For Campbell, running meant the world

Colorado sprinter's talent turned him into a globetrotter

Pancho Morris | The New Mexican

9/28/2008 - 9/29/08

Don Campbell knew he was fast in third grade — or was it fourth? — when he beat Russell Rowe for the first time in a schoolyard race at recess. Until that day, Rowe was the FBIS — Fastest Boy in School — in Brighton, a town 20 miles north of Denver on the way to Greeley.

"I was always close by," Campbell says of the stride-to-stride showdowns with Rowe. "I was a little behind him when he looked around."

Rowe's turn resulted in a tumble, and a triumph for Campbell.

"That was sort of special," Campbell says. "After that, I was the first one chosen for any kind of running game."

It wouldn't be the last time Campbell won a race that mattered. Or was among the first chosen.

Years later, at a meet in Denver, Campbell turned the head of Phil Cope, a former NCAA All-American in the high hurdles out of the University of Southern California. Cope searched the stands and found Campbell. His message was inspirational.

"He compared me to Jesse Owens," Campbell says. "He told me, 'You can run around the world.' "

Campbell fulfilled Pope's prophecy.

His legs carried him from Norway to South Africa, from New Zealand to Argentina, and countries in between. And on the 17th night of October, they will take him into the University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2008.

"It's been a long time coming," Campbell says of his induction.

How long?

Campbell, 82, arrived at the Boulder campus in 1946.

"A lot of my teammates are long gone," Campbell, a longtime resident of Santa Fe, says. "There aren't many of us around anymore."

Campbell learned of his induction in July. It followed a letter his son, Doug, sent to the University of Colorado Athletic hall of Fame committee in April.

"He's my agent," the father says of his son.

Pride is a two-way street.

"... Don Campbell was quite simply one of the greatest athletes in the history of the University of Colorado (and in my opinion, still is!)" the son says in his letter to the selection committee.

Campbell didn't stop at the Colorado border. He ranked as one of the top five sprinters in his country and one of the 10 best in the world.

Campbell was dubbed the "Colorado Comet." It's no misnomer. His athletic résumé, from 1943-52, requires 21/4 pages to accommodate the achievements and accolades.

No brag, just facts.

It's true.

In 1943 and '44, Campbell was the Colorado state high-school champion in the 100 and 220 running for Sterling High School. He also was the Rocky Mountain AAU champion at both distances. In '44, Campbell additionally won the 220 in the junior division at the AAU National championships.

In 1946, '47 and '49, Campbell won the Big Seven Conference Championships in the 100 and 220. Also in '49, he was indoor conference champion at 60 yards.

Campbell was injured in 1948. It wasn't the only time.

On May 27, 1945, Campbell was wounded in the upper right thigh in the Battle of Balete Pass in the Philippines. Campbell was a member of the 25th Tropic Lightning Division, the 27th Infantry, Company C. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge and Purple Heart.

"Did it affect me?" Campbell asks. "Probably. Probably. But I don't know how."

Cope never knew of Campbell's past. The poetry in motion he saw, the one that lasted all of 9.7 seconds, was enough to portend a future.

In 1947, Campbell toured New Zealand with an AAU All-Star team. In '49, he finished undefeated during a tour of Scandinavia, and a year later he defeated all challengers in a tour that started in South Africa and continued through Rhodesia and Portugal.

"The foreign trips were the greatest things," Campbell says. "In those days, we were there for three months. We would run every Wednesday and Saturday. You got to meet people and got to experience things you can't even imagine."

Finland was memorable.

Still is.

It started with being put up for the night, then watching towns close factories so the workers could attend the meet. Then there were the posters promoting the event, the ones with his name on it, and the beautiful girls presenting him with bouquets of flowers.

Everything, though, paled to one moment.

"When you hear the "Star Spangled Banner" playing for you and you alone, you realize this is what it's all about," Campbell says, still moved by the memory.

On American soil, Campbell was a record waiting to be run.

In '44, his 10.2 time for 100 yards was a U.S. Army record. In '47, he ran 9.5 to set the University of Colorado record. In '48, he tied the Olympic record held by Jesse Owens when he clocked 10.3 for 100 meters at the Olympic Trials.

The Trials were just that — trials.

Still are.

Campbell made the finals in the 100 meters. He was fifth. The top four advanced to the London Olympics. Once there, one of the sprinters was injured. Unlike today, no alternates were taken.

"It was a great disappointment," Campbell says.

It didn't linger.

"Forty-nine was a great year," Campbell says. "It was magnificent."

Campbell ran 9.5 seconds that season. Not once, but throughout the season. That was not his best. With the wind at his back, Campbell stopped the clock at 9.4. It tied the world record for 100 yards, but was disallowed because it was wind-aided.

His prowess did not go unnoticed. He was the winner of the Big Seven Sprint Cup and the Robert O. Russell Award, which went to the outstanding amateur athlete for the Rocky Mountain region. Campbell also was a finalist for the Sullivan Award, the outstanding amateur award in the U.S.

Campbell built on those successes.

In 1951, he was part of the 400 relay that struck gold at the Pan-American Games in Buenos Aries, Argentina. When some of the runners went to Chile to compete in another meet, Campbell defeated Herb McKenley of Jamaica in the 100.

McKenley was the gold medalist from the Pan-Am Games. Then, in 1952, he finished second in the 100 at the Olympics. He also was the driving force in Jamaica's rise to track and field glory. McKenley is one of the reasons there is a Usain Bolt in the sport.

"He never got over that loss," Campbell says of McKenley, his friend, who passed away in November 2007.

Maybe it was because McKenley never saw Campbell coming. Actually, few did.

"I always liked to see somebody in front of me, so I could lean and catch them at the end," Campbell says. "That's what I was known for. I felt very comfortable doing that."

Campbell's stride was unusually long.

"I covered a little more ground than the other guys," he says. "And I had great arm action."

Campbell, an NCAA All-American in 1948, called himself a 130-pound weakling on top of a set of legs in high school. His running weight was 165 pounds on his 5-foot-11 frame in college and beyond.

His slight build was susceptible to injuries throughout. And in 1952, Campbell retired from track due to a chronically inflamed Achilles tendon.

He moved to Santa Fe in 1959 and has lived in the City Different off-and-on since.

"Just say I've been in investment banking for 100,000 years," Campbell says with a laugh. "It's all I've ever done."

Not quite.

He married Shirley McDonald, who's been his bride for the past 53 years. A daughter, Julie, completes the family relay.

Campbell also served as chairman and president of the United Way of Santa Fe, was board chairman of the Red Cross, was on the board of directors for the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce and the Santa Fe Opera, and was one of the founders of the Hospice Center.

He received as much as he gave.

"I got encouraged by people all along the way," Campbell says.

One was Dick Hay, the high-school football coach who came out on his own to teach Campbell how to start.

Another was Frank Potts, the former University of Colorado track coach. Potts called Campbell, "CU's greatest sprinter."

Then there is David "The Ambassador" Bolen, a past U.S. ambassador in the former East Germany. Bolen was the first University of Colorado student-athlete to qualify for the Olympics. Yet, he praised Campbell for his "work ethic, commitment to excellence and good sportsmanship."

Campbell is slightly uncomfortable with all the fuss. It's one thing to talk about your life one-on-one. It's another when there's a room full of people, which Campbell will face at the induction ceremony, where he has been asked to speak.

"I really don't know what I'm going to say," Campbell says.

Just tell them a story. Perhaps, the one about seeing the world 100 yards at a time.