Elvin C. "Ducky" Drake (November 2, 1903 – December 23, 1988) was an American track and field coach and athletics trainer at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA). During his more than 60-year association with the university, he became a fixture and "father confessor" to many of the athletes he worked with. Drake was born in Friend, Nebraska, and played high school sports at

Fort Morgan, Colorado Fort Morgan is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Morgan County, Colorado, Morgan County ...

. He worked in

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at a lumber yard. Drake enrolled at UCLA in 1923 and earned three letters in

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

, while also becoming a member of

Sigma Pi Sigma Pi () is a collegiate fraternity in North America. As of 2021, it had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 118,000 alumni. The fraternity is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded on February 26, 1897, at Vincennes Uni ...

fraternity. In 1927, he became the first college graduate in his family. He was hired as an assistant track coach at his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

in 1929. Drake was the head trainer from 1942 to 1972 and the head track and field coach from 1947 to 1964, with a 107–48 record in track meets. Under his leadership, the UCLA Bruins won the 1956

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

national outdoor title (the school's first track and field title), and he was named NCAA Track & Field Coach of the Year for that year. He coached decathletes Rafer Johnson and C. K. Yang during the

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 ...

, in which they won gold and silver respectively in one of the tensest duels in Olympic history. Close to legendary UCLA basketball coach

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Westwood", he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, nati ...

, he was the trainer for all of Wooden's teams over a span of 27 years. Drake died of a heart attack at the age of 85 at St. John's Hospital and Health Center in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. He was survived by his wife Rose. They had no children. He is a member of the

National Track and Field Hall of Fame National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame (charter inductee), the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame (special inductee), the Mt. SAC Relays Hall of Fame and the

National Athletic Trainers' Association The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) is the professional membership association for certified athletic trainers and others who support the athletic training profession. Founded in 1950, the NATA currently has 43,000 members worldw ...

Hall of Fame. The UCLA track stadium was renamed Drake Stadium in his honor in 1973. The UCLA basketball Elvin C. "Ducky" Drake Memorial Award for Competitive Spirit, Inspiration and Unselfish Contributions is also named after him.

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Elvin C. 1903 births 1988 deaths American track and field coaches UCLA Bruins track and field coaches University of California, Los Angeles alumni People from Friend, Nebraska Track and field people from California Sigma Pi members