Ralph "Buzzy" Bernard Borden Maxwell (November 26, 1919 – September 28, 2014) was a jurist and athlete.

Education and legal career

Born in

Devils Lake, North Dakota Devils Lake is a city in Ramsey County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Ramsey County. The population was 7,192 at the 2020 census. It is named after the nearby body of water called Devils Lake. The first house in Devils ...

, Maxwell went to Rolla High School. He then received his bachelor's degree from

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

and his law degree from the University of North Dakota School of Law. Maxwell served as state's attorney for

Rolette County, North Dakota Rolette County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,187. Its county seat is Rolla. History The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873, with territory partiti ...

and as United States attorney for the United States District Court for North Dakota. From 1958 until 1967, Maxwell practiced law in

West Fargo, North Dakota West Fargo is a city in Cass County, North Dakota, United States. It is, as of the 2020 census, the fifth largest city in the state of North Dakota with a population of 38,626, and it is one of the state's fastest growing cities. West Fargo wa ...

. On August 1, 1967, Maxwell was appointed North Dakota state district court judge for the first district by the

Governor of North Dakota The governor of North Dakota is the head of government of North Dakota and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The Constitution of North Dakota specifies that "the executive power is vested in the governor" in Se ...

, William L. Guy and served until his retirement from the position in 1978. Maxwell died at his summer residence in

Richville, Minnesota Richville is a city in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 77 as of the 2020 census. History Richville was platted in 1903, and named for Watson Wellman Rich, a railroad engineer. A post office has been in operation ...

on September 29, 2014.

Athletic career

After retiring, Maxwell applied some of his efforts to the sport of

Masters athletics Masters athletics is a class of the sport of athletics for athletes of over 35 years of age. The events include track and field, road running and cross country running. Competitors are bracketed into five-year age groups (which promotes fair com ...

where, as a 90-year-old, he has set numerous

world records 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 organization ...

in the 80-meter hurdles, the

200 meters hurdles The 200 metres hurdles is a rarely run hurdling event in track and field competitions. Sometimes, this event is referred to as the low hurdles. It was run twice in the Summer Olympics, in Athletics at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 me ...

, the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the My ...

, pentathlon and

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ ...

. His decathlon score, set in the

2011 World Masters Athletics Championships 2011 World Masters Athletics Championships is the nineteenth in a series of World Masters Athletics Championships#Outdoor Championships, World Masters Athletics Outdoor Championships that took place in Sacramento, United States from 6 to 17 Jul ...

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

in July 2011 more than doubled the previous record score by Vic Younger of Australia. He is one of but a handful of 90-year-olds to even attempt to run over hurdles.

References

1919 births 2014 deaths People from Devils Lake, North Dakota People from Richfield, Minnesota North Dakota state court judges American male decathletes American masters athletes American male pole vaulters American male hurdlers World record holders in masters athletics United States Attorneys for the District of North Dakota University of North Dakota alumni 20th-century American judges {{US-decathlon-athletics-bio-stub