I was reading on one of the track sites in a post by Harold Connolly that Parry O’Brien passed away. I first learned to throw the shot by studying frame-by-frame pictures of his efforts.
In the photo above, Parry competes in the discus in 1957 in Iowa. O’Brien held the world record in the shot put from 1953 until 1959. At the Drake Relays in 1954 he broke his own world record in the shot put. O’Brien won 18 National AAU championships, 17 of them in the shot and one in the discus.
He was inducted and honored many times… most importantly — to me — he was a Trojan Hall of Famer. He will always be remembered as an inspiration in track & field.
Fight On , Parry.
Roger Freberg