John Gilbert Beckner (June 9, 1930 – November 16, 2016) was an American artistic gymnast, coach, and referee. He was a member of the

United States men's national artistic gymnastics team The United States men's artistic gymnastics team represents the United States in Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, FIG international competitions. History The first national team roster was established in 1998. The team has competed at ...

and competed at the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

and

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

with the best individual result of seventh place on the vault and

horizontal bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syst ...

in 1956. His elder brother Dick was also part of the 1956 Olympic gymnastics team.

Early life and education

Beckner was born to Lola and Andrew Vernon Beckner. He studied at

Los Angeles Valley College Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC, Valley College, or Valley) is a public community college in Los Angeles, California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, ...

and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, graduating in 1953.

Gymnastics and career

While attending USC, Beckner competed for the USC Trojans men's gymnastics team. He was the NCAA Champion in Parallel Bars in 1951 and 1952 and won the 1952 individual All-Around title. After college, Beckner was a member of the Los Angeles Turners Club. Beckner won the individual AAU all-around title in 1956–59. At the 1955 and 1959 Pan American Games he collected 8 gold medals, which remains one of the best achievements of any American athlete.John G. "Jack" Beckner
legacy.com
usghof.org In 1962 he earned a master's degree at the

and coached there from 1969 to 1981. Previously he was a PE teacher and gymnastics coach and mentor at Van Nuys Jr High School from 1960 to 1967, then spent a year at Eagle Rock High School before becoming the gymnastics coach at USC. He also acted as the head coach for the 1968 USA gymnastics team for the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

and served as a national and international judge.

Personal life and legacy

He was inducted into the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame (1976), National Gymnastics Judges Association Hall of Fame (1989), USC Hall of Fame (2005), and Los Angeles High Schools Sports Hall of Fame (2011). Beckner was married to Barbara Blaine, they had three children. He died in his sleep aged 86.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckner, Jack 1930 births 2016 deaths American male artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1952 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1956 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for the United States Gymnasts at the 1955 Pan American Games Gymnasts at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in gymnastics Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in gymnastics Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in gymnastics Gymnasts from Los Angeles USC Trojans men's gymnasts 20th-century American sportsmen