4
GOLD
0
SILVER
0
BRONZE
Athlete Bio#
Age
Died (Aged 96)
1923-2019
Hometown
Cleveland, OH
Education
East Technical High School (Cleveland, Ohio) Baldwin-Wallace College
Quick Facts
- Parents worked as sharecroppers in Alabama before moving to Cleveland
- One of four children
- Began hurdling at 8 years old, running in an alley and using abandoned car-seat springs as barriers
- Went to the same high school as his boyhood idol Jesse Owens
- Spoke to Owens at the 1936 post-Olympic Games victory parade in Cleveland and received his first pair of running shoes from Owens
- Fought in World War II as part of the all-black 92nd Infantry Division, known as the Buffalo Soldiers, before going to the Olympic Games London 1948
- Won four national collegiate titles in high and low hurdles at Baldwin-Wallace College
- Nicknamed “Bones” because of his spindly size and thin body
- Worked for the Cleveland Indians franchise and hosted a radio talk show on Cleveland’s WERE
- Later served the Cleveland City School District as a business manager
- Wrote an autobiography entitled “Bones” in 2012
- Father to one daughter, Terri.
Olympic Experience
- 2-time Olympian; 4-time Olympic medalist (4 gold)
- Olympic Games Helsinki 1952, gold (110m Hurdles - Men, 4 x 100m Relay - Men)
- Olympic Games London 1948, gold (100m - Men, 4 x 100m Relay - Men)
Hall Of Fame Bio #
William Harrison “Bones” Dillard is one of three men to win Olympic gold medals in both sprint and hurdling events. The Cleveland native won four gold medals in two Olympic Games appearances. He matched the world record in the 100-meter sprint at the Olympic Games London 1948, edging out American teammate Barney Ewell in a photo finish, the first of its kind at an Olympic Games. Four years later, Dillard won the 100 hurdles at the Helsinki Games. A winner of the annual James E. Sullivan Award for the nation’s most outstanding athlete, he would later work in baseball for the Cleveland Indians organization in scouting and public relations.
