Ralph "Hawkeye" Boston Defied Gravity

In remembrance of an icon I was honored to know

One of the best aspects of working on the Tigerbelles project is all of the incredible people I have gotten to know. One of my favorites, Ralph Boston, an Olympic medalist in three consecutive games during the 1960s died Sunday, April 30th at the age of 83. I’ve combed through many photos of Ralph Boston’s younger years as a part of my research, but none seemed to capture more about the man than this:

Photo courtesy of the Temple Archives

Ralph “Hawkeye” Boston flying through the air, the crowd of white children with gaping mouths had an up-close view of the first man to break the 27-foot barrier in the long jump soaring over their heads. Ralph Boston was an elite athlete, an Olympic gold medalist who had recently crushed a longstanding record held by Jesse Owens, and still the children in the photo with shirts off and towels draped over their shoulders look like they’ve just come from a pool that Boston would not have been welcome to swim in. It was Tennessee in the early 1960s. The Civil Rights protests had just begun.

In the early stages working on the Tigerbelles, I was often drawn to their classmate and fellow Olympian, Ralph Boston. His story took a similar, but parallel track to the women’s. Rarely practicing together, but having many of the same challenges, Boston grew close to his sister students.

Boston, I knew, gave a great interview. His time in front of the camera as a commentator for CBS and ESPN had honed his storytelling skills. I got a hold of his phone number, and hesitated. I’m not ashamed to admit I was intimidated by him. In my area of study, he’s one of the greats, his stature loomed large.

I worked up some courage and I dialed his number. Not expecting to reach him from an unknown number, I left a message, explaining the project, hoping that he might take pity on me and answer the next time. He’s a super star, way out of my league, I thought, but I had to try.

Five minutes later my phone rang with RALPH BOSTON in all caps on the screen.

I nearly dropped the phone as I scrambled to answer, “Hello Mr. Boston!”

“What do you have going on?” He asked me.

I told him more about the Tigerbelles manuscript in the works and asked him if he might find some time to talk.

“How about now?” He offered.

Floored, I rustled through my desk for my recorder and a notebook, my brain reeling on where to start. I’d prepared questions, of course, but he had disarmed me, which in retrospect, was probably part of the fun for him.

We spent the afternoon together, talking on the phone about his old friends, time at Tennessee State, and the 1960 Olympics in Rome. He had me laughing harder with each new story, and I came away even more in awe of the man.

After a memory had left him a little melancholy, and I could tell he was getting tired, I offered to let him go.

“We can talk another time,” I said.

He agreed and before I could mutter the words on my heart, he said, “Thank you for letting me walk through these memories again.”

Thank you, Mr. Boston. You were a bright shining light, and I’m honored to have stood in your shadow, even for an afternoon.

Ralph Boston with his good friend and fellow gold medalist, Wilma Rudolph. Photo courtesy of the Temple Archives

News

Honored to have profile on Ralph Boston featured in Track & Field News here:

Ralph “Hawkeye” Boston Defied Gravity

On the Bookshelf

Reading Now

Fiction

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver - A modern retelling of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this one is stunning. The writing is perfection, the story is spot on and heart wrenching. Recently announced as a Pulitzer winner, there is no doubt as to why.

Nonfiction

The Language of Trees: A Rewilding of Literature and Landscape by Katie Holten. Just because we are deep into spring, the trees have exploded in the past two weeks here in Northern Massachusetts, and when someone combines trees with literature, I am in.

Until next time!

Aime