Looking Good Too!
A Marine AND an Olympic Gold medal winner!
Happy Birthday!
Biography
William Mervin Mills was born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and was raised on the impoverished Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for Oglala Sioux people. His given native name, Makata Taka Hela, loosely means “love your country.”[4] He was orphaned when he was twelve years old.[5] Mills took up running while attending the Haskell Institute, which is now known as Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. Mills was both a boxer and a runner in his youth, but he gave up boxing to focus on running.
He attended the University of Kansas on an athletic scholarship. He was named a NCAA All-America cross-country runner three times and in 1960 he won the individual title in the Big Eight cross-country championship. The University of Kansas track team won the 1959 and 1960 outdoor national championships while Mills was on the team.
After graduating with a degree in physical education, Mills entered the United States Marine Corps. He was a First Lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve when he competed in the 1964 Olympics.[3]
Wikipedia
Happy Birthday and God bless you, Mr. Mills!
Great story! Happy Birthday Mr. Mills!
I never get tired of watching the finish of that race
I remember when he won.
It was probably the biggest surprise of the games.
Oh wow, I remember this guy. Him and Jim Ryun who I practically worshipped when I was in High school. Man oh man, the hours I trained trying to get down to even break a 5 minute mile, and this guy Ryun was doing under 4, the first High schooler to do so. I believe he’s in politics now. These guys were my idols in the 1970s from Jr. High to High school. I believe Robby Bensen (remember him) even did a movie about Billy. Those were the days, I remember after ever race I use to dry heave, puke with no puke coming out, it was crazy, I use to run on borderline heart attack level. I couldn’t understand how these guys could run so much faster.
Billy Mills is the spokesman for the Crazy Horse mountain sculpture in South Dakota (about 10 miles south of Mount Rushmore). If you ever get out to western South Dakota, be sure to make it to Crazy Horse (it is still being sculpted).