John Barnett Rambo (August 9, 1943 – January 8, 2022) was an American professional basketball player and

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 ...

er, who won a bronze medal in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.John Rambo
. Sports-reference.com.

Basketball career

Rambo graduated from

Long Beach Polytechnic High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

in 1961. While studying history at California State University (CSULB), also known as

Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

, Rambo played on the 49ers basketball team, averaging 19.8 points and 11 rebounds per game for two years. He was the California Collegiate Athletic Association first-team all-star choice in 1963-64 and 1964-65. He scored 20.3 points per game and 12.7 rebounds per game. Against San Diego, Rambo scored 42 points and had 31 rebounds. In 1964, the year of his graduation, Rambo was a two-time NCAA High Jump Champion and won an Olympic bronze medal in the Tokyo Games. In 1965, Rambo was drafted in the sixth round by the St. Louis Hawks of the NBA, but never actually played. Then injuries forced him from the professional basketball court for several seasons.

Athletic career

In 1967, as a member of the

Southern California Striders The Southern California Striders (also SoCal Striders or SC Striders) is a track and field athletics club based in Los Angeles, California. From its foundation in 1955 through the 1980s it was an elite club producing numerous national and Olympi ...

Track and Field Club, Rambo became a two-time Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Indoor Champion in 1967 and 1969. In 1967 Rambo was chosen AAU Alumnus of the Year. His tie for the fourth place at the 1968 Olympic trials did not secure him a place on the U.S. Olympic team. On February 13, 1969, the ''Coronado Eagle and Journal'' reported, “Rambo is a co-holder of the American indoor record of 7-3 and always a colorful performer. He almost made the Rockets basketball team last year, being the last man cut.” In 1971, Rambo was named one of the National Jaycees' "Outstanding Young Men in America." Rambo was inducted into the California State University, Long Beach, Sports Hall of Fame in 1986. In 2002, Rambo was inducted into the Long Beach City College Hall of Champions. In 2006, the Century Club honored him for providing "One of the Best Moments in the City of Long Beach History."

Personal life

Rambo was divorced and had four children. He died from a heart attack in

Paramount, California Paramount is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 54,098, down from 55,266 at the 2000 census. Paramount is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area and is borde ...

, on January 8, 2022, at the age of 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rambo, John 1943 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people American male high jumpers American men's basketball players Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Long Beach State Beach men's basketball players Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field St. Louis Hawks draft picks Track and field athletes from California Track and field athletes from Texas Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics People from Atlanta, Texas Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni