Decorated Olympian Ralph Boston, a Laurel native who once held the world record in the long jump, crossed one last finish line Sunday morning, passing away at age 83 after recently suffering a stroke.
Boston was born in Laurel on May 9, 1939 as the youngest of 10 children to Peter and Eulalia Boston. He graduated from Oak Park High School, where he began to develop his athletic talents in various sports, such as football and track. Many of his former classmates remember him fondly, few more so than lifelong friend Cleveland Payne.
“I’ve been blessed to meet a lot of wonderful people in my life, and Ralph was one of the best,” Payne said. “We called him ‘Hawkeye.’ His brothers started calling him that because he had really big eyes, and when he would sleep, it almost seemed like he was still watching you.
“He was a beautiful human with the true spirit of an Olympian. Laurel needed a Ralph Boston to reach the top and show us that it can be done. I’m so glad that Ralph passed our way.”
He surged onto the international track and field scene ahead of the 1960 Olympics in Rome, turning heads with a standout college career at Tennessee State. During an Olympic tune-up meet in August 1960, Boston broke the long jump world record, which fellow Olympic icon Jesse Owens had held for 25 years, with a leap of 26 feet, 11.25 inches.
Roughly a month later, Boston broke the Olympic long jump record in Rome with a leap of 26 feet, 7.5 inches, which earned a gold medal. He dedicated the medal to his mother and the memory of his father, who had passed away three years earlier.
Boston added to his growing list of feats that same year with an NCAA long jump championship. In 1961, he broke his own world record with a leap of 27 feet, 6 inches, becoming the first person in the history of the sport to surpass 27 feet.
As crazy as it may seem, Boston was disappointed with what he thought was a poor jump until he heard the measurement, after which he grinned and proclaimed, “I finally did it!”
He went on to break the record again and again throughout his celebrated career, winning a silver medal at the 1964 Games in Tokyo and a bronze at the 1968 Games in Mexico City. He also won gold medals in the Pan American Games in 1963 and 1967. He was selected as both World Athlete of the Year and North American Athlete of the Year before retiring from competition shortly after the ‘68 Olympics.
Boston is credited with the famous quote, “Being the first to cross the finish line makes you a winner in only one phase of life. It’s what you do after you cross the line that really counts.” His continued success after retiring from athletics reiterated just that.
“I’m devastated about Ralph Boston’s passing,” Olympic great Carl Lewis said in a tweet. “As a child I idolized him and he was a major influence in my life. I’ll miss his voice and support. He changed the game as an athlete, advocate and mentor. Jumpers, Know his name!!! Rest with the greats.”
After putting away his track shoes, Boston served a seven-year tenure as an administrator at the University of Tennessee, along with stints as a commentator for CBS and ESPN. In 1982, he became an account executive for the South Central Bell telephone company based in Knoxville, Tenn.
In 1988, Boston left South Central Bell to become a general partner at WKXT-TV, the CBS affiliate television station in Knoxville, and in 1992, he moved to Atlanta to become Director of Customer Relations for a telecommunications company, Ericsson Inc. He later served as president and CEO of ServiceMaster Services, a company based in Stone Mountain, Ga.
Boston opted for full retirement in 2001, after which he divided his time between residences in Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. He participated in various charitable events and spent much of his spare time documenting his family’s history and writing an autobiography.
Boston has been enshrined in a number of different places, including the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame, the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, the Helms’ Hall of Fame in Los Angeles and the Tennessee State Athletics Hall of Fame.
He leaves a legacy in his home town, with a popular place where local youth play sports and participate in other activities in Queensburg, Ralph Boston Park.
In 2017, Boston submitted a recipe for his famous banana bread to be included in the “Taste of Home Town” cookbook. He is included in the renovated edition of the book as well.
“He was a very important figure in the city of Laurel, and it saddened me to hear of his passing,” Mayor Johnny Magee said. “He was an excellent role model to many.”
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