Bill Carr

Bill Carr of Penn and Mercersburg Academy went to the the 1932 IC4A with a best time for the 440y of no better than 48.4, but at Berkeley he caused a major upset by beating the world record holder, Ben Eastman. He again beat Eastman at the AAU, which also served as the Final Trials that year, and crowned the season, which he had begun as an unknown, by winning the Olympic title. Once more the runner-up was Ben Eastman and this time Carr took Eastman’s world record with a 46.2 clocking. Carr then anchored the winning U.S. 1,600 meter relay team to another world record of 3:08.2. Soon after the Olympics, Bill Carr was seriously injured in an automobile accident and never ran competitively again. Throughout his career, albeit a tragically brief one, Carr was never beaten over the one-lap distance.

Carr served as a Naval Officer in the Pacific in World War II. He met his future wife, Rachel, in Shanghai, near the end of the war. The couple moved to Japan, where Carr worked for several insurance companies. In 1964 he was inducted into the Arkansas Hall of Fame. He died of congestive heart failure in his sleep while on vacation in Japan. Statues at both Mercersburg Preparatory School and the University of Pennsylvania track stadium (Franklin Field) were erected in his honor.

Personal Best: 400 – 46.28 (1932).