Milton Gray Campbell (December 9, 1933 – November 2, 2012) was an American decathlete of the 1950s. In 1956, he became the first African American to win the gold medal in the decathlon of the Summer Olympic Games.
Personal life
Campbell was born in Plainfield, New Jersey. At Plainfield High School he competed in track, football and swimming. He then enrolled at the Indiana University (Bloomington), where he played football and ran track.
Track and field
While a student at Plainfield High School, Campbell won a place on the 1952 Olympic team in the decathlon. Although just 18 years old, Campbell finished second to Bob Mathias in the decathlon. Campbell set New Jersey state records in the high and low hurdles and in the high jump, and scored 140 points as fullback in football. He was inducted into the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1997. He was Track and Field News "High School Athlete of the Year" in 1952.
While he earned the distinction of “All-State” in both football and swimming, Campbell excelled most in track and field, and told his coach that he aspired to be the greatest athlete in the entire state of New Jersey, to which his coach responded that he believed Campbell could possibly become the best in the world. Campbell, surprised at his response, inquired how such a feat would be possible for him to achieve. His coach instructed him that in order to do so, he would have to win the Olympic decathlon. Campbell, having never heard of the decathlon, had to look it up to gain more information. Intrigued by its nature, Campbell decided to take on the challenge and began training. He wanted to represent the United States in the upcoming 1952 Olympic Games which were to be held in Helsinki. Campbell initially wanted to qualify for the hurdles event, but when the day came he placed fourth, with only the top three qualifying.
Football
Campbell was also an excellent swimmer as a youth. An all around athlete, Campbell was drafted by the NFL Cleveland Browns in 1957 and played one season in the same backfield as Jim Brown. He then played for several years in the Canadian Football League, ending his football career in 1964. Still wanting to pursue a career in football, Campbell went to Canada, where he joined the Canadian Football League, playing with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (8 games rushing for 468 yards), Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, Montreal Alouettes (3 games) and Toronto Argonauts (9 games) until his retirement in 1964.