Rick Wanamaker (born March 20, 1948 in

Marengo, Iowa Marengo is a town in and the county seat of Iowa County, Iowa, United States. It has served as the county seat since August 1845, even though it was not incorporated until July 1859. The population was 2,435 in the 2020 census, a decline from 2,5 ...

) is an American track and basketball athlete, known principally for winning the decathlon in the

1971 Pan American Games * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

and for blocking a shot against

Lew Alcindor Lew or LEW may refer to: People * Lew (given name) * Lew (surname) Places * Lew, Oxfordshire, England * River Lew, in Devon, England Transport * LEW Hennigsdorf, a rail vehicle factory in Hennigsdorf, Germany * Lew (locomotive), a British n ...

in the 1969 NCAA national basketball semi-finals. Rick Wanamaker attended Iowa Valley High School in Marengo, where he played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. He earned a scholarship and attended

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. His ...

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, where he studied

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

. As a freshman, he wanted to participate in the

Drake Relays The Drake Relays (officially the Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom) is an outdoor track and field event held in Des Moines, Iowa, in Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University. Billed as ''America's Athletic Classic'', i ...

, and chose the decathlon.

Track and field

Wanamaker was a top ten U.S. decathlete from 1970 to 1974. He was the 1970 NCAA national champion and an All-American in decathlon, the 1971 AAU National Champion in decathlon, with a score of 7989,Ho, Ho, Ho Went The Jolly White Giant
''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'', 1971-06-21. Accessed 2008-06-11. and was the 1971 gold medalist in decathlon at the Pan American Games with a score of 7648. He was injured prior to the 1972 Munich Olympic trials, and did not qualify for the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. He did defeat

Mykola Avilov Mykola Viktorovych Avilov ( uk, Микола Вікторович Авілов, russian: link=no, Николай Викторович Авилов, born 6 August 1948) is a retired Ukrainian Soviet decathlete (Odessa) who competed at the 1968, 1 ...

, the 1972 Olympic Champion, during the 1971

USA–USSR Track and Field Dual Meet Series USA-USSR Dual Track Meet Series was a track and field meeting between United States and Soviet Union. It was held 19 times during the Cold War era from 1958 to 1985. The meeting was arranged alternatively in both countries, exception being the last ...

, held in Berkley, California and Bruce Jenner, the 1976 Olympic Champion, now known as Caitlyn Jenner, at the 1971 Drake Relays and 1971 National AAU Championships in Porterville, California. Wanamaker placed fifth at the

1970 Summer Universiade The 1970 Summer Universiade, also known as the VI Summer Universiade, took place in Turin, Italy. After the city of Lisbon, Portugal failed to host the 1969 Summer Universiade, the games were assigned to Turin to be held next year. Sports at ...

Men's decathlon in Turin, Italy. Wanamaker is one of the tallest successful decathletes, at 6'-8", 210 lbs. in 1971. He was the first high jumper, from the state of Iowa, to clear 7 feet, while competing in the 1970 Missouri Valley Conference Meet at Drake University. In 2007, he was named to the Missouri Valley Conference's All-Time Track and Field and Cross Country Teams. Wanamaker finished second to Dick Fosbury, the 1968 Olympic high jump Champion, by 1 inch, at the 1969 Drake Relays. A photograph of Rick Wanamaker running in the 1970 NCAA Championships at Drake University, taken by Jeff Jacobsen, was named the National Press Photographer’s Association best sports photo of the year.

Basketball

Wanamaker was a member of the Drake Bulldog basketball team that finished third in the 1969 NCAA basketball tournament after losing to UCLA in the finals and beating University of North Carolina in the consolation round. He is best known for blocking a shot against

in the 1969 NCAA national semi-finals in Louisville.Drake stood up to mighty UCLA in 1969
''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'', 2008-03-18. Accessed 2008-06-12. Wanamaker's block of Lew Alcindor (now

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim A ...

)'s shot is one of the 100 top plays in NCAA tournament history, according to www.BleacherReport.com. He was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1970, but did not pursue basketball.

References

Profile

External links

Rick and Marcia Wanamaker Realty site

Rick Wanamaker Profile

Iowa High School Athletic Association track & Field Timeline

Drake vs. UCLA 1969 First Half - YouTube

Drake vs. UCLA 1969 Second Half - YouTube

STILL SOMETHING OF A SUMMIT MEETING - Sports Illustrated Vault , SI.com

Wanamaker Wins Inaugural Decathlon Title :: USTFCCCA

Dolph Pulliam, Drake University And The Greatest Near Upset In NCAA Tournament History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wanamaker, Rick 1948 births Living people American male decathletes Drake Bulldogs men's basketball players People from Marengo, Iowa Athletes (track and field) at the 1971 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) American men's basketball players Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games People from Iowa