In the summer of 1960, the world turned its attention to the Olympic Games in Rome, mesmerized by the athletic feats of legends such as gold medal-winning decathlete Rafer Johnson, long jumper Ralph Boston and the U.S. women’s track team under the direction of TSU Tigerbelles coach Ed Temple.
A half-century later, those Olympic Games will be remembered in Temple’s hometown of Nashville with the “Rome 1960 – Celebrating 50 Years” event taking place at 7 p.m. on Aug. 27, an evening of food, drinks and memories hosted by Temple and presented by Fifth Third Bank that benefits a scholarship fund established in Temple’s name. Steve Turner and Dr. T.B. Boyd III are serving as co-chairs of the event.
Temple and Johnson will be joined at the event, which will be held at the Hutton Hotel, by fellow gold medalist Ralph Boston and other Olympians, including gold medal-winning Tigerbelles Barbara Jones-Slater, Lucinda Williams and Martha Hudson and swimmer Lance Larson. Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss, who wrote a best-selling book on the 1960 Olympics, will moderate a discussion with the Olympians in attendance.
More information on this event, including the ability to buy tickets ($150), is available at www.coachtemple.com.
“Given the extraordinary accomplishments of Coach Temple and his Tigerbelles, in terms of their accomplishments on the track, the obstacles they overcame during the civil rights era and the impact they have made on society in the years since, there is no better place to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1960 Summer Games than Nashville,” said Susan Smallwood, who, as director of the Ed Temple Fund, is organizing the event. “We are thrilled that so many Olympians are coming to Nashville for this celebration.”
Proceeds from the event benefit the Ed Temple Fund at Franklin’s New Hope Academy, providing opportunities for underprivileged youth to attend the school. A primary component of the independent, Christian school’s mission is to break down barriers between races and social classes, much as Coach Temple did over his career.
“New Hope Academy believes that education offers the path to a better life for its students in the same way that I did while coaching the Tigerbelles,” said Temple. “The Ed Temple Fund will enable students from low-income families to receive an excellent private education that promises to open doors to a bright future. The young men and women who graduate from New Hope Academy go on to change their communities in remarkable ways wherever they go.”
For more information on New Hope Academy, visit www.nhafranklin.org.
“When you talk about Rafer Johnson, Ralph Boston, Coach Temple and the Tigerbelles, you’re talking about true legends,” said Fifth Third Bank Senior Vice President Kevin Lavender. “What a special treat to bring these Olympic heroes together in Nashville to celebrate their achievements in Rome 50 years ago and the inspiration they have provided in the years since.”
One of the most successful coaches in the history of American sports, Temple was the Tigerbelles’ coach for 44 years, producing 40 Olympians who earned 23 medals, and served as the U.S. women’s track coach at the 1960 and 1964 Olympic Games. Temple has been inducted into numerous halls of fame, including: National Track and Field Hall of Fame, Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, Tennessee State University Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame, and Black Athletes Hall of Fame.
Johnson carried the American flag at the 1960 opening ceremonies and went on to win the gold medal in the decathlon, improving on his silver medal finish at the 1956 Games. One of the most decorated athletes in American history, Johnson was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year in 1958, lit the torch at the opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, was elected to the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in 1994, was named one of ESPN’s 100 Greatest North American Athletes of the 20th Century in 1998, and was selected as one of the 100 Most Influential Athletes of the past 100 years by the NCAA in 2006.
Boston, a TSU graduate and one-time world-record holder in the long jump, won the gold medal in the long jump at the 1960 Games and went on to medal again in the 1964 Games (silver) and 1968 Games (bronze). Williams, Jones-Slater and Hudson joined the legendary Wilma Rudolph as members of the gold medal-winning 4x100 Olympic relay team. Larson won both gold (4x100 medley) and silver (100-meter freestyle) medals at the 1960 Games.
Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available. A private sponsor reception with the Olympians will be held at the Parthenon prior to the dinner.
