Charles James Bacon Jr. (January 9, 1885 – November 15, 1968) was an American

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

and a member of the

Irish American Athletic Club The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York, at the beginning of the 20th century. Early years Established on January 30, 1898, originally as the "Greater New York Irish Athletic Association", ...

and the

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

. He won the 400 metres hurdles at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

. He was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and died in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. At the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted ...

he finished ninth in the 1500 metres event. Two years later at the

1906 Summer Olympics The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games (), held from 22 April 1906 to 2 May 1906, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Kingdom of Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were re ...

he finished fifth in the 400 metres competition and sixth in the 800 metres event. Just a month and a half before the

1908 Olympic Games The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Bacon ran in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

setting a new unofficial

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

of 55.8 in the 400 metre hurdles. At the Olympic Games in 1908, he and fellow American

Harry Hillman Harry Livingston Hillman Jr. (September 8, 1881 – August 9, 1945) was one of the longest serving Dartmouth Track and Field Coaches from 1910–45, and an American track and field athlete who won three gold medals at the 1904 Summer Olympic ...

went over the last hurdle simultaneously, after which Bacon pulled away on the straight to win in a new world record of 55.0 seconds. This record was recognized by

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

, thus Bacon became the first world record holder in the 400 metres hurdles. The same year, Bacon set the world record for the 440 yards, 10 hurdles, 3 feet 6 inches at Celtic Park, Queens, New York, the home of the

on October 11, 1908.1910 Mecca Cigarettes Champion Athlete and Prize Fighter Series trading card.
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External links

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Winged Fist Organization
1885 births 1968 deaths Track and field athletes from Brooklyn American male middle-distance runners American male hurdlers Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1906 Intercalated Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics World record setters in athletics (track and field) New York City Police Department officers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub