Lemuel Clarence "Bud" Houser (September 25, 1901 – October 1, 1994) was an American field athlete. He won Olympic gold medals in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

in 1924 and 1928 and in the shot put in 1924.

Biography

Houser was born in

Winigan, Missouri Winigan is an unincorporated community in southeastern Sullivan County, Missouri, United States. It is located on Missouri Route 129, approximately southeast of Milan, Missouri, Milan. The Sullivan - Linn County, Missouri, Linn county line is on ...

, but later moved to

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

to escape the drought after both his parents died in 1911. He was raised by his sister Martha and her husband Walter Conklin. He gained his strength working in the fields; during summers he would load hay bales in 110-degree heat in

Corcoran, California Corcoran is a city in Kings County, California. Corcoran is located south-southeast of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford–Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 24,813 (2010 census), up from 14,458 ( ...

.
As a student at

Oxnard High School Oxnard High School (OHS) is a public four-year high school serving grades 9–12 in Oxnard, California. The school is part of the Oxnard Union High School District and serves students in the western portion of the city of Oxnard, north Port Hue ...

, Houser participated in the California State Track Meets between 1920–22. His six wins in shot put and discus, each time breaking a state record, made him the most successful meet participant ever. He was named "Athlete of the Meet" three years in a row. During this time he developed a discus-throwing style of doing one and a half rapid turns in the circle before release that has been copied by many later athletes. He then enrolled at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

.USC OLYMPIANS: 1904–2004
USC Trojans Athletic Department. At the 1924 Summer Olympics in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, Houser won the gold medal in the shot put, ahead of fellow Americans Glenn Hartranft and

Ralph Hills Ralph Gorman Hills (January 19, 1902 – September 20, 1977) was an American shot putter. After winning a bronze medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics, he married a state governor's daughter, graduated from Princeton and Johns Hopkins Univ ...

and in the discus, ahead of the Finn Vilho Niittymaa and the American Thomas Lieb. This was the last time a male athlete has won both the shot put and discus in the Olympics. He won national championships in the discus in 1925, 1926, and 1928, and in the shot put in 1921 (while still in high school) and 1925. On April 3, 1926 in

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

, in a USC dual meet with Stanford, he set a world record with a discus throw of 48.20 m. At the 1928 Summer Olympics in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

he was the flag bearer for the United States team. There he retained his title in the discus throw, again leading a Finn,

Antero Kivi Lauri Antero Kivi (15 April 1904 – 29 June 1981) was a Finnish discus thrower who won the silver medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ...

, and an American

James Corson James Hunt Corson (January 14, 1906 – November 12, 1981) was an American athlete who competed mainly in the discus throw. He competed for the United States in the 1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam in the discus throw where he won the ...

. Houser became a dentist to many movie stars with a practice in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

before moving to

Palm Desert, California Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has bee ...

. The stadium at Oxnard High School (the original location and now the new location) is named in his honor, the announcement a surprise at his graduation. He is a member of the

National Track and Field Hall of Fame The National Track and Field Hall of Fame is a museum operated by The Armory Foundation in conjunction with USA Track & Field. It is located within the Armory Foundation (the former Fort Washington Avenue Armory) at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, ...

and an inaugural member of the Ventura County Athletic Hall of Fame.Ventura County Athletic Hall of Fame
vcshf.com

References

External links

Photo of Clarence (Bud) Houser in 1926
''Philly''History.org. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Houser, Clarence 1901 births 1994 deaths People from Sullivan County, Missouri Sportspeople from Oxnard, California American male shot putters American male discus throwers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics University of Southern California alumni Track and field athletes from California Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Ventura County, California