James "Jim" Ray Hines (born September 10, 1946) is an American athlete who held the 100 m world record for 15 years. He was the first sprinter to officially beat the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters.

Track career

Born in Dumas, Arkansas, Hines was raised in Oakland, California and graduated from McClymonds High School in 1964. He was a baseball player in his younger years, until he was spotted by a track coach as a running talent and became a sprinter. At the 1968 US national championships in Sacramento, California, Hines became the first man to break the ten second barrier in the 100 meter race, setting 9.9 (manual timing), with a real time of 10.03 - two other athletes, Ronnie Ray Smith behind him (real time 10.13) and Charles Greene on the other semi-final (real time 10.09) having got the same official clocking . Hines attended Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas. He was a member of the Texas Southern University Tigers track team.

A few months later, at the 1968 Summer Olympics, Hines — a black athlete — found himself in a tense situation, with racial riots going on in his home country and a threat of a boycott by the black athletes of the US team who were disturbed by the controversial admittance of apartheid South Africa to the games and revelations linking the head of the International Olympic Committee, Avery Brundage, to a racist and anti-semitic country club. Hines reached the 100 m final, and won it. There was some controversy over his exact time, but eventually his time of 9.95 was recognised as a new world record (electronically timed and therefore considered quicker than his 9.9). The race was also significant for being the first all-black final in Olympic history. Hines helped break another World Record when he and his teammates sprinted to the 4 x 100 m relay gold at the same Games.

Football career

After these successes, Hines was a 6th round pick in the 1968 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins, an American football team. Unfortunately, Hines did not have the football skills to match his speed and spent the 1968 season on the practice squad. He was given the nickname "Oops" due to his lack of football skill. He appeared in 10 games with Miami in 1969 catching just two passes for 23 yards, rushed the ball one time for seven yards and returned one kickoff for 22 yards. Hines then appeared in one game with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1970. He never played pro football again.

Later years

For years he worked with inner-city youth in Houston, as well as on oil rigs outside the city.

Hines' world record remained unbeaten for an exceptionally long time, until Calvin Smith ran 9.93 in 1983.

References

• Profile

1. Tacoma News-Tribune