I'm sure I don't have to tell you that they screwed Hayes on that 10.06. All those shenanigans with conversions this and rounding that. For whatever reason they didn't want him to be the first man to officially break 10 seconds. Maybe because he was only a part time track man and it made full time track guys look bad? Maybe because he was too tan? I don't know.. I am still perplexed as to why the sub 10-second times he ran during his offseason participation in track and field were never ratified. It's all more than a little fishy to me.
A few things my friend, by 1964 Bob Hayes was a serious track guy and had been for a few years becoming the first 9.1 guy. He wasn't just a football guy anymore. And Eddie Tolan, Jesse Owens, Harrison Dilliard all black sprinters had won the Olympic gold before 1964. Doubt race was a factor at all especially in Japan.
I know of no sub 10.00 100m races for Hayes other than that windy 9.91 in those Olympic semi's. I do for know a fact he did run a couple WR 9.1's and not get credit for it, actually becoming a 9,3. Hayes only ran 100meters a few times here in the USA.
While in HS he lost the Florida State 100 yards champs to a kid named Jimmy "Peach Head" Douglas, yep, a red headed black guy. Douglas the only cat Hayes never revenged the loss. ya see before they ever hooked up again, Douglas was shot and killed in a gang related incident.
Jimmy Douglas, what could have been.
