Bob Timmons Inducted into USATF Hall of Fame

Dec. 3, 2011

St. Louis, Mo. – Former Kansas track and field coaching legend Bob Timmons was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame Saturday night at the Jesse Owens Hall of Fame Banquet in St. Louis. Timmons coached at Kansas from 1966-88 and led the Jayhawks to 31 league titles as well as four national championships.

“This is an outstanding honor for an outstanding coach,” said current KU head coach Stanley Redwine. “Coach Timmons helped lay the foundation of the program here at Kansas and he deserves the highest praises for everything he has done, not only for Kansas’ program, but for American track and field as well.”

With Timmons’ induction, the KU track and field program now features 11 former Jayhawks in the USATF Hall of Fame, the most of any Division I program. Timmons joins former KU coaching legends Bill Easton and Karl Schlademan as well as Jim Ryun, Billy Mills, Al Oerter, Wes Santee and several other Jayhawks to have their names enshrined in Washington Heights, N.Y. Few people influenced more athletes than Bob Timmons. When his Hall of Fame career finally came to an end, Timmons had coached seven Olympians, 16 world record holders, 77 NCAA All-Americans and 24 NCAA champions. One of his more famous protégés was six-time world record-holder Jim Ryun, who he coached at Wichita East High School and eventually mentored at the University of Kansas. Under Timmons’ tutelage, Ryun, in his junior season, became the first high school runner ever to break four-minutes in the mile. Timmons then left for the track and field program at his alma mater of Kansas. His coaching career in Lawrence spanned 22 seasons and included four NCAA championships, 13 Big Eight indoor conference titles, 14 outdoor conference titles and four cross country conference titles. At the high school level, Timmons’ teams won 17 state titles in swimming, cross country and track and field.

Timmons is also a member of the University of Kansas Hall of Fame, the Drake Relays Hall of Fame, the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, the Kansas High School Activities Hall of Fame and the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame.

Joining Timmons in the class of 2011 are Kansas City native Maurice Green, Gail Devers, Vince Matthews, Clarence Demar and Craig Virgin.