Long before modern athletes began riding fiberglass poles to unimaginable heights, the Rev. To book Leicester Tigers Legend, Dean Richards, as the rugby speaker for your corporate event , function or conference, simply contact the Champions Rugby Speakers agency by filling in our online contact form. "We lost a national treasure today,". He retired to a ranch in Waco, where he owned a golf course. Until 2012, he had lived on a ranch in Santo, Texas, which he named the Crossbar Ranch and which was involved in numerous commercial activities, including oil and gas exploration and horse and cattle grazing. Richards will begin speaking at 7:30 p.m. and a reception is scheduled at the conclusion of the Series. He was 97. This is true in all of life. Bob Richards. I have been with my husband for four years, and married for about a year. In his life after sports, Richards portrayed himself in a television biography, Leap to Heaven (1957); hosted a weekly childrens television program in Los Angeles; reported for NBC, CBS and ABC on the Olympic Games in Rome; Innsbruck, Austria; Tokyo and Montreal; and delivered some 12,000 motivational speeches to corporate sales forces, high school students and community organizations. Keynote Speakers and Entertainers for Live and Virtual Events, Presentations & Speeches. At 20, he had been ordained a minister of the Church of the Brethren, an Anabaptist denomination, and the news media had reflexively called him the Vaulting Vicar and the Pole Vaulting Pastor. The world record is held by Armand Duplantis, an American-born Swedish athlete known as Mondo, who on Feb. 25 vaulted 20 feet 4-3/4 inches. His hands were pointed toward heaven in an attitude of prayer., Bob Richards, 97, pole-vaulting star who landed on Wheaties box, dies. Mark DeVolder is the Change Specialist and a pioneer in the field of transition management. Richards himself never vaulted more than 15 feet 6 inches. Don't be content with mediocrity - strive to live up to the greatest within you. The pole-vault competition lasted more than four hours. He also won 17 A.A.U. He is in a better place now and at peace.". He joined The Times in May 1961 and is also the co-author of two books. The 1952 Olympic Games were a symbolic watershed in the Cold War. Remaining cloudy. Unique in the industry, DeVolder is one of the few speakers who teaches leaders how to change. He also won 17 AAU championships in indoor and outdoor vaulting competitions, and United States decathlon championships in 1951, 1954 and 1955. Bob Richards, Pole-Vaulting Hero of the Cold War Era, Dies at 97. In college, Richards tied for the national collegiate pole vault title, and he continued adding to his victories with 20 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) wins. And he was perfect on the Wheaties box: a muscular all-American with a smile that radiated confidence, health and upright living. Up at 6:30, he must motor two hours to Louisville to appear on a morning television show, where he will follow a trained cockatoo. Although he hung up his cleats long ago, he continues to travel around the country as a motivational speaker. Robert (Bob) Richards generally travels from and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. He earned a bachelors degree in 1947 and a masters in 1948. Warmerdam, known as Dutch, might have been an odds-on Olympic favorite, but he never got to compete because the quadrennial Games were suspended in 1940 and 1944 for World War II, when he was serving as a Navy officer. Bob was world class in his events. Check out our list of the other top Christian motivational speakers here. And Richards made history, becoming the onlymale two-time winner of the Olympic pole vault, and with another record: 14 feet 11 inches. Everything that happens to you can happen for good if you have this spirit. Richards competed at the 1948, 52, and 56 Olympics in the pole vault. That marriage ended in divorce. He was 97. That distinction, as Richards acknowledged, belonged to Cornelius Warmerdam, a Californian who used bamboo poles to set world records of about 15 feet 8 inches in the early 1940s. Robert Eugene Richards was born on Feb. 20, 1926, in Champaign, Ill., the third of five children of Leslie and Margaret (Palfrey) Richards. Best Stephen Covey Quotes. Bob Richards, an ordained minister . Creating an off-Earth economy and multi-planet civilization will safeguard the long term prospects of humanity. He was 97. Although he hung up his cleats long ago, he continues to travel around the country as a motivational speaker. Previous speakers in the Series have included former Congressman Chet Edwards, Baylor University President Judge Kenneth Winston Starr, U.S. Astronaut Story Musgrave, and Eric Nadel the voice of the Texas Rangers. His son Paul confirmed the death. Hisson, Brandon, wrote in a social media post that his fatherpassed in his sleep peacefully surrounded by loved ones.. Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect. "We are very fortunate to have Bob Richards come and speak at our college," Hill College President Dr. Pam Boehm said. High 42F. / CBS News. LONDON - Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have been asked to give up the royal residence gifted to them to use by Queen Elizabeth II. He took home bronze in pole vaulting in his first year, but secured the gold medal in each of his next two appearances. The world record is held by Armand Duplantis, an American-born Swedish athlete known as Mondo, who on Feb. 25 vaulted 20 feet 4 inches. Warmerdam, known as Dutch, might have been an odds-on Olympic favorite, but he never got to compete because the quadrennial Games were suspended in 1940 and 1944 for World War II, when he was serving as a Navy officer. Strive for perfection - never be content with mediocrity. Bob Richards, an ordained minister who became the first athlete to appear on the front of a Wheaties box after he won two Olympic gold medals in the pole vault during the 1950s, an. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos . He won a bronze medal in his first Olympic go-around, followed by back-to-back gold medals. You don't win until you conquer the little flaws. He won 11 championship titles at the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Clean Responsive WordPress Newspaper, Magazine, News and Blog theme. He was 97. Browse Motivational Speakers in Orlando and contact your favorites. He also competed as a decathlete in 1956, in which he placed 13th. Richards became the face and voice of the cereal known as the Breakfast of Champions.. Richards carried the Olympic torch across Interstate 35 in Waco, Texas, in 1996. They are champions because they've been hurt. He also ran for president on the far-right Populist Party ticket in 1984, espousing a platform that called for abolishing personal income taxes, cutting the federal budget in half, repudiating the national debt, deporting immigrants in the country without legal permission and denying the right to vote to anyone on welfare for more than a year. 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He continued participating in track and field events as he aged, joining the World Masters Games in quadrennial competitions popular with retired professional athletes and former Olympic competitors. This article highlights the most influential and well-paid motivational speakers across the globe, as reported by LearnBusiness Studies. He also ran for president on the far-right Populist Party ticket in 1984, espousing a platform that called for abolishing personal income taxes, cutting the federal budget in half, repudiating the national debt, deporting illegal immigrants and denying the right to vote to anyone on welfare for more than a year. Actually, hell take every charge. In fact, as a youth Richards, the son of a broken home, had run with a gang of thieves and brawlers, and five of his friends went to prison for robbery. Richards was interested in athletics from boyhood, participating in diving and tumbling before . The Reverend Bob Richards was a theology professor in California when he qualified for the U.S. Olympic team as a pole vaulter in 1952. You are what you think you are. Besides winning two gold medals in the Olympics in the 1950s, he took a bronze medal at the 1948 Olympics in London and gold at the Pan American Games in 1951 and 1955. The family that plays and prays together stays together, Richards intoned on countless occasions. He earned a bachelors degree in 1947 and a masters in 1948. Cold War tensions again played out in the 1956 Melbourne Games. His or her story is moving and inspiring, perhaps about having overcome adversity and/or with an emotional story to share . After his athletic career, the "Pole Vaulting Pastor" went on to become a sportscaster and motivational speaker, Brandon Richards said. A personal failing, a little one, can ruin a person's life. He had been a pastor in California only briefly, but the dual image of minister and champion athlete was irresistible on the speaking circuit. Goals give purpose. Richards became the face and voice of the cereal known as the Breakfast of Champions.. Anyone can read what you share. In 1970, he bicycled 3,300 miles from Los Angeles to New York to promote fitness. But he escaped the street life into religion and athletics. He won 11 championship titles at the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden. He tallied about 66,000 votes out of 92.6 million as President Ronald Reagan and the Republicans trounced Walter Mondale, the former Democratic vice president and senator from Minnesota. 12 Copy quote. Richards in 1951. Soviet athletes won the medals competition, 98 (37 gold) to 74 (32 gold) for the United States. Invalid password or account does not exist. But he escaped the street life into religion and athletics. Bob Richards, who resides in Waco, has been an American icon for more than eight decades in the area of track and field. That mark (pending official ratification) surpassed his own previous five world records, all over 20 feet and all set since 2020. After his athletic career, the "Pole Vaulting Pastor" went on to become a sportscaster and motivational speaker, Brandon Richards said. I'd estimate more than 5 million people could have beaten me in the pole vault the years I won it at least 5 million. Richards made the Olympic team that competed in the Games in London in 1948 and won a bronze medal. Bob Richards. Faith gives courage. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. "He always motivated us kids the same way to be the best we could be.". One day, well get out of all this flag-waving and nationalism. You have permission to edit this article. In fact, as a youth Richards, the son of a broken home, had run with a gang of thieves and brawlers, and five of his friends went to prison for robbery. Even Richardss son Brandon, as a teenager using a fiberglass pole in 1985, vaulted 18 feet 2 inches, which was then a national record for a high schooler and stood for 14 years. Richards grew up as a "skinny poor kid from Illinois with stuttering speech," his son wrote. Todays top male vaulters, with refined techniques and springy fiberglass poles that bow almost to U shapes, routinely soar over crossbars set above 19 feet. But from 1947 to 1957, he dominated national and international competitions by clearing 15 feet more than 125 times. And Richards made history, becoming the only male two-time winner of the Olympic pole vault, and with another record: 14 feet 11-1/2 inches. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. I learned something the other day that I believe will be interesting to Heloise readers. By ROBERT D. McFADDEN Alex Traub contributed reporting. An American motivational speaker, author and entrepreneur. That distinction, as Richards acknowledged, belonged to Cornelius Warmerdam, a Californian who used bamboo poles to set world records of about 15 feet 8 inches in the early 1940s. Bob Stoops for Hard Rock, Tulsa. His father was a telephone lineman. That mark (pending official ratification) surpassed his own previous five world records, all over 20 feet and all set since 2020. Until 2012, he had lived on a ranch in Santo, Texas, which he named the Crossbar Ranch and which was involved in numerous commercial activities, including oil and gas exploration and horse and cattle grazing. In his life after sports, Richards portrayed himself in a television biography, Leap to Heaven (1957); hosted a weekly childrens television program in Los Angeles; reported for NBC, CBS and ABC on the Olympic Games in Rome, Innsbruck, Tokyo and Montreal; and delivered some 12,000 motivational speeches to corporate sales forces, high school students and community organizations. His hands were pointed toward heaven in an attitude of prayer., Your email address will not be published. Advertisement Richards in 1951. No matter how good you may be, you've got to be willing to cut out of your life those things that keep you from going to the top. According to U.S.A. Track and Field, Brandon Richards even held the national high school record at one point. Bob Richards Motivation for Living - Side 1 Robert Eugene Richards (born February 20, 1926) is an American athlet Show more ICTV - 3 months ago Motivational Speech over. 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