Reynaldo Brown (born December 6, 1950, in

Los Angeles 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, ...

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 ...

) is an American track and field athlete, known for the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

. He competed in the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

at the beginning of his senior year in high school, finishing fifth. His participation in that transitional event had him witnessing teammate

Dick Fosbury Richard Douglas Fosbury (March 6, 1947 – March 12, 2023) was an American high jumper, who is considered one of the most influential athletes in the history of track and field. He won a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics, revolutionizing t ...

winning the gold medal using the

Fosbury Flop The Fosbury flop is a jumping style used in the track and field event of high jump. It was popularized and perfected by American athlete Dick Fosbury, whose gold medal in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City brought it to the world's attention. ...

, leaving Brown as one of the last successful jumpers to use the

straddle technique The straddle technique was the dominant style in the high jump before the development of the Fosbury Flop. It is a successor of the Western roll, for which it is sometimes confused. Unlike the scissors or flop style of jump, where the jumper ...

Early life and Olympics

While at

Compton High School Compton High School is a high school in Compton, California, United States, part of the Compton Unified School District. History Compton Union High School opened in 1896. Both the high school and Compton Junior High School were severely damag ...

, Brown won the

CIF California State Meet The CIF California State Meet is the annual championship track and field meet for the California Interscholastic Federation. The meet was started in 1915 for boys and 1974 for girls. Every athlete in every high school in California has a direc ...

three straight times, after being overshadowed by teammate Bill Morris as a freshman. He was the first high school athlete to jump seven feet. He was invited to that year's Semifinal Olympic Trials, an elimination event. Finishing fourth, he qualified to the

Olympic Trials Olympic trials are competitions held in certain sports to select teams' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games. History Before 1908, members of United States Olympic teams were selected without trials. The 1908 and 1912 teams were s ...

Echo Summit Echo Summit is a mountain pass over the Sierra Nevada in the western United States, located in eastern El Dorado County, California. At above sea level, it is the highest point on U.S. Route 50 in California, which traverses it at postmile 6 ...

. Brown had to defeat another high school phenom, John Hartfield, to make the team, ultimately finishing second behind another Californian Ed Caruthers, the future silver medalist, and ahead of Fosbury. Brown returned to school late in the term after his Olympic adventure. Two months behind, he had to study hard to catch up. By February, he led his Compton team to the

CIF CIF, c.i.f. or Cif may refer to: Finance * Climate Investment Funds, in international climate change agreements * Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF), a method of UK government funding for transport infrastructure * Cost, Insurance and Freight, ...

State basketball championship. He was ''

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 ...

"High School Athlete of the Year" in 1968.

College and international success

Brown continued his education at

Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or Cal Poly) is a public university in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, - Cites the location of the university and shows that the university ...

. While at Cal Poly, he won two NCAA College Division/Division II national titles, which qualified him to compete and also win at the NCAA Division I National Championship each of those years:

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. In the process, he set the NCAA Small School, Cal Poly school and National Collegiate outdoor records with a clearance of 7-foot-4 (or 2.23m) as a Mustang senior in 1973. For 1973, Brown not only won the high jump at 15 meets during the year, but also ranked second in the world for the high jump, behind only Dwight Stones. In 1971, Brown was awarded the all-sports CCAA Athlete of the Year honor, and in 1993 he was inducted into the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame. Brown was one of the most consistent 7-foot jumpers of the 1970s. On January 14, 1972, Brown jumped 2.24m, or 7 feet, 4 inches (setting a new American indoor record), in

College Park, Maryland College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located approximately from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. Its population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the home of the University of Mary ...

, at the National Invitational meet, where he was just five-eighths of an inch away from the then-world record held by

Valeriy Brumel Valeriy Nikolayevich Brumel (; 14 April 1942 – 26 January 2003)Great Russian Encyclopedia (2006), Moscow: Bol'shaya Rossiyskaya Enciklopediya Publisher, vol. 4, p. 243 was a Soviet-Russian high jumper. The 1964 Olympic champion and multiple wo ...

. He also won the

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...

in 1970 and 1971. In-between those, he won the 1971

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships i ...

. Brown also played basketball at Cal Poly in the 1971-72 season, as he made 14 of 24 field-goal attempts and averaged 4.4 points while helping the Mustangs earn a 16–10 record for the season.

Senior career

In 2009, at age 58, Brown competed in the Senior Games. In November 2015, Brown received the Athletes in Excellence Award from

The Foundation for Global Sports Development The Foundation for Global Sports Development is a 501(c) organization which creates and supports programs promoting sportsmanship, education, fair play and ethics for children around the world. Attorney David Ulich is president of the foundation ...

, in recognition of his community service efforts and work with youth. Brown had a kidney transplant and credits his athletic conditioning to his recovery and survival. In February 2017, Brown, who is also a photographer, got his works displayed through the

Art of the Olympians Art of the Olympians (AOTO) is an organization and program of Olympian and Paralympian artists that promotes the Olympic ideals of values, integrity, character, respect, honor, and work ethic through exhibitions and educational programs. It puts ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Reynaldo Living people 1950 births American male high jumpers American masters athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Pan American Games Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball players Cal Poly Mustangs men's track and field athletes Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Olympic track and field athletes for the United States California Polytechnic State University alumni Sportspeople from Compton, California Track and field athletes from California NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen