 Carr playing tennis, 1932 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Arthur Carr | |||||||||||||||||
| National team | United States | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1909-10-24)October 24, 1909 Pine Bluff, Arkansas, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||
| Died | January 14, 1966(1966-01-14) (aged 56) | |||||||||||||||||
| Education | University of Pennsylvania | |||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | corporate executive | |||||||||||||||||
| Employer | Prismo Safety Products | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | outdoor track and field | |||||||||||||||||
| University team | Penn Quakers | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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William Arthur Carr (October 24, 1909 – January 14, 1966) was an Americanathlete and doubleOlympic champion in 1932.[1] Called the "Arkansas flyer," Carr never lost a race during his college and Olympic career.[2][3]
Carr was born and raised inPine Bluff, Arkansas.[4] His parents were Ann Holmes and William L. Carr, a traveling salesman with the Mann-Tankersley Drug Co.[1][5] He received his elementary school education at Lakeside School in Pine Bluff.[6]
He attendedPine Bluff High School in 1925.[7] In his freshman year, he joined the track team because he was too small for basketball or football.[7] He demonstrated skill at jumping, but he broke both ankles leaping over a bar and had resign late in the season.[3]
Carr was recruited back to the high school track team in 1927.[1] He received national attention at the spring state meet inArkandelphia for his record–making high jump of 6.75 feet and a long jump of 21 feet 4 inches.[1] In addition to winning those two events, he came in second at the 100-yard sprint and 220-yard sprint.[1] In a prior track meet, he had already matched the Arkansas record in the 100-yard event.[1] As a result, national sports writers were calling him the top high school track star in the United States.[1]
A local banker convinced Carr to enroll in theMercersburg Academy inMercersburg, Pennsylvania for 1928 in preparation for an Ivy League college.[1][2] There, he was coached byJimmy Curran.[8] While he was at Mercersburg, they won the annual inter-scholastic track meet to become state champions.[9] Carr was the Pennsylvania champion in the 100-meter sprint, the 200-meter sprint, and the long jump, setting a state record for the latter.[1][9] He graduated from Mercersburg in the spring of 1929.[10]
Carr was recruited by theUniversity of Pennsylvania and started there in 1929.[1] He was on the track team and served as its co-captain.[2] At Penn, he was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall) and a member of theSphinx Senior Society.[2] He was president of the sophomore class and received the Golden Spoon as the "most outstanding, all-around student."[1] For three years, he received the Varsity Club scholarship "for scholastic excellence, character and athletic ability."[11] He graduated from theWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1933 with a B.S. in economics.[2]
At the University of Pennsylvania, Carr was coached by 1904 OlympianLawson Robertson who called him "the fastest Carr in America."[12] In college, he never lost the 400-meter sprint.[1] He also anchored the 1,600-meter relay team—which also never lost a competition during his college years.[1] His favorite events became the long jump, the 440-meter, and the 800-meter.[13]
He was the 1931Amateur Athletic Union Indoor national champion in the 300-yards event.[14] At the 1932 Intercollegiate Championships (IC4A) championships inBerkeley California, Carr beat world-record holderBen Eastman in the 440-yard dash, winning the IC4A 440-yard title for 1932.[14][1] His time was 47.0 seconds; Eastman's record was 46.4 seconds.[1] Carr was ranked number one in the world at the 400-meters.at the end of the 1932 season.[14]
Several weeks later inPalo Alto, California, Carr again outran Eastman at the 1932 USA Outdoor Championships and1932 United States Olympic trials (track and field).[14] In addition to making the United States Olympic team, Carr was also a favorite for the 400-meter gold medal at the1932 Summer Olympics inLos Angeles, California.[13]
On August 4, 1932 in Los Angeles Olympics, Carr placed first in his semi-final 400-meter heat with a time of 47.2 seconds, breakingEric Liddell’s world record time of 47.6 seconds from the1924 Summer Olympics.[1] However, Eastman matched Liddell’s record in his semi-final heat, setting up a final Olympic race thatThe New York Times called the “400-meter race of the century."[1] In the final, Eastman led during most of the race, but Carr emerged victorious in the last 100-meters with a time of 46.2 seconds.[1] He had not only won a gold medal, but he also had set a world record.[1] A few days later, Carr won another gold medal as the anchor of America's 4 × 400-meter relay team.[14] Although not scheduled to complete, he substituted for Arnold Adams who had to withdraw due to an injury.[13] They set a new world record of 3:08.2.[15]
Back at college in 1933, Carr had a "lackluster" performance in the spring season.[1] On January 25, 1933, he announced that he would retire from track after the 1933 season.[11] He said, "I expect to be a member of the United States track and field team that will tour Europe next summer. When the team returns, my uniform and spiked shoes will be put away for good."[11] He planned on retiring so that he could focus on a new career in business.[11]
| Event | Time | Date | Competition | Record held through | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400-meter | 46.20 | August 5, 1932 | 1932 Summer Olympics | 1948 (tied) | [14][7] |
| 1600-meter relay | 3.08.20 | August 7, 1932 | 1932 Summer Olympics | [14] |
On March 18, 1933, Carr was in a car accident that broke both his ankles and his right pelvis.[3] At the time of the two-car accident, he was standing on the car's running board.[3] He was in the hospital for four week and was not able to compete in track again.[3] He had a slight limp as a result of his injuries.[16]
In 1934, Carr started working for theInsurance Company of North America.[12] DuringWorld War II, he joined theU.S. Navy, serving as an officer in naval intelligence thePacific Theater.[2][12] While there, he met his wife, Rachel Elizabeth Manasseh, inShanghai, China.[1][12] She was a lecturer and writer about Oriental art.[12] They had one son, Alain.[12]
After the war, they lived inJapan where he became the Far Eastern general manager of the Insurance Company of North America.[1][12] Next, he worked forPan-American World Airways as the general personnel manager.[12] He became the executive director of the International Center for overseas students in Midtown, New York.[12] He then moved toTokyo, Japan where he was both vice president of Prismo Safety Products, a Pennsylvania highway safety and building equipment company, and the Far East representative of the Potter Brothers, a highway building equipment dealer fromNew Jersey.[12][2]
In 1966, Carr died fromcongestive heart failure in Tokyo at the age of 56.[1] He was buried in Graceland Cemetery inPine Bluff, Arkansas.[1]
