Charles Tidwell (March 30, 1937 – August 28, 1969) was an American

track athlete Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...

who was one of the best sprinter/hurdlers in the world in the years 1958–60. He was denied a chance to run in the 1960 Olympics by injury. His life was cut short aged 32 when he shot himself to death after killing his wife following a violent quarrel between the two.

Track career

Tidwell was a native of

Independence, Kansas Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,548. It was named in commemoration of the Declaration of Independence. History Independence w ...

, where he was a star athlete at his high school. The highlight was a national junior record for the 180 y low hurdles in 1955. After graduating high school he attended the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. Tidwell was an outstanding sprinter for his college track team, the

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...

, winning five NCAA individual titles: *100 y in 1959-60 (he was also 2nd in 1958) *220 y in 1960 *220 y hurdles in 1958 (he was also 2nd in 1959) so helping the team win back-to-back NCAA team titles in 1959 and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

.Charlie Tidwell (Men's 100 Meter Dash) - KU Track & Field (1958-60)
Official Site of Kansas Jayhawks. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
April 21, 2005. Retrieved 24 February 2013. In the 1958 NCAA championships, Tidwell set a world best time in the 220 y hurdles. Tidwell also won the Kansas Relays 100 y race in 1959 and 1960, winning Athlete of the Meet in 1959, and for this was honored as an inductee in the Kansas Relays Hall of Fame in 2005. Tidwell's form meant he was one of the favorites to going into the United States Olympic Trials to qualify for the 100 and 200 m at the 1960 Rome Olympics. However, an injury suffered at the trials ruined his qualification chances. Tidwell had qualified first in his heat for the final of the 100 m. In the final, Tidwell had one false start. When the race finally got underway a pulled muscle at 50 m prematurely ended his race. The injury forced him to scratch from the 200 m trial event. Tidwell achieved five world best times during his career - none were ratified as world records by the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

: * on 14 June 1958 in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

, he ran the 220 y hurdles in a new record time of 22.7 s. The 220 y hurdles event was not officially recognized by the IAAF. * on 16 May 1959 in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...

, he equalled his time of 22.7 s for the 220 y hurdles. The 220 y hurdles event was not officially recognized by the IAAF. * on 20 June 1959 in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

, he ran the 200 m hurdles in a new record time of 22.6 s. The 200 m hurdles event was not officially recognized by the IAAF. * on 16 April 1960 in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...

, he ran a 220 yards race in 20.2 s - the course was found to be short at 218 y 10" (199.60 m). Adding another 0.1 s for the missing distance to 200 m gives a time of 20.3 s when the then world record for that distance was 20.5 s! * on 10 June 1960 in

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Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, he equalled the then world record for the 100 m with a time of 10.1 s.

Armin Hary Armin Hary (, ; born 22 March 1937) is a retired German sprinter who won the 1960 Olympic 100 meters dash. He was the first non-North American to win the event since Percy Williams of Canada took the gold medal in 1928, the first man to run 10 ...

ran a new world record of 10.0 s on 21 June.

American Football career

In 1962, Tidwell tried out with the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

team the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. However, his try out was unsuccessful and he was cut from the squad later that year.

Later life

In August 1969, Tidwell was involved in a domestic tragedy that led to the death of both himself and his estranged wife, Karen. Reports state that he shot his wife at the house of one of her neighbors, then turned the gun on himself after a violent quarrel. The incident took place in Denver, Colorado where Tidwell and his wife were living at the time.

Rankings

Tidwell was ranked among the best in the US and the world in both the 100 m/100 y and 200 m/220 y sprint events in 1959 and 1960, according to the votes of the experts of ''

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 is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tidwell, Charlie 1937 births 1969 suicides 1969 deaths American murderers People from Independence, Kansas Track and field athletes from Kansas American male sprinters American male hurdlers World record setters in athletics (track and field) Kansas Jayhawks men's track and field athletes Suicides by firearm in Colorado Murder–suicides in Colorado 1969 murders in the United States NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners