Payton Jordan (March 19, 1917 – February 5, 2009) was the head coach of the 1968

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track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

team, one of the most powerful track teams ever assembled, which won a record twenty-four medals, including twelve golds. He was born in

Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Southern California in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States ...

. Jordan was exceedingly successful as a collegiate track coach for a decade at

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

and for 23 years at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. A star three-sport athlete in his youth, Jordan more recently became one of the most dominant track athletes of all time, as a sprinter, in senior divisions (age 50 and over). Jordan died of cancer at his home in

Laguna Hills, California Laguna Hills (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a city in south Orange County, California, United States. Its name refers to its proximity to Laguna Canyon and the much older Laguna Beach. Other newer cities nearby— Laguna Niguel and L ...

on February 5, 2009.

Education and early athletics competition

Jordan excelled in track,

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and football. Jordan was a star athlete at Pasadena High School in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, and graduated from 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 C ...

(USC), where he was captain of the Trojans'

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) Championship track team in 1939. He helped the Trojans win two national collegiate team titles, in 1938 and 1939, and was a member of a world-record-setting 440-yard relay team, in a time of 40.5 seconds. Also in 1939, Jordan played on the Trojan football team that beat

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, 7-3, in the Rose Bowl. He won the

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(AAU) 100 meters title in 1941. Jordan missed his opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games as an athlete (both the 1940 and 1944 Games were canceled due to World War II), so he opted to join the

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instead. Jordan has cited three mentors as instrumental to shaping his career, philosophy, and coaching style: at Pasadena High, track coach Carl Metten, and at University of Southern California track coach

Dean Cromwell Dean Bartlett Cromwell (September 20, 1879 – August 3, 1962), nicknamed "Maker of Champions", was an American athletic coach in multiple sports, principally at the University of Southern California (USC). He was the head coach of the USC track ...

and football coach Howard Jones.

Coaching career

At Occidental College, Jordan coached his team to two NAIA track and field championships and ten league titles. One of his athletes,

Bob Gutowski Robert Allen "Bob" Gutowski (25 April 1935 – 2 August 1960) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault. He competed for the United States in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia in the Pole Vault where he w ...

, set a world record in the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

. During his 23 years as Stanford's track coach, between 1957 and 1979, Payton produced seven Olympians, six world record holders and six national champions. Jordan directed two of the greatest track meets ever held on American soil, the 1960 Olympic Trials and the 1962 USA-USSR dual meet, both at Stanford. Jordan was the head coach of the 1968 US Olympic track team, and an assistant coach for the 1964 US Olympic track team.

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' upset victory in the 10,000 meters in 1964, the legendary leap of 29'2-1/2 by

Bob Beamon Robert Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. By jumping 8.90 m (29 ft. 2.5 in), he broke the existing record by ...

in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, the (third and) fourth gold medal in the discus by

Al Oerter Alfred Oerter Jr. (September 19, 1936 – October 1, 2007) was an American athlete and a four-time Olympic Games, Olympic Champion in the discus throw. He was the first athlete to win a gold medal in the same individual event in four consecut ...

, the 100 meters sprint world record of 9.9 seconds by

Jim Hines James Ray Hines (born September 10, 1946) is a retired American track and field athlete and NFL player, who held the 100-meter world record for 15 years. In 1968, he became the first man to officially break the 10-second barrier in the 100 me ...

Tommie Smith Tommie C. Smith (born June 6, 1944) is an American former track and field, track and field athlete and former wide receiver in the American Football League. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, Smith, aged 24, won the 200-meter sprint finals and gold me ...

's gold medal win in the 200 meters in 19.8 seconds, and Lee Evans' world record (43.8 seconds) in the 400 meters were among the many Olympic highlights achieved when Jordan was coach.

Masters division American and world sprint records

Jordan began competing again at the

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Masters meet in 1972, after encouragement from friends. *World 100 m Masters records: **55+, 11.60 Progression **60+, 11.80 Progression **65+, 12.53 Progression **70+, 12.91 Progression **75+, 13.72 Progression **80+, 14.65 (1997,

Modesto Relays The Modesto Relays, now known as the California Invitational Relays is an annual elite track and field meet. It is held about the second weekend in May. For 67 years, the meet was held at Modesto Junior College in Modesto, California, a track nota ...

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) Progression *World 200 m Masters records: **70+, 26.8 **75+, 28.14 **80+, 30.89 (1997,

San Jose City College San José City College (SJCC) is a public community college in San Jose, California. Founded in 1921, SJCC is located in the West San Jose neighborhood of Fruitdale. History The college was founded in 1921, opening its doors to students in Sep ...

) *American 100 m Masters records: **60+, 11.8 **65+, 12.6 **70+, 12.91 **75+, 13.72 **80+, 14.65 *American 200 m Masters records: **70+, 26.8 **75+, 28.14 **80+, 30.89

Payton Jordan U.S. Track & Field Open

Each May, the Payton Jordan US Track & Field Open is held at Stanford University's Cobb Track and Angell Field. After being renamed in Jordan's honor, the event was first held under the new title on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

, May 31, 2004. Since its inception in 2000, the USATF Golden Spike tour event has brought international track superstars to Stanford. The event has also established itself as a premier stop on the international

IAAF Grand Prix The IAAF Grand Prix was an annual, global circuit of one-day outdoor track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was created in 1985 as the IAAF's first seasonal track and field circu ...

tour. More than 75 Olympians from dozens of countries have competed at the event.

Documentary film role

* Jordan appeared as himself in the 1999

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

''Fists of Freedom: The Story of the '68 Summer Games'', which chronicles the events before, during and after the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City and again in the 2008

"Salute" which was written, directed and produced by Matt Norman. This film chronicles the story of the white man in the black power protest photo of

, John Carlos and Peter Norman during the 1968 Mexico City Olympic 200m event. Payton appears as himself.

Recognition

In 1982 Jordan was inducted into the USA

National Track and Field Hall of Fame The National Track and Field Hall of Fame is a museum operated by The Armory Foundation in conjunction with USA Track & Field. It is located within the Armory Foundation (the former Fort Washington Avenue Armory) at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, b ...

, as well as separately in the 1996 inaugural class of the

USATF Masters Hall of Fame The USATF Masters Hall of Fame is the Masters section of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. It is intended to select worthy athletes from the various divisions of Masters athletics involved in the sports of track and field, road running an ...

Jordan is also a member of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, USC, Occidental College, Stanford University, NAIA, Mt. SAC Relays and the National Senior Games Association Halls of Fame. In honor of his numerous outstanding achievements and contributions, in 2004 the US Open track meet at Stanford was renamed in his honor.

References

is the story of the life of Payton Jordan.

External links

GoStanford.cstv.com
- 'Legendary Stanford Coach Payton Jordan Honored: US Open Track and Field meet to be renamed in Coach Jordan's honor' (March 31, 2004)

- 'Payton Jordan enjoys life on the run', Pete Borello, ''Los Altos Town Crier'' (August 18, 1997)

- 'Payton Jordan, Event: Coach, Inducted to Hall of Fame: 1983',

Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is a public community college in southern California, located in Walnut in eastern Los Angeles County. It offers more than 260 degree and certificate programs, 25 support programs, and more than 50 studen ...

USOlympicTeam.com
- 'A Living Legend—Payton Jordan: At 86 years of age, Payton Jordan is currently the oldest Olympic Coach. As an assistant coach of track and field in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games and the head coach of the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games for track and field, Payton has been involved at the highest level of his sport.' Catherine Sellers,

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

Coaching Division
USTFOpen.org
- 'US Open named in honor of legendary Stanford coach', Payton Jordan US Open Track & Field

- 'Listen to Payton Jordan: Jordan reflects on the U.S.-U.S.S.R. track meet' (requires

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QuickTime QuickTime is an extensible multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. Created in 1991, the latest Mac version, QuickTime X, is avai ...

), ''Stanford Magazine'' (May/June 2005)
Litsky, Frank. "Payton Jordan, U.S. Track Team Coach, Is Dead at 91," ''The New York Times'', Saturday, February 7, 2009.

Chapin, Dwight & FitzGerald, Tom. "Payton Jordan: 1917–2009; Coached Stanford and '68 Olympics," ''San Francisco Chronicle'', Saturday, February 7, 2009.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Payton 1917 births 2009 deaths American male sprinters American track and field coaches Deaths from cancer in California Occidental Tigers track and field coaches People from Laguna Hills, California Stanford Cardinal track and field coaches USC Trojans football players USC Trojans men's track and field athletes Sportspeople from Whittier, California World record holders in masters athletics American masters athletes Track and field athletes from California Pasadena High School (California) alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II