Gloria & James Ruffins
Gloria Hearn grew up on Chicagoâs West Side, but her family frequently visited her motherâs sister on the South Side. She was there on the porch when Jim Ruffins came from next door to say hello.
Nearly every visit after that, Gloria and Jim talked about their high schools, their favorite classes, and sports. He played football. She was a cheerleader and ran track as part of the Douglas Park Junior Olympics Team.
âShe was really smart, bright, and interesting, and it was nice to be around her,â said Jim. After about a year of talking, Jim, then 16, asked Gloria for a date. Gloria wanted to say yes, but could not. âIâm not allowed to date until Iâm 16,â she told him.
Valentine earns BSc Degree
Brandon Valentine-Parris proudly displays his certificate – a symbol of academic prowess.
National athlete, turn cyclist- Brandon Valentine-Parris graduated from the St Augustine University, Raleigh, North Carolina in the USA, on 1st May, with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Sports Management.
Valentine–Parris, now 26 years old, was a former student of the Thomas Saunders Secondary School. He earned an athletic scholarship to Claflin University in South Carolina, before shifting to the St. Augustine University in 2018.
That same year, Valentine-Parris was named the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Regional Athlete of the Year. Also in 2018, he was the St Augustine University’s Track and Field MVP, as well as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Running Events MVP.
Celebrating A Century of NCAA Track & Field Championships
“California Comet” Doubled Up At NCAAs
Harold “Hal” Davis needed no introduction for his first foray into the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which was back in 1942 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Davis – nicknamed of the “California Comet” – had already equaled the world record in the 100 yards (9.4) and 100 meters (10.2), both initially set by Jesse Owens.
Most fans expected a pair of big sprint duels with Davis battling Penn State’s Barney Ewell, who won the 1940 and 1941 NCAA titles in both sprints while Davis was in Salinas JC (now Hartnell College).
Great duels came, but not with Ewell, who didn’t even start the preliminaries after an injury in the long jump trials. Instead the threat came from Leo Tarrant of Alabama State (then known as Alabama State Teachers College). Tarrant had beaten Ewell earlier in the year at the Penn Relays 100 yards.
Chuck Foreman, Robert Smith, Kevin Williams & Chad Greenway Revisit Draft Days Apr 29, 2021 at 09:00 AM
Robert Smith was too uneasy to enjoy a pancake with roommates.
Kevin Williams left his spot manning the grill.
Chad Greenway got the most out of a landline s phone cord before a send-off.
The four former first-round picks of the Vikings Foreman in 1973, Smith in 1993, Williams in 2003 and Greenway in 2006 recently got together for a conversation hosted by Pete Bercich that was a featured segment of the Minnesota Vikings Podcast.
Each shared draft memories and explained signature welcome-to-the-NFL moments.
The conversation starts at the 26:10 mark after pre-draft analysis by Vikings Entertainment Network s Jay Nelson, Chris Corso and Eric Smith. Listen to the whole episode, or check out some highlights, below.