honor his athletic legacy, from the annual Bob Hayes Invitational Track Meet at Raines High School - the nation's largest one-day track meet - to the Northside's Bob Hayes Sports Complex. A strip of road along Edgewood Avenue from U.S. 1 to Tallulah Avenue is named "Bob Hayes Avenue."
In 1999, the Times-Union named the phenom who rose from poverty on Jacksonville's Eastside to Olympic greatness, and later stardom for the Dallas Cowboys, as its Athlete of the Century.
But in Edgewood Cemetery, where Hayes is buried, there seems to be a legacy deferred - an empty tract with no headstone. Times-Union reporters who visited the burial site twice, once in June and again last week, observed no marker of any sort. A Times-Union photographer on Saturday found a temporary marker at the site.
(Excerpt) Read more at jacksonville.com ...
I met Bullet Bob Hayes back around 1979 in chains (leg irons and hand-cuffs) as he spoke to a local church kids group on why we shouldn’t do drugs.
Then 3 officials took him back to jail.
He was well-spoken and seemed sincere, to his credit.
Can you tell me more about the fund-raiser? I’d certainly be willing to contribute, if its legit.
You have FRMail on this issue.
Staubach testified at the punishment phase of his trial. Said he was a good person who had made mistakes, but had also been used by others. I know RS didn’t mean to excuse any behavior like that and was very troubled by the whole incident, but he was there for him then. I just wonder if he knows about this ordeal, as it would be easy for him to raise 10 grand (if that much) to get a decent headstone.
Staubach came out to my ranch to look at an oil well last year or the year before (time flies!). He’s quite the investor.
All around good guy, too.
Had I known about the unmarked Hayes grave then I would have mentioned it to him.
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