James Tully Beatty (born October 28, 1934, in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

) is a former American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete and

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

politician. He is best remembered as the first person to break the four-minute mile barrier on an indoor track, when he ran 3:58.9 on February 10, 1962, at the Los Angeles Invitational in the Los Angeles Sports Arena in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He competed in the men's 5000 metres at 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 ...

Early life

Beatty moved to

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, with his family when he was four years old. He grew up in the Dilworth neighborhood, delivering for the ''Charlotte Observer'' with his trusted dog "Trigger" for five years. Then focused on

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

, young Beatty would run his paper route to help him train. While at Central High School, the last meet of his junior year Beatty convinced his coach to let him run the mile event. His speed was discovered in that race, as he went on to win. In the course of a month, he went from never running in a race before, to winning a state championship in the mile.

College career

Beatty went on to run track at

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

where he majored in English and had a minor in History.Champion Miler, Jim Beatty of Charlotte
''ncdcr.gov''. Retrieved Aug 2, 2020. Graduating from UNC in 1957, Beatty's best time in the mile was 4:06. He was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n for the two miles in 1955 and 1957, and for the 5,000 meters in 1956. Beatty was also the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

champion in the mile in 1955 and 1956.

International career

In 1960, Beatty moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to train under

Mihály Iglói Mihály Iglói (September 5, 1908 – January 4, 1998) was a Hungary, Hungarian distance running coach. Iglói coached runners such as Sándor Iharos, István Rózsavölgyi, László Tábori, Bob Schul and Jim Beatty. Counting both outdoors and in ...

and in July 1960, he won the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 5,000 meters event. Standing at just five foot-five, Beatty's Olympic teammates, who elected him team captain in 1962, called him "Little Jimmy Beatty." After running at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games he joined the Los Angeles Track Club in 1961. Beatty broke eleven American and three world records in 1962, and became the first American to simultaneously hold records in the 1,500 meter, 3,000 meter, 5,000 meter, one and three mile events. He became the first person to break the four-minute mile barrier on an indoor track, when he ran 3:58.9 on February 10, 1962, at the Los Angeles Invitational. Because of his outstanding performance he was named the 1962 James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's top young athlete. He was also the first recipient of the

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's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year that year.

Personal life

Beatty married his wife, Paulette in 1976. Beatty served in the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

as a State Representative as a member of the Democratic Party, representing North Carolina's 36th district, in Mecklenburg County. He worked on voting rights legislation and expanding medicare, being a close friend and ally of both Governor

Jim Hunt James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the List of governors of North Carolina, 69th and 71st governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governo ...

, and

Terry Sanford James Terry Sanford (August 20, 1917April 18, 1998) was an American lawyer and politician from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford served as the 65th Governor of North Carolina from 1961 to 1965, was a two-time U.S. pre ...

, before running for the United States Congress in 1972, eventually losing in the general election to future Republican Governor of N.C. James G. Martin. In his later years, Beatty flirted with a run for lieutenant-governor and a return to the general assembly, before dropping out, citing personal reasons. Beatty and his wife, Paulette reside in their Charlotte, North Carolina home, where Beatty remains an active member of the community, endorsing politicians like U.S. Senate Candidate Jeff Jackson and North Carolina Governor

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III ( ; born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 75th List of governors of North Carolina, governor of North Carolina from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), De ...

for statewide offices. Beatty was inducted into the USA

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 ...

in 1990, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1963, and the Greater Charlotte Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beatty, Jim 1934 births Living people American male middle-distance runners Track and field athletes from New York City James E. Sullivan Award recipients Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1963 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) 20th-century American sportsmen North Carolina Tar Heels men's track and field athletes