Held, "Bud" (Franklin)
Track and Field
b. Oct. 25, 1927, Los Angeles, CA
Injuries prevented Held from winning an Olympic medal, but he was the first to throw the javelin more than 260 feet, and he came close to 270 feet. He also improved everyone else's performances by designing a javelin that had a lighter point and better balance than the old model.
Competing for Stanford, Held won the NCAA javelin championship three years in a row, 1948-50. He was the AAU national champion six times, in 1949, 1951, 1953-55, and 1958. In a meet at Pasadena on August 8, 1953, Held threw the javelin 263 feet, 10 inches, breaking a world record that had been set in 1938. He extended the record to 268 feet, 2 1/2 inches in 1955.
Held competed in the 1952 Olympics, but was suffering from a shoulder injury and finished ninth. Another injury kept him out of the 1956 Olympics. He retired from competition after winning the 1958 national title.