Home > Article
VOL. 39 | NO. 35 | Friday, August 28, 2015
Legendary Olympic track coach honored with statue
NASHVILLE (AP) - A statue honoring legendary track coach Ed Temple was unveiled in downtown Nashville on Friday as he and some of the athletes he led to Olympic glory looked on.
The 87-year-old Temple coached women's track and field at Tennessee State University from 1953 to 1994 and led the U.S. women's Olympic track team in 1960 and 1964. He coached 23 Olympic medalists at TSU, including Wilma Rudolph, and his teams were known as the Tigerbelles.
Many of the athletes Temple coached attended the dedication of the 9-foot bronze statue, erected near the right field entrance to First Tennessee Park, Nashville's new minor league baseball stadium. They included gold medalists Wyomia Tyus and Edith McGuire.
The statue cost $60,000, raised mostly through private contributions.