 Beatty c. 1971 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Full name | James Tully Beatty | ||||||||||||||
| Born | October 28, 1934 (1934-10-28) (age 90) New York, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Home town | Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Paulette Beatty | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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James Tully Beatty (born October 28, 1934, inNew York, New York) is a formerAmericantrack and field athlete andNorth Carolina politician. He is best remembered as the first person to break the four-minute mile barrier on an indoor track, when he ran 3:58.9 on February 10, 1962, at theLos Angeles Invitational in theLos Angeles Sports Arena inLos Angeles, California. He competed in themen's 5000 metres at the1960 Summer Olympics.[1]
Beatty moved toCharlotte, North Carolina, with his family when he was four years old. He grew up in the Dilworth neighborhood, delivering for theCharlotte Observer with his trusted dog "Trigger" for five years. Then focused onboxing, young Beatty would run his paper route to help him train. While atCentral High School, the last meet of his junior year Beatty convinced his coach to let him run the mile event. His speed was discovered in that race, as he went on to win. In the course of a month, he went from never running in a race before, to winning a state championship in the mile.
Beatty went on to run track atUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he majored in English and had a minor in History.[2]
Graduating from UNC in 1957, Beatty's best time in the mile was 4:06. He was anAll-American for the two miles in 1955 and 1957, and for the 5,000 meters in 1956. Beatty was also theAtlantic Coast Conference champion in the mile in 1955 and 1956.
In 1960, Beatty moved toCalifornia to train underMihály Iglói and in July 1960, he won the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 5,000 meters event. Standing at just five foot-five, Beatty's Olympic teammates, who elected him team captain in 1962, called him "Little Jimmy Beatty." After running at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games he joined the Los Angeles Track Club in 1961. Beatty broke eleven American and three world records in 1962, and became the first American to simultaneously hold records in the 1,500 meter, 3,000 meter, 5,000 meter, one and three mile events. He became the first person to break the four-minute mile barrier on an indoor track, when he ran 3:58.9 on February 10, 1962, at theLos Angeles Invitational. Because of his outstanding performance he was named the 1962James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's top young athlete. He was also the first recipient of theABC'sWide World of Sports Athlete of the Year that year.
Beatty married his wife, Paulette in 1976. Beatty served in theNorth Carolina General Assembly as a State Representative as a member of the Democratic Party, representing North Carolina's 36th district, inMecklenburg County. He worked on voting rights legislation and expanding medicare, being a close friend and ally of both GovernorJim Hunt, andTerry Sanford, before running for the United States Congress in 1972, eventually losing in the general election to futureRepublican Governor of N.C. James G. Martin. In his later years, Beatty flirted with a run for lieutenant-governor and a return to the general assembly, before dropping out, citing personal reasons.
Beatty and his wife, Paulette reside in their Charlotte, North Carolina home, where Beatty remains an active member of the community, endorsing politicians like U.S. Senate CandidateJeff Jackson and North Carolina GovernorRoy Cooper for statewide offices.
Beatty was inducted into the USANational Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1990, theNorth Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1963, and the Greater Charlotte Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
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