John A. Gibson (July 3, 1905 – December 29, 2006) was a runner and Olympic athlete. Gibson was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1905, but lived most of his life in

Bloomfield, New Jersey Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and an inner-ring suburb of Newark. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 53,105, an increase of 5,790 (+12.2%) from the 2010 census cou ...

, where he attended Bloomfield High School. He was the head coach of men's track and field at

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

from 1945 to 1972. Gibson was a 1928 graduate of

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

, where he held the world record for the 440 yard hurdles. He was a member of the United States team at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, Netherlands, where he finished fourth in his semi-final and did not make the final. Along with his athletic and coaching careers, he was also a well known track and field official as a founding member of the New Jersey Track and Field Officials Association and he worked at college meets along the east coast as well as at the

Millrose Games The Millrose Games are an annual indoor athletics (track & field) meet held each February in New York City. Among the world's most prestigious indoor track meets, the games started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

. He was inducted into several halls of fame, including those of Fordham University, Seton Hall University, Helms Hall, N.J. Sports Authority, Garden State and Bloomfield. Mr. Gibson was married for 67 years to the late Dorothy Croughan. He died at the age of 101.Litsky, Frank
"Johnny Gibson, 101, Track Coach With a Long Legacy, Is Dead"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', January 1, 2007. Accessed June 5, 2008.

References

1905 births 2006 deaths Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Fordham Rams men's track and field athletes Sportspeople from Bloomfield, New Jersey Seton Hall Pirates track and field coaches American men centenarians American male hurdlers Bloomfield High School (New Jersey) alumni 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-hurdles-athletics-bio-stub