Charles Tidwell (March 30, 1937 – August 28, 1969) was an American track athlete who was one of the best sprinter/hurdlers in the world in the years 1958–60. He was denied a chance to run in the 1960 Olympics by injury. His life was cut short aged 32 when he shot himself to death after killing his wife following a violent quarrel between the two.

Track career

Tidwell was a native of

Independence, Kansas Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,548. It was named in commemoration of the ...

, where he was a star athlete at his high school. The highlight was a national junior record for the 180 y low hurdles in 1955. After graduating high school he attended the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

. Tidwell was an outstanding sprinter for his college track team, the

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools List of college athletic programs in Kansas, in the state of Kansas that participate in ...

, winning five NCAA individual titles: *100 y in 1959-60 (he was also 2nd in 1958) *220 y in 1960 *220 y hurdles in 1958 (he was also 2nd in 1959) so helping the team win back-to-back NCAA team titles in 1959 and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

.Charlie Tidwell (Men's 100 Meter Dash) - KU Track & Field (1958-60)
Official Site of Kansas Jayhawks. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
April 21, 2005. Retrieved 24 February 2013. In the 1958 NCAA championships, Tidwell set a world best time in the 220 y hurdles. Tidwell also won the Kansas Relays 100 y race in 1959 and 1960, winning Athlete of the Meet in 1959, and for this was honored as an inductee in the Kansas Relays Hall of Fame in 2005. Tidwell's form meant he was one of the favorites to going into the United States Olympic Trials to qualify for the 100 and 200 m at the

1960 Rome 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 ...

. However, an injury suffered at the trials ruined his qualification chances. Tidwell had qualified first in his heat for the final of the 100 m. In the final, Tidwell had one false start. When the race finally got underway a pulled muscle at 50 m prematurely ended his race. The injury forced him to scratch from the 200 m trial event. Tidwell achieved five world best times during his career - none were ratified as world records by the

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 ...

: * on 14 June 1958 in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

, he ran the 220 y hurdles in a new record time of 22.7 s. The 220 y hurdles event was not officially recognized by the IAAF. * on 16 May 1959 in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous city and the county seat of Clevel ...

, he equalled his time of 22.7 s for the 220 y hurdles. The 220 y hurdles event was not officially recognized by the IAAF. * on 20 June 1959 in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

, he ran the 200 m hurdles in a new record time of 22.6 s. The 200 m hurdles event was not officially recognized by the IAAF. * on 16 April 1960 in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...

, he ran a 220 yards race in 20.2 s - the course was found to be short at 218 y 10" (199.60 m). Adding another 0.1 s for the missing distance to 200 m gives a time of 20.3 s when the then world record for that distance was 20.5 s! * on 10 June 1960 in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, he equalled the then world record for the 100 m with a time of 10.1 s.

Armin Hary Armin Hary (; (born 22 March 1937) is a retired German sprinter who won the 1960 Olympic 100 meters dash. He was the first non-American to win the event since Percy Williams of Canada took the gold medal in 1928, the only German to ever win t ...

ran a new world record of 10.0 s on 21 June.

American Football career

In 1962, Tidwell tried out with the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

team the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. However, his try out was unsuccessful and he was cut from the squad later that year.

Later life

In August 1969, Tidwell was involved in a domestic tragedy that led to the death of both himself and his estranged wife, Karen. Reports state that he shot his wife at the house of one of her neighbors, then turned the gun on himself after a violent quarrel. The incident took place in Denver, Colorado where Tidwell and his wife were living at the time.

Rankings

Tidwell was ranked among the best in the US and the world in both the 100 m/100 y and 200 m/220 y sprint events in 1959 and 1960, according to the votes of the experts of ''

Track & Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includ ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tidwell, Charlie 1937 births 1969 suicides 1969 deaths 20th-century American murderers Sportspeople from Independence, Kansas Track and field athletes from Kansas American male sprinters American male hurdlers World record setters in athletics (track and field) Kansas Jayhawks men's track and field athletes Suicides by firearm in Colorado Murder–suicides in Colorado NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen Deaths of competitors in athletics