Patton, Melvin
Track and Field
b. Nov. 16, 1924, Los Angeles, CA
Patton's career as an amateur sprinter lasted barely three years and he never competed in an AAU national meet, but he set world records in both sprints and won two Olympic gold medals.
Running for the University of Southern California, Patton won the NCAA 100-yard dash in 1947 and he won both sprints in 1948 and 1949. He also ran on the school's 880-yard relay team that set a world record of 1:24.0 at the 1949 NCAA meet.
In the 1948 Olympics, Patton got off a terrible start in the 100-meter dash and finished fifth. However, he came back to win the 200-meter dash and he won a second gold medal as a member of the United States 4 by 100-meter relay team.
Patton twice tied the world record of 9.4 seconds for the 100-yard dash in 1947 and broke it with a 9.3 clocking at the 1948 West Coast Relays. That record was tied ten times before it was finally broken in 1961. On May 7, 1949, he ran a 20.2 in the 220-yard dash, breaking the record set by Jesse Owens in 1935. The time was also accepted as a world record for the 200-meter.
After retiring from amateur competition in 1950, Patton ran professionally in Australia before returning to the U. S. to begin a business career.