St. Paul recorder., 1960-09-02
Rufer Johnson cGrries FIos:
Negro Lad Leads us.
Olympic Entrants At
Opening Rome Parade

~F~o
Rome, Italy. (ANP)-Deca
of Kingsbury, Calf, scored a hi
aug. 25) as he led the l6O-mt
Stadium to the cheers @
as the 18th Olympic Games oper
A native of HillsbOro, Tex.
became the first member of his
Uncle Sam in the Olympic pagent.
Marching erect and with chest
held proudly high, Johnson was
picture of poise and grace as he
strode into the stadium and passed
the reviewing stand where Presi-
dent Giovanni Gronchi of Italy,
the host city, accepted the salute
of the thousands of athletes from
the S5 nations represented in the
Olympics.
A Unanimous Choice
johnson did not dip the colors,
as is tradional in the Olympic cere-
mony, but held it aloft and erect
as he and his fellow teammates
turned eyes right toward the re-
viewing stand. Behind him marched
teammates more seasoned in Olym-
pic competitions. Some had par
ticipated in as many as four Olym-
pics. Several had won gold medals.
Rafer, although he is generally
recognized as king of the decath-
lon and his country's greatest all
around athlete, had never won a
gold medal Olympic competition.
But that didn't matter. None of
his teammates grumbled about his
choice as their standard bearing
and others praised him as the per-
sonification of the ideal athlete.
Significantly enough, one of Ra-
fer's biggest boosters was fellow
white Southerner, Louis ]. Wilke
of Bartlesville, Okla. A member of
of the us. Olympic Executive
Board, he said of Johnson: 1--WE
not only felt he was probably the
greatest all-around athlete in the
country, but also an example of
our finest traditions.
Calhoun Agreed
Lee Calhoun of Gray, Ind, the
hurdling ace and one Of the big
us. favorites in the games, agreed
wholeheartedly with Wilke. "Rafer
is the ALL-American Boy" said
Lee ITO most of the guys on
the team he represents perfec-
ton"
White Don Bragg, the pole vault
specialist from Pennsylville, N. j.,
said johnson 'is always master of
himself" and joined Wilke and
Calhoun in praising him.
Gets ThunderOus Ovation
Evidently and perhaps without
realizing the impact of the bit of
history unfolding before them, the
100000 fans in the stadium noisily
joined in the praise. They gave
Johnson and the other us. athletes
a thunderous ovation as they mar
ched into the arena. The ovation
far overshadowed that given the
Russian delegation. In the latter
delegation was Vasili Kutznestsov
of Russia, the man expected to
give Rafer his stiffest test in the
decathlon contest.
Sets World Record In Trials
The 24-year-old U.C.L.A. grad
uate student gained the Olympic
spotlight when he ran up world
record 1858 points in the National
A.A.U. Championship and final
Olympic trial at Eugene, Ore,
July SO. The performance marked
a spectacular comeback that fol-
lowed an injury that had sidelined
Rafer for almost two years, dur
ing which time Kutznetsov set a
world record at the event with a
total of 1857. The 1857 topped a
previous high established by john
son in defeating Kutznetsov in a
former meet in Russia.
Thomas, Boston, big o" On Team
The men members of the U. S.
team, resplendent in their blue
jackets, white trousers and white
straw hats with red-white-and-
blue bands, also included a num-
ber Of other standouts who helped
give the us. its strongest repre-