Bill Schmidt
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Medal record
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Bill Schmidt (born December 29, 1947) is a retired male American javelin thrower from the Pittsburgh suburb of Southview, Pennsylvania. He is the son of Helen and Louis Schmidt, and won the bronze medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Biography
Family
His dad was born in Germany and came to the United States at the age of 7. His dad was a coal miner for 29 years and marched with John L. Lewis, the UMW organizer and President. Bill is the youngest of seven children, six boys and one girl. He has an identical twin named Bob Schmidt.
Education and Career
He attended Canon McMillan Senior High School in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania and competed in football and track and field. He played linebacker and threw the javelin. His personal best in the javelin was 204'4". He played American Legion Baseball and made the Western Pennsylvania All Star Team. He also had a tryout with professional baseball. Bill graduated in June 1965.
In 1966 he was a walk-on track and field athlete at North Texas State University (later named
On September 20, 1970, he was drafted into the
He competed for the United States in the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany in the javelin throw where he won the bronze medal. He still remains the only American man to medal in the javelin event since 1952.
He earned a post graduate scholarship and attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. There he earned a Master of Science (MS) degree in Business Education with a concentration in accounting in 1976. He taught in the Knoxville City Schools at Central High School in Knoxville, TN and coached boys' and girls' cross country and track. He won the USA National Championships in the javelin at UCLA in 1978 and was named "Javelin Thrower of the Decade" (the 1970s) in the United States by Track and Field News. His career best was 283'2".
Sports Business
In the sports marketing world, he is considered a pioneer and a giant in the industry. He was named by the
His career positions include Director of Sports at the 1982 World's Fair Knoxville, TN 1982, Director of Development, Stokely Van Camp, Indianapolis, IN 1983, Vice President of Sports at the Los Angeles Olympics, Los Angeles, CA 1984, Vice President of Worldwide Sports Marketing at Gatorade, Chicago, IL 1984–1999, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Oakley Inc., Foothills Ranch, CA 1999, former President, Pegasus Sports Marketing, Knoxville, TN. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Exercise, Sport and Leisure Studies The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. He is retired and recently, November 15, 2022, published his life story, 'Southview to Gettysvue, From a Coal Camp to Olympic Podium, to Courtside with Michael Jordan'.
In 2013, Schmidt was inducted into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame.[1]
Personal Interests
He is an avid sports fan, world traveler and golfer.
References
- ^ "Jeff Gordon tonight's speaker at the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame induction". Knoxville News Sentinel. July 10, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Bill Schmidt". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011.