Robert Bruce Mathias (November 17, 1930 – September 2, 2006) was an American decathlete, politician, and actor. Representing the United States, he won two Olympic gold medals in the Decathlon, at the 1948 and the 1952 Summer Games. As a Republican, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives for California's 18th congressional district, for four terms from 1967 to 1975.
Early life and athletic career
Mathias was born in Tulare, California, to a family with partial Greek lineage. He attended Tulare Union High School, He was unaware of the rules in the shot put and nearly fouled out of the event. He almost failed in the high jump but was able to recover. Mathias overcame his difficulties and with superior pole vault and javelin scores was able to push past Ignace Heinrich to win the Olympic gold medal. At age 17, he became the youngest gold medalist in a track and field event.
Mathias continued to succeed in decathlons in the four years between the London games and the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. In 1952, he was the first person to compete in an Olympics and a Rose Bowl the same year.
After the 1952 Olympics, Mathias retired from athletic competition.
Post college
After graduating from Stanford in 1953 with a BA in education, Mathias spent two and a half years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was promoted to the rank of captain and was honorably discharged. In 1960, he also appeared as an athletic Theseus in an Italian "peplum," or sword-and-sandal, film: Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete.
Political career
Between 1967 and 1975, Mathias served four terms in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican, representing the northern San Joaquin Valley of California.
Mathias was re-elected three times without serious difficulty, but in 1974, his Congressional district was significantly redrawn in a mid-decade state redistricting plan. Renumbered as the 17th, Mathias's district acquired a large section of Fresno while losing several rural areas. Mathias was narrowly defeated for re-election by John Hans Krebs, a member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. Mathias was one of several Republicans swept out of office in the wake of the Watergate scandal.
From June to August 1975, Mathias served as the deputy director of the Selective Service. Mathias was also a regional director in the unsuccessful 1976 presidential election campaign of Gerald Ford.
Death
Bob Mathias was diagnosed with cancer in 1996, and died from it in Fresno, California on September 2, 2006, at age 75. He is interred at Tulare Cemetery in Tulare, California. He was survived by wife Gwen, daughters Romel, Megan, Marissa, stepdaughter Alyse Alexander, son Reiner, brothers Eugene and Jim, and sister Patricia Guerrero. Bob also has a son Reiner from a prior relationship.
Tulare high school stadium renamed Bob Mathias Stadium on November 10.
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|1983|| Appointed executive director of the National Fitness Foundation. <br>Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
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|1988|| Returned to the Central Valley, in rural Fresno County.
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|1996|| Olympian Sim Iness died. He was Mathias's high school classmate and teammate at the 1952 Olympics.
Doctors discovered a cancerous tumor in Mathias's throat.
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|June 6, 1998|| A tribute dinner honoring Mathias on the 50th anniversary of his first Olympic medal was held in Tulare. More than 300 people from throughout the state attended, including Olympic medal-winners Sammy Lee, Bill Toomey, Dave Johnson and Pat McCormick, and Sim Iness' widow, Dolores.
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Personal bests
Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.
{| class="wikitable"
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! Event
! Performance
! Location
! Date
! Points
|-
| Decathlon|| align=right | 7,592 points|| align=center | Helsinki || align=right | July 26, 1952 || align=right | 7,592 points
|-
| 100 meters|| align=right | 10.9h || align=center | Helsinki || align=right | July 25, 1952 || align=right | 883 points
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| Long jump|| align=right | || align=center | Helsinki || align=right | July 25, 1952 || align=right | 809 points
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| Shot put|| align=right | || align=center | Fresno || align=right | May 9, 1953 || align=right | 820 points
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| High jump|| align=right | || align=center | Helsinki || align=right | July 25, 1952 || align=right | 714 points
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| 400 meters|| align=right | 50.2h|| align=center | Helsinki || align=right | July 25, 1952 || align=right | 805 points
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| 110 meters hurdles|| align=right | 13.8h || align=center | Zürich || align=right | August 12, 1952 || align=right | 1,000 points
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| Discus throw|| align=right | || align=center | Helsinki || align=right | July 26, 1952 || align=right | 806 points
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| Pole vault|| align=right | || align=center | Helsinki || align=right | July 26, 1952 || align=right | 617 points
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| Javelin throw|| align=right | || align=center | Helsinki || align=right | July 26, 1952 || align=right | 726 points
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| 1500 meters|| align=right | 4:50.8h || align=center | Helsinki || align=right | July 26, 1952 || align=right | 618 points
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|colspan=4 align=right| Virtual Best Performance || align=right | 7,798 points
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Filmography
{| class="wikitable"
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! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
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|1954|| The Bob Mathias Story || Himself ||
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|1958|| China Doll || Capt. Phil Gates ||
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|1960|| Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete || Theseus ||
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|1962|| It Happened in Athens || Coach Graham || (final film role)
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Electoral history
References
External links
- Boy-wonder Mathias elevated decathlon ESPN.com, 2005.
- Former congressman Bob Mathias dies at 75, USA Today retrieved September 5, 2007
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