Silas Edward Southern (January 4, 1938 – May 17, 2023) was an American sprinter and hurdler who won a silver medal in the 400 metres hurdles at 1956 Olympics. He won another silver medal in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 1959 Pan American Games.
Southern was a 1955 graduate of Dallas' Sunset High School, where he won four individual State Championships and set two State and National High School Records, was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 meter hurdles, as well as sprints and relays. He was clocked at 20.7 seconds in the 220-yard dash, best ever by a high-school student in Texas or any other state. Then he turned right around and broke the state and national records in the 440-yard event with a time of 47.2 seconds.[3]
Collegeedit
Southern went on to compete in track & field at the University of Texas, where he was 1959 NCAA 440 yard champion and a member of World Record 440 and 880 yard relay teams. Running for Clyde Littlefield at the University of Texas, Southern led the Longhorns to Southwest Conference titles from 1957 to 1959. Individually, he earned three straight 440-yard SWC championships in 1957, 1958, 1959 and the 1959 NCAA quarter-mile title. Southern ran the anchor for the world-record 440 and 880-yard relays while at University of Texas.
International careeredit
Southern competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in the 400 meter hurdles, where he won the silver medal. As an 18-year-old, Southern as a Texas youth set the Olympic Record in the 400 metres hurdles (50.1 seconds) in the semifinals in 1956 at Melbourne on his way to taking the silver medal to fellow American Glenn Davis's gold. Southern won another silver medal in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 1959 Pan American Games.[1]
Deathedit
Southern died on May 17, 2023, at the age of 85.[4]
Honorsedit
In 1956, Southern was inducted into the Friar Society, the oldest honor society at The University of Texas, which recognizes students who made significant contributions to The University of Texas. The Friar Society's purpose is "to associate together leading members of the senior or graduate classes for mutual benefit and cooperation, and to promote the best interests of the University and the student body."[5][6]
Southern was inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2013),[7]Sunset High School Hall of Fame,[8] and Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame.[9]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eddie Southern.
^ abcEvans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020.
^Peeler, Ben (May 11, 1955). "Talking to Myself..." Odessa American. p. 10.
^"Eddie Southern". Olympedia. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
^Friar Society rings in 100 years | UT News May 3, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. The University of Texas at Austin (April 5, 2011). Retrieved on 2017-08-21.
^Texas selects 2010 Men's Hall of Honor class. University of Texas Athletics (September 11, 2010). Retrieved on 2017-08-21.
^Inductees – Name, Category, Year January 16, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. TX TF Hall of Fame. Retrieved on August 21, 2017.
^Track & Field – Sunset High School Alumni Association. Sunsetalumni.com. Retrieved on August 21, 2017.
^. databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2007. Retrieved July 15, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
May 02, 2024
eddie, southern, silas, edward, southern, january, 1938, 2023, american, sprinter, hurdler, silver, medal, metres, hurdles, 1956, olympics, another, silver, medal, relay, 1959, american, games, southern, 1958personal, informationbirth, namesilas, edward, south. Silas Edward Southern January 4 1938 May 17 2023 was an American sprinter and hurdler who won a silver medal in the 400 metres hurdles at 1956 Olympics He won another silver medal in the 4 400 m relay at the 1959 Pan American Games Eddie SouthernSouthern in 1958Personal informationBirth nameSilas Edward SouthernNicknameFast EddieBorn 1938 01 04 January 4 1938Dallas Texas U S 1 DiedMay 17 2023 2023 05 17 aged 85 Height6 ft 0 5 in 1 842 m Weight179 lb 81 kg SportCountry United StatesSportAthleticsEvent s Sprint hurdlesCollege teamTexas LonghornsCoached byClyde LittlefieldAchievements and titlesPersonal best s 100 yd 9 5 1958 220 yd 20 5 1958 400 m 45 5 1958 110 mH 14 1 1957 400 mH 49 7 1956 1 2 Medal record Representing the United States Olympic Games 1956 Melbourne 400 m hurdles Pan American Games 1959 Chicago 4 400 m Contents 1 Early life 2 College 3 International career 4 Death 5 Honors 6 ReferencesEarly life editSouthern was a 1955 graduate of Dallas Sunset High School where he won four individual State Championships and set two State and National High School Records was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 meter hurdles as well as sprints and relays He was clocked at 20 7 seconds in the 220 yard dash best ever by a high school student in Texas or any other state Then he turned right around and broke the state and national records in the 440 yard event with a time of 47 2 seconds 3 College editSouthern went on to compete in track amp field at the University of Texas where he was 1959 NCAA 440 yard champion and a member of World Record 440 and 880 yard relay teams Running for Clyde Littlefield at the University of Texas Southern led the Longhorns to Southwest Conference titles from 1957 to 1959 Individually he earned three straight 440 yard SWC championships in 1957 1958 1959 and the 1959 NCAA quarter mile title Southern ran the anchor for the world record 440 and 880 yard relays while at University of Texas International career editSouthern competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in the 400 meter hurdles where he won the silver medal As an 18 year old Southern as a Texas youth set the Olympic Record in the 400 metres hurdles 50 1 seconds in the semifinals in 1956 at Melbourne on his way to taking the silver medal to fellow American Glenn Davis s gold Southern won another silver medal in the 4 400 m relay at the 1959 Pan American Games 1 Death editSouthern died on May 17 2023 at the age of 85 4 Honors editIn 1956 Southern was inducted into the Friar Society the oldest honor society at The University of Texas which recognizes students who made significant contributions to The University of Texas The Friar Society s purpose is to associate together leading members of the senior or graduate classes for mutual benefit and cooperation and to promote the best interests of the University and the student body 5 6 Southern was inducted into the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame 2013 7 Sunset High School Hall of Fame 8 and Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame 9 Southern was selected in the 29th round of the 1959 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears but did not play in the league 10 References edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eddie Southern a b c Evans Hilary Gjerde Arild Heijmans Jeroen Mallon Bill et al Eddie Southern Olympics at Sports Reference com Sports Reference LLC Archived from the original on April 17 2020 Eddie Southern trackfield brinkster net Peeler Ben May 11 1955 Talking to Myself Odessa American p 10 Eddie Southern Olympedia Retrieved May 18 2023 Friar Society rings in 100 years UT News Archived May 3 2015 at the Wayback Machine The University of Texas at Austin April 5 2011 Retrieved on 2017 08 21 Texas selects 2010 Men s Hall of Honor class University of Texas Athletics September 11 2010 Retrieved on 2017 08 21 Inductees Name Category Year Archived January 16 2017 at the Wayback Machine TX TF Hall of Fame Retrieved on August 21 2017 Track amp Field Sunset High School Alumni Association Sunsetalumni com Retrieved on August 21 2017 1 dead link 1959 Chicago Bears databaseFootball com Archived from the original on April 9 2007 Retrieved July 15 2020 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eddie Southern amp oldid 1194283661, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
