Gilbert Lothair Dodds (June 23, 1918 – February 3, 1977), called "The Flying Parson", was an American

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

. In the 1940s, he held the American and

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 ...

for the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

. He was awarded the

James E. Sullivan Award The AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), is awarded annually in April to "the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Representatives from the AAU created the AAU Sullivan Award with the int ...

as the top amateur athlete in the United States in 1943.

Biography

Gilbert Lothair Dodds was born in Norcatur, Kansas, one of five children and the son of Rev. and Mrs. J. G. Dodds. His minister father was half English and half Irish; his mother was of German ancestry. The family moved to

Falls City, Nebraska Falls City is a city and county seat of Richardson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,133 at the 2020 census, down from 4,325 in 2010 and 4,671 in 2000. History Falls City was founded in the summer of 1857 by James Lane, John ...

, when Rev. Dodds became the minister at Falls City Brethren Church. Gil Dodds attended Falls City High School, where he became a distance runner, coached by

Lloyd Hahn Lloyd Hahn (August 7, 1898 – January 1983) was an American runner who competed at the 1924 and 1928 Olympics. In 1924 he finished sixth in the 1500 m. He failed to reach the final in this event in 1928, but finished fifth in the 800 m even ...

, a runner in the 1924 Summer Olympics who lived nearby. Dodds never lost a race in high school. In 1935, he entered two events at a track meet in

Peru, Nebraska Peru is a city in Nemaha County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 648 at the 2020 census. Peru State College is located in Peru. History The first attempt to settle the community took place in 1853, by some residents of Peru, Illin ...

, and won both, setting state records in the mile (4:49.6) and half-mile (2:09.5), breaking the old records by 13.4 and 4.5 seconds, respectively. He was the state champion in the mile race in 1935, 1936 and 1937 and held the state record at 4:28.1 when he graduated in 1937. As a junior in high school, he developed a

hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the groin. Groin herni ...

while playing tennis; for the rest of his running career, he wore a

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

while running to protect himself. He attended Ashland College (A.B., 1941), Gordon Divinity School (B.Div., 1945) and Wheaton College (M.A., 1948) and had a winning steak of 39 races. On November 25, 1940, Dodds took his first national championship when he won the

NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship The NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championship is the cross country championship held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association each autumn for individual men's runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams a ...

in East Lansing, Michigan. Dodds was the AAU indoor mile champion in 1942, 1944, and 1947. Outdoors he set the American mile record of 4:06.5 in 1943 in Boston, finishing second to Sweden's

Gunder Hägg Gunder Hägg (31 December 1918 – 27 November 2004)Gunder Hägg passes away
IAAF (28 N ...

On March 11, 1944, Dodds broke the world indoor record for the

at the annual

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

track meet in Madison Square Garden,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. His time of 4:07.2 broke the old record by 0.1 second, which was jointly held by

Glenn Cunningham Glenn Cunningham may refer to: * Glenn Cunningham (athlete) (1909–1988), American runner, Olympic Games medalist *Glenn Cunningham (Nebraska politician) (1912–2003), American politician, mayor of Omaha, and congressman for Nebraska *Glenn Cunni ...

, Charles Fenske and Leslie MacMitchell. One week later, Dodds lowered his own world indoor mile record to 4:06.4 at Chicago Stadium on March 18, 1944. Known as "The Flying Parson", he graduated from seminary in 1945 and retired from running to be a full-time minister. In 1947, he resumed running with the goal of making the 1948 Olympic team. In January 1948, he won his third

Wanamaker Mile The Wanamaker Mile is an indoor mile race held annually at the Millrose Games in New York City. It was named in honour of department store owner Rodman Wanamaker. The event was first held in 1926 inside Madison Square Garden, which was the venue ...

in 4:05.3, a career best time and the third time he had broken the world indoor record for the mile. One week before the Olympic Trials, he caught the mumps and injured his Achilles tendon and could not run the qualifying meet. He went on to work with the new "Youth for Christ" youth organization and became the track and cross country coach at Wheaton College (1945–1959). In 1954, he received an additional M.A. degree in education from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Ministry

As part of his ministry, Dodds used a personal story to explain the Scripture verse Hebrews 12:1, "let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress, and run with endurance the race that lies before us."

Runner Gil Dodds was once preparing for a race. After a series of stretching exercises, Dodd ran several warm-up laps around the track. Just before the race began, he quickly changed into some other track shoes. One of the onlookers asked why he was changing shoes. Dodds tossed to the inquirer one of his warm-up shoes. Then one of his racing shoes. The man was still puzzled. There was no detectable difference in the two shoes. Both looked the same. Both seemed to weigh the same. Then Dodds explained. There indeed was a difference. The warm-up shoes were slightly heavier than his racing shoes. Though only a small difference, saving even that much weight for the race could spell the difference between victory and defeat.

Personal life

Dodds married Erma Louise Seeger, whom he met at Falls City High School. They had four children; Jack, Michael, Jann, and Joel.

Awards and honors

Dodds was awarded the

as the top amateur athlete in the United States in 1943. He was inducted into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

References and notes

External links

*
"Preacher's Comeback"
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'', February 3, 1947. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dodds, Gil 1918 births 1977 deaths People from Norcatur, Kansas People from Falls City, Nebraska World record setters in athletics (track and field) American male middle-distance runners James E. Sullivan Award recipients Ashland University alumni Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary alumni Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Wheaton College (Illinois) faculty Northwestern University alumni