Richards, "Bob" (Robert E.)
Track and Field
b. Feb. 20, 1926, Champaign, IL
The successor to Cornelius Warmerdam, Richards dominated the pole vault for a decade. Warmerdam was the only man to vault over 15 feet until Richards did it in 1947. When Richards retired in 1957, he had 126 vaults of 15 feet or better.
At the University of Illinois, Richards' best placing in the NCAA championships was a six-way tie for first in 1947. The following year, he took control of the event by winning the first of nine AAU outdoor titles and the first of eight indoor championships.
After winning a bronze medal at the 1948 Olympics, Richards won gold medals in 1952 and 1956. He's the only man to win two golds and a total of three medals in the pole vault. He was also the gold medalist at the Pan-American Games in 1951 and 1955.
Richards won the AAU decathlon championship in 1951, 1954, and 1956 and was the all-around champion in 1953. He qualified for the 1956 Olympic decathlon but was bothered by a vaulting injury and finished twelfth.
Ordained as a minister in 1948, Richards was called the "Vaulting Vicar" by sportswriters. After retiring from competition in 1957, he appeared in Wheaties advertising and commercials for fifteen years and did occasional radio and television commentary.
In 1984, Richards was the presidential candidate of the ultra-right-wing U. S. Populist Party. He received 66,324 votes.