IU Athletics Mourns the Passing of Willie May
IU Athletics Mourns the Passing of Willie May
March 30, 2012
Track and Field contact - Kyle Johnson (krj@indiana.edu)
IU Athletics Mourns the Passing of Willie May
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana Athletics mourns the passing of one of its all time legends, Willie May. May, an IU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee in 2000, won an Olympic silver medal in the hurdles at the 1960 Rome Olympics and won seven Big Ten titles in the hurdles at Indiana between 1957 and 1959. He passed away peacefully on Thursday evening at the age of 75. Services are tentatively set for Saturday, April 7.
Indiana track and field director and head coach Ron Helmer said that while he never got the chance to meet May, he had learned a great deal about his character and athletics dominance while researching the history of the IU track and field program and from talking with alumni and team historians.
“While I did not know Willie May personally, I certainly know of his legendary contributions to the Indiana Track and Field program and the Indiana University community as a whole,” said Helmer. “Everything I have heard about him tells me he was and is the person and example we hope our current student-athletes will emulate, both now and in the future, as they impact their communities and those around them.”
An Illinois State Champion in both the high and low hurdles for Blue Island High School, May attended Indiana University, where he won seven Big Ten championships in the hurdles between 1957 and 1959. May still ranks second on IndianaÂ’s all-time list in the 110m hurdles. He won the silver medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. May ran 13.99 in that race and was beaten by Lee Calhoun, another American, who ran 13.98. After earning another silver medal at the 1963 Pan American Games, May decided to begin his teaching and coaching career.
May became the head coach of the track and field team at Evanston Township High School in 1975 and continued in that position through the 2006 season. He served as the athletic director at ETHS for 16 years, from 1983 to 2000. As a coach, May led the Wildkits to 24 consecutive Central Suburban League conference championships from 1976 to 1999, five IHSA state trophies, and one state championship (1979). May has been inducted into the Indiana University Athletic Hall of Fame (2000), the Illinois Track & Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2007) and the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame (2010).
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