Jim Hines
Encyclopedia
James "Jim" Ray Hines (born September 10, 1946) is a former American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 athlete, who held the 100 m world record for 15 years. He was the first sprinter to officially break the 10-second barrier
10-second barrier
The 10-second barrier is a term used in track and field athletics which refers to the physical and psychological barrier of completing the men's 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds...

 in the 100 meters
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...

.

Track career

Born in Dumas, Arkansas
Dumas, Arkansas
Dumas is a city in Desha County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 4,706 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Dumas is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land....

, Hines was raised in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

 and graduated from McClymonds High School
McClymonds High School
McClymonds High School is a public high school in the West Oakland neighborhood of Oakland, California, USA.In addition to being the third oldest high school in Oakland, it is the larger of the two high schools in West Oakland , and the only high school in West Oakland operated by the Oakland...

 in 1964. He was a baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 player in his younger years, until he was spotted by a track coach as a running talent and became a sprinter. At the 1968 US national championships in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

, Hines became the first man to break the ten second barrier in the 100 meter race, setting 9.9 (manual timing), with a real time of 10.03 - two other athletes, Ronnie Ray Smith
Ronnie Ray Smith
Ronald "Ronnie" Ray Smith is a former American athlete, winner of the gold medal in the 4×100 m relay at the 1968 Summer Olympics...

 behind him (real time 10.13) and Charles Greene on the other semi-final (real time 10.09) having got the same official clocking. That evening of June 20, 1968 at Hughes Stadium has been dubbed by track and field historians as the "Night of Speed." Hines attended Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University is a historically black university located in Houston, Texas, United States....

 in Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. He was a member of the Texas Southern University Tigers track team.

A few months later, at the 1968 Summer Olympics
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...

, Hines — a black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...

 athlete — found himself in a tense situation, with racial riots
Race riot
A race riot or racial riot is an outbreak of violent civil disorder in which race is a key factor. A phenomenon frequently confused with the concept of 'race riot' is sectarian violence, which involves public mass violence or conflict over non-racial factors.-United States:The term had entered the...

 going on in his home country and a threat of a boycott by the black athletes of the US team, who were disturbed by the controversial idea of admitting apartheid South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 to the Games and revelations linking the head of the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

, Avery Brundage
Avery Brundage
Avery Brundage was an American amateur athlete, sports official, art collector, and philanthropist. Brundage competed in the 1912 Olympics and was the US national all-around athlete in 1914, 1916 and 1918...

, to a racist and anti-semitic country club. Hines reached the 100 m final, and won it. There was some controversy over his exact time, but eventually his time of 9.95 was recognised as a new world record (electronically timed and therefore considered quicker than his 9.9). The race was also significant for being the first all-black final in Olympic history. Hines helped break another World Record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...

, when he and his teammates sprinted to the 4 x 100 m relay
4 x 100 metres relay
The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners begin in the same stagger as for the individual 400 m race...

 gold
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

 at the same Games.

Football career

After these successes, Hines was a 6th round pick in the 1968 NFL Draft
1968 NFL Draft
The 1968 National Football League Draft was part of the Common Draft, in the second year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players on January 30–31.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:...

 by the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 team. Unfortunately, Hines did not have the football skills to match his speed and spent the 1968 season
1968 Miami Dolphins season
-NFL Draft:-Season schedule:-Season standings:-Roster:-Notes and references:**...

 on the practice squad
Scout team
In sports, the scout team, also referred to as a practice team, taxi squad, practice squad or practice roster, is a group of players on a team whose task is to emulate future opponents for the featured players. Frequently used in American or Canadian Football, these teams consist of less...

. He was given the nickname "Oops" due to his lack of football skill. He appeared in 10 games with Miami in 1969 catching just two passes for 23 yards, rushed the ball one time for seven yards and returned one kickoff
Kickoff (American football)
A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team"...

 for 22 yards. Hines then appeared in one game with the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...

 in 1970. He never played pro football again.

Later years

For years Hines worked with inner-city youth in Houston, as well as on oil rigs outside the city.

Hines's world record remained unbeaten for an exceptionally long time, until Calvin Smith
Calvin Smith
Calvin Smith is a former sprint track and field athlete from the United States. He is a former World Record holder in the 100 metre sprint, and was twice World Champion over 200 metres...

ran 9.93 in 1983.
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