V 1 N. 14 Bill Dellinger, R.I.P. Olympic 5000M Bronze 1964, U. of Oregon Coach for Many Years

 

                                                                        Bill Dellinger

I just heard this morning of Bill Dellinger's passing.   He has been such a longtime part of Oregon's running legacy.  My blog partner Roy Mason and I had the honor of visiting Bill at his home in Eugene a few years ago.  We did not just knock on the door and walk in, we came with an acquaintance of Bill.  The home is only a few blocks away from where Pre had his last ride.   Bill had suffered a hemiplaegic stroke yet was still a remarkable host while we were there.  The first indication as we walked through the door that this would be an epic experience was when we saw a beer keg just inside the front door and were encouraged to help ourselves.   Bill who had no idea who we were was still a warm and welcoming person and showed us around the house which had an incredible array of memorabilia on the walls.  His speech was somewhat inhibited but he did not let that get in his way of being a warm and friendly person and willing to share a laugh or two.  I asked him about what he thought of Bob Schul and he made a bit of a scowl, but then said they had made up on any of their differences since the good old days.    Of the several trips I've made to Eugene in the past ten years,  meeting Bill Dellinger on his turf was the highlight.   

Here is a link to that visit Roy and I made at Bill's place.

George and Roy's Excellent Adventure Part 2

Always enjoy what you send.  I remember the visit to Dellinger's home.  Honored to be invited even if it was friend of a friend of a friend status.  Most vivid memory of that visit was sitting on the floor playing with Bill's dog.  Roy

Nice article, George.   I remember seeing a few of Pre's races.  But the one that I remember the most was his senior year running at the "Golden West" meet in Sacramento in '69.   He ran and won the Mile in about 4:05 as I recall.

I was there with Gary Cameron a Talawanda jumper that I had coached.  Gary had a best of 6'71/2" at that time.  He got an invitation due to winning the Chicago all star meet called the "Golden MIdwest".  It was just started that year

and Joe Newton was the driving force to start that meet.  Later Keebler Corporation became it's sponsor.  Tragically Gary just recently passed away.  He had gone on to be a 7' jumper (straddle roll with straight lead leg, like Brumel) at Miami U..    Joe

Happy 4th of July.

Joe

Think of you often.  Will send a more insightful email tonight when I'm not burdened with sobriety.  Roy