For the Canadian actor and comedian, see Bill Carr

Bill Carr (Canadian actor)

Bill Carr is a Canadian actor who is best remembered for his role as Possum Lodge cook and wannabe actor and singer Eddie Johnson on the second season of The Red Green Show.-Early life:...

William ("Bill") Arthur Carr (October 24, 1909 – January 14, 1966) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 athlete, a double Olympic

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 champion in 1932.

Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Pine Bluff is the largest city and county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff, Arkansas Combined Statistical Area...

, Carr studied at Mercersburg Academy

Mercersburg Academy

Mercersburg Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school for grades 9-12 located in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, United States. The school's mission is:...

 and the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

, where he was coached by 1904 Olympian Lawson Robertson. Carr's favourite events were the 440-yard dash

440-yard dash

The 440-yard dash, or quarter-mile race, is a sprint race in track and field competitions.In many countries, athletes previously competed in the 440 yard dash – also referred to as the 'quarter-mile'...

 (or 400 m), the 880 y and the long jump

Long jump

The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...

, but he had never managed to win a major race until 1932. At the IC4A

IC4A

IC4A or ICAAAA is an annual men's competition held at different colleges every year....

 championships of that year, he caused an enormous upset by beating world record

World record

A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...

 holder Ben Eastman

Ben Eastman

Benjamin "Ben" Bangs Eastman , alias "Blazin' Ben", was an American middle distance runner. He was born in Burlingame, California, and graduated from Stanford University in 1933....

 in the 440 y. He repeated this feat some weeks later at the Olympic Trials.

Now Carr was a favourite for the 400 m gold at the 1932 Summer Olympics

1932 Summer Olympics

The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...

, which were held in Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

. He cruised through the heats, as did Eastman. In the final, Eastman led for most of the race, but with less than 100 m to go, Carr pulled up next to the Stanford

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

 athlete, and sprinted to victory in 46.2 seconds, a new world record

World record progression 400 metres men

The first world record in the 400 m for men was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 1912...

, with Eastman taking the silver.

Carr won another gold medal as a member of the American 4x400m relay team, which did not include Eastman. The team nevertheless won easily, setting a new world record as well (3.08,2).

On March 17, 1933, Carr's athletic career was cut short when he was involved in a car accident. He broke both his ankle

Ankle

The ankle joint is formed where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle, or talocrural joint, is a synovial hinge joint that connects the distal ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower limb with the proximal end of the talus bone in the foot...

s and his pelvis, and never competed again.

Carr died on January 14, 1966 in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

In 2008, Bill Carr was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame

National Track and Field Hall of Fame

The National Track and Field Hall of Fame located within the Armory Foundation at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, between 168th and 169th Streets, in Washington Heights, in the New York City borough of Manhattan, is a museum operated by The Armory Foundation in conjunction with USA Track & Field...

.

External links

• Bill Carr biography and Olympic results, from http://www.sports-reference.com/; retrieved 2010-03-15.
• Bill Carr biography, from http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net; retrieved 2010-03-15.
• Bill Carr biography, from http://www.sprintic.com; retrieved 2010-03-15.