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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did Charley Paddock go to the doctor? He was feeling a little off-track.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Charles Paddock)

Charley Paddock
Charles Paddock after the 1920 Olympics
Personal information
Full nameCharles William Paddock
Born(1900-08-11)August 11, 1900[1]
Gainesville, Texas, U.S.[1]
DiedJuly 21, 1943(1943-07-21) (aged 42)[1]
Sitka, Alaska, U.S.[1]
Height5 ft 7+1⁄2 in (171 cm)
Weight165 lb (75 kg)
SpouseNeva Prisk Malaby (m. 1930)
Sport
SportTrack
Events
100 m, 200 m
College teamUniversity of Southern California
ClubLos Angeles Athletic Club
Coached byDean Cromwell (USC)
John F. Moakley (20 Olympics)
Lawson Robertson (24-28 Olympics)
Achievements and titles
Personal bests100 m – 10.2 (1921)
200 m – 21.0 (1923)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1920 Antwerp100 m
Gold medal – first place1920 Antwerp4 × 100 m relay
Silver medal – second place1920 Antwerp200 m
Silver medal – second place1924 Paris200 m
Universiade
Gold medal – first place1923 Paris100 m
Gold medal – first place1923 Paris200 m

Charles William Paddock (August 11, 1900 – July 21, 1943) was an American track star who competed for the University of Southern California and was a two-time Olympic champion, specializing in the 100-meter sprint.[2][3]

Early life

[edit]

Paddock was born in Gainesville, Texas, to Charles Hurd Paddock and Lulu (Robinson) Paddock. His family moved to Pasadena, California, when he was a child. He attended Pasadena High School graduating around 1919, where as a 17 year-old Sophomore, he won an interscholastic 100-yard sprint championship wth a time of 10.6 seconds at Pasadena's Bovard Field in February, 1917.[4][5]

World War I era

[edit]

Following High School, Paddock served in World War I as a lieutenant of field artillery from 1917-1918 in the U.S. Marines.[6] He won the 100 and 200 m in the first major sporting event after the war, the 1919 Inter-Allied Games, in which soldiers of the Allied nations competed against each other.[6]

University of Southern California

[edit]

Managed by gifted coach Dean Cromwell,[7] Paddock lettered at the University of Southern California consecutively from 1920-1923, and captained the team as a Senior in 1923. He attended the University aided by an athletic scholarship.[8] During his collegiate years, in 1921, he first set 100-yard dash world record and tied the world record in the 220-yard dash at a Berkeley, California track meet.[6] As a tribute to his collegiate achievements, he was later honored as a member of two All-Century Teams for the Pac-12. In extracurricular activities, as a precursor to some of his later work in theater, he acted in school plays in leading roles, and began writing plays. Gaining literary skills, he helped edit the school newspaper The Daily Trojan, and would later pursue a career in journalism. Gaining oratorical skills, he al so participated with the debate team at USC.[8]

1920 Antwerp Olympics

[edit]

In 1920, Paddock represented his country at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp under Head Olympic Coach John F. Moakley, who coached track at Cornell for fifty years.[9] In Belgium, he had his greatest successes, winning the 100 m final, while placing second in the 200 m event. With the American 4 × 100 m relay team, Paddock won a third Olympic medal. Paddock became well known for his unusual finishing style, leaping towards the finish line at the end of the race.[5]

In 1921 year, he ran the 110 yd dash, which is slightly more than 100 m, in 10.2 seconds. It was not until 1956 that the world record for the 100 m became lower than Paddock's time over 110 yard. Paddock broke or equaled several other world records over Imperial distances.[5]

1924, 1928 Olympics

[edit]

Under the management of Coach Lawson Robertson[10] at the 1924 Paris Olympics, Paddock again qualified for both the 100 and 200 m finals, but he was less successful than four years earlier. Paddock finished 5th in the 100 m and won another silver medal in the 200 m., and was not a part of the American relay team. In Chariots of Fire, the 1981 Oscar-winning film about those races, Paddock was portrayed by Dennis Christopher.

Again under the management of Lawson Robertson in 1928, Paddock participated in his 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, running a 22.1 in the semi-final of the 200m sprint, but did not reach the final. Percy Williams of Canada took the gold with a time of 21.8, Walter Rangley of Great Britain took the silver with a time of 21.9, Helmut Kornig took the Bronze with a time of 21.9.[2]

World record

[edit]

Thorough the years 1919 to 1929, he excelled as one the world most outstanding sprinters. He set a world record in the 100 meter sprint of 10.2 which wasn't met until 11 years later. In 1950, his record was finally broken.[8]

Paddock was married to Neva Prisk Malaby on December 11, 1930 at the home of Neva's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Prisk.[6][11]

Careers

[edit]

Paddock held management positions in several newspapers throughout most of his life. Paddock's father-in-law was newspaper publisher Charles H. Prisk who owned or managed the Pasadena Star News and Post and the Long Beach Press Telegram.[12] In one of his earliest positions after college, Paddock wrote a sports column for one of Prisk's papers, likely the Pasadena Star News or Post.[13] In 1943, he was a business manager for the Long Beach Press Telegram and Sun and the Pasadena Star-News and Post.[14] In 1926, Paddock appeared in The Campus Flirt, a black-and-white silent film (now lost) featuring another Texas native, Paramount starlet Bebe Daniels.[15] Paddock served on the personal staff of Major General William P. Upshur beginning at the end of World War I.

Books

[edit]

Paddock's autobiography, titled The Fastest Human, was published in 1932.[1][12]

Death

[edit]

In 1943, during World War II, Major General Upshur and Paddock, having obtained the rank of Captain, died in a plane crash near Sitka, Alaska. Paddock is interred at Sitka National Cemetery in Sitka.[2][16][17]

Honors

[edit]

In 1976 he was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.[18] In 1919, the University of Southern California established a scholarship in his name.[19]

Competition record

[edit]
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  United States
1920 Olympics Antwerp, Belgium 1st 100 m 10.6
1923 Universiade Paris, France 1st 100 m 10.4
1923 Universiade Paris, France 1st 200 m 21.0

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Charley Paddock". britannica.com. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Charley Paddock Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Charley Paddock". Olympedia. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  4. ↑ ""Charlie Paddock Wins Century", Morning Tribune, Los Angeles, California, February 18, 1917, pg. 13". Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 "Olympedia Biography, Charlie Paddock". Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "PADDOCK, CHARLES WILLIAM". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Dean Cromwell, National Field and Track Hall of Fame". Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 "University of Southern California Athletics Hall of Fame, Charles Paddock".
  9. ↑ "Cornell Hall of Fame, John F. Moakley". Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Lawson Robertson". Olympedia. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  11. ↑ ""Charley Paddock On Honeymoon", The San Francisco Call Bulletin, San Francisco, California, December 12, 1930, pg. 32". Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  12. 1 2 Caughey, John; Caughey, LaRee (1977). Los Angeles: biography of a city. University of California Press. pp. 290–. ISBN 978-0-520-03410-5. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
  13. ↑ ""Charley Paddock Plans Honeymoon", The Tribune, December 12, 1930, pg. 11". Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  14. ↑ ""Charlie Paddock Killed in Air Crash", News-Pilot, San Pedro, California, July 23, 1943, pg. 6". Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  15. ↑ E. R. Bills. Texas Far & Wide: The Tornado with Eyes, Gettysburg's Last Casualty, The Celestial Skipping Stone and Other Tales. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Marine Chief in pacific, Famous Sprinter Killer". The Ypsilanti Daily Press. Ypsilanti, MI. July 23, 1943. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Charlie Paddock". usatf.org. USA Track & Field, Inc. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
  19. ↑ ""Sprinter Honored By Trustees of University", The Pasadena Post, Pasadena, California, September 1, 1919". Retrieved July 31, 2026.
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