Cleveland Olympian Paul Drayton dies at age 70 from cancerBy Plain Dealer staff March 02, 2010, 5:48PM
Watch Paul Drayton (in lane 5) finish second to fellow American Henry Carr in the 1964 Olympics’ 200-meter dash. The narration is in Italian.
http://www.cleveland.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/03/former_cleveland_olympian_paul.html
Mike Peticca
Plain Dealer Reporter
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Otis Paul Drayton, who ran on the United States’ gold medal 4x100-meter relay team in the 1964 Olympics, died on Tuesday morning.
Drayton’s step-son, Walter McCormick, said Drayton, 70, had been battling cancer.
“He was one of the best men you could ever meet,” McCormick said.
View full sizePhoto by Kathleen Murphy ColanDuring the 2004 Summer Olympics, Paul Drayton (right) joined fellow former U.S. gold medalists Harrison Dillard (track 1948 and 1952) and Nate Brooks (boxing 1952) before a viewing party in Cleveland. Drayton, known to his friends and referred to as Paul in track record books, lived in University Heights with his wife, Jeune. He was retired from his job as deputy project director for Cleveland’s Division of Recreation, and had also worked part-time for the sheriff’s department.
Born on May 8, 1939 in Glen Cove, N.Y., Drayton moved with his family to the Cleveland area and graduated from Cathedral Latin High School in 1958. At Villanova, Drayton ran on the United States’ 4x100 relay that set a world-record time of 39.1 seconds in a 1961 dual meet against the Soviet Union.
Drayton led off the U.S. relay team that improved the 400 world record to 39.0 at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. Running with him were Gerald Ashworth, Richard Stebbins and Bob Hayes, who ran the anchor leg and went on to football fame with the Dallas Cowboys.
“Paul had a great heart and a will to win,” Cleveland’s Harrison Dillard, 86, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, said on Tuesday. “He loved the sport. He understood the sport. He knew about the sport’s history. He knew about us older guys.”
Drayton also won the silver medal in the 200-meter sprint in Tokyo, finishing in 20.5, behind gold medalist and American teammate Henry Carr (20.3), after beating Carr in the trials. Drayton won the AAU 200 championships in 1961 and 1962, with his 1962 time of 20.5 tying the world record, and he tied Carr for the 220-yard title in 1963.
His personal-best time in the 100-yard dash was 9.3 seconds.
Drayton, Dillard, Olympic gold and bronze medalist Hayes Jones, 71, and silver medalist Les Carney, 75, met for lunch several weeks ago.
“We were busy reminiscing,” Dillard said. "He was a good friend, a very thoughtful person, a very considerate person.
“Paul was always aware of other people’s opinions and concerns.”
McCormick said arrangements for Drayton had not been finalized.
Watch Paul Drayton run the opening leg of the 1964 Olympic 4x100 final, with Bob Hayes providing a come-from-behind win. The U.S. team is in lane 7 and the video opens with a shot of Drayton in the starting blocks: