Sports Briefs
Saratoga's Bowden earns spot in Hall
By Dick Sparrer
Most of the attention may have focused on Super Bowl quarterback John Elway and his father, successful football coach Jack Elway.
But the Elways were just two of the five outstanding sports heroes inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame at ceremonies held last Thursday at the San Jose Arena.
Elway, a certain Hall of Famer after his brilliant career with the Denver Broncos, and his father, a winning football coach at both Stanford and San Jose State University, were inducted together. John Elway was a Stanford football and baseball star before heading to the Broncos and leading them to Super Bowl glory.
Also inducted were Donald Bowden of Saratoga, Fremont High School graduate Francie Larrieu Smith and the late Charles "Chuck" Taylor. Both Bowden and Larrieu Smith were inducted for their performances in track and field, and Taylor was inducted in memoriam for his outstanding accomplishments in football.
Also honored at the ceremony were High School Athletes of the Year, Rometra Craig (Mitty) and Chase Lyman (St. Francis); Amateur Athletes of the Year, Mandy Clemens (Santa Clara University soccer) and Troy Walters (Stanford University football); and Special Olympian of the Year, Damion Harris of San Jose.
In addition, the Sam Piraro and the San Jose State University baseball team received an "Exceptional Achievement" award.
Bowden, a San Jose businessman and resident of Saratoga, was the first American to run a sub 4-minute mile.
Bowden was a two-time state champion in the half-mile at Lincoln High School in 1953 and '54. He set a national prep record of 1:52.3 in '54.
He set a national record in the mile in 1955 at UC-Berkeley, running 4:11.7, and he ran 3:58.7 at the Pacific Association AAU Championships in 1957, breaking the 4-minute mile barrier.
Illness and injury hampered his Olympic career. He made the 1956 team, but suffered a bout of mononucleosis. An Achilles' tendon injury kept him from making the 1960 team.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
