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Black History NJ: Milt Campbell

American decathlete and native New Jerseyan Milton Gray Campbell was born on December 9, 1933, in Plainfield. Typically referred to as Milt Campbell, the soon-to-be athlete attended school in his home town. Once reaching the high school level, at Plainfield High School, he was a star on the football, track and swimming teams.

Milt Campbell was a state record-setter in high and low hurdles, the high jump and even as a fullback in football. While he was still in high school, he competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, where he won a Silver Medal in the decathlon at just 18-years-old. That same year, he was named “High School Athlete of the Year” by Track and Field News.


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Milt Campbell Wins Gold

When he got to college, at Indiana University, Campbell stopped swimming and focused on football and track. While in college, his athletic career was temporarily halted due to his service in the U.S. Navy in 1955. He again competed in the Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia in 1956, where he became the first African American to win a Gold Medal in the decathlon of the Summer Olympics.

Black History NJ: Milt CampbellIn 1957, the NFL’s Cleveland Browns drafted Campbell. He played for one season before Browns owner, Paul Brown, released Campbell for marrying a white woman. No other NFL team drafted Campbell, so he moved to play with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Montreal Alouettes and the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League until 1964.

By his early 30s, Milt Campbell retired from football and track, but he was determined to stay active. He began practicing Judo and quickly became a skillful martial artist. Campbell was even skillful enough to potentially compete in the 1972 Olympics for Judo, but because of his professional football career, he was not allowed to compete.

A Hall of Famer

In 1997, Campbell was inducted into the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Hall of Fame. Two years later, he was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame; the following year, in 2000, New Jersey Sportswriters Association named him its New Jersey Athlete of the Century. In June 2012, Campbell was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, marking another incredible accolade for the tremendous athlete and individual.

On Friday, November 2, 2012, at the age of 78, Milt Campbell died at his home in Gainesville, Georgia after battling prostate cancer for nearly a decade. Before his death, Campbell enjoyed playing tennis as well as riding bikes, horses and motorcycles. He remained an active person and a good spirit well into his old-age.

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Hero (Top) Feature Image (& Additional Images): © Associated Press (via The New York Times) / Website

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