James Ray Hines (born September 10, 1946) is a retired American
track and field
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 eve ...
athlete and NFL player, who held the
100-meter world record for 15 years. In 1968, he became the first man to officially break the
10-second barrier
The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less i ...
in the
100 meters
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contes ...
, and won individual and relay gold at the
Mexico City Olympics.
Track career
Born in
Dumas, Arkansas
Dumas is a city in Desha County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 4,706 at the 2010 census.
History
In 1870, a planter, merchant and surveyor of French descent, William B. Dumas, bought acres of farmland from the Abercrombie Holmes f ...
, Hines was raised in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...
and graduated from
McClymonds High School
McClymonds High School is a public high school in the West Oakland neighborhood of Oakland, California, United States.
In addition to being the third oldest high school in Oakland, it is the only comprehensive high school in West Oakland, opera ...
in 1964. He was a
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
player in his younger years until he was spotted by track coach Jim Coleman as a running talent, and Hines became a sprinter. At the 1968 US national championships in
Sacramento, California
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
, Hines became the first man to break the ten second barrier in the 100-meter race, setting 9.9 (manual timing), with an electronic time of 10.03 – two other athletes,
Ronnie Ray Smith behind him (electronic time 10.13) and
Charles Greene on the other semi-final (electronic time 10.09) having the same official clocking. That evening of June 20, 1968, at
Hughes Stadium has been dubbed by track and field historians as the "
Night of Speed
The Night of Speed was the rare occurrence when three men set the world record in the 100 metres in the same
History
On Thursday, June 20, 1968, two semi-final races were held as part of the AAU National Championships held at Hughes Stadium in ...
." Hines attended
Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,00 ...
in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
. He was a member of the Texas Southern University Tigers track team.
A few months later, at the
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport ev ...
, Hines—a
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
athlete—found himself in a tense situation, with
racial riots going on in his home country and a threat of a boycott by the black athletes of the US team, who were disturbed by the controversial idea of admitting
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
to the Games and revelations linking the head of the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...
,
Avery Brundage
Avery Brundage (; September 28, 1887 – May 8, 1975) was an American sports administrator who served as the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee from 1952 to 1972. The only American and only non-European to attain that p ...
, to a racist and
anti-semitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
country club.
Hines reached the 100 m final, and won it with the time 9.89 appearing at the screen, later corrected to 9.95. The 9.89 was taken from a light beam across the finish line, while the official photographic process used
Polaroid film and took a couple of minutes to process and read.
There was some controversy over how his (slower appearing) automatic time of 9.95 should compare to the hand timed 9.9 world record (Hines was again recorded at 9.9 in his 9.95 race). Automatic times start instantly with the sound of the gun, while hand times include human reaction time to start the watch. It took until 1977 before
fully automatic timing
Fully automatic time (abbreviated FAT) is a form of race timing in which the clock is automatically activated by the starting device, and the finish time is either automatically recorded, or timed by analysis of a photo finish. The system is c ...
was required of world records. As the fastest electronic time to that point, Hines' mark was recognized exclusively as a new world record. The race was also significant for being the third all-black podium in Olympic history. Hines helped break another world record, when he and his teammates sprinted to the
4 × 100 m relay
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest ...
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
at the same Games.
Football career
After these successes, Hines was a 6th-round pick in the
1968 NFL Draft
The 1968 National Football League draft was part of the common draft, in the second year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. It took place at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City on January 30–31, 1968.
The M ...
by the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
, an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
team. Hines did not have the football skills to match his speed and spent the
1968 season on the
practice squad
In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...
. He was given the nickname "Oops" due to his lack of football skill. He appeared in ten games with Miami in 1969 catching two passes for 23 yards, rushed the ball one time for seven yards and returned one
kickoff
Kickoff or kick-off may refer to
* Kick-off (association football)
* Kickoff (gridiron football)
* ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games
* ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club
* ''Kick Off'' (mag ...
for 22 yards. Hines then appeared in one game with the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The t ...
in 1970. He never played pro football again. He has one of the top 100-meter times by NFL players. Hines was ranked the 10th-worst NFL player of all time by
Deadspin
''Deadspin'' is a sports blog founded by Will Leitch in 2005 and based in Chicago. Previously owned by Gawker Media and Univision Communications, it is currently owned by G/O Media.
''Deadspin'' posted daily previews, recaps, and commentaries o ...
writer Jeff Pearlman.
Later years
For years Hines worked with inner-city youth in Houston, as well as on oil rigs outside the city.
Hines's world record remained unbeaten until
Calvin Smith
Calvin Smith (born January 8, 1961) is a former sprint track and field athlete from the United States. He is a former world record holder in the 100-meter sprint with 9.93 seconds in 1983 and was twice world champion over 200 metres, in 1983 and ...
ran 9.93, also at altitude, in July 1983.
He was inducted into the Texas Track and Field coaches Hall of Fame, class of 2016.
References
External links
Official Website*
Jim Hines wins the 1968 Olympics men's 100 meters final in 9.95 secondsvia the
Olympic Channel
Olympic Channel is an over-the-top Internet television service operated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was launched on August 21, 2016, alongside the closing of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The service aims to maintain year-round ...
on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hines, Jim
1946 births
Living people
People from Dumas, Arkansas
American male sprinters
African-American male track and field athletes
Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field
Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
World record setters in athletics (track and field)
Texas Southern University alumni
American football wide receivers
Miami Dolphins players
Kansas City Chiefs players
Players of American football from Arkansas
Track and field athletes from Arkansas
Players of American football from Oakland, California
Track and field athletes from Oakland, California
Track and field athletes in the National Football League
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople