Parry O’Brien, the world’s first 60-foot shot putter and a two-time Olympic Games champion, died last week at 75 at a swim meet in Santa Clarita.
His story was told on newscasts all over the world – how he had developed a new technique for the shot put in the 1950s to revolutionize the sport.
What isn’t as well known is that O’Brien played football at Santa Monica High before that.
He went on to USC as a football player but suffered an injury. From then on he concentrated on track.
O’Brien held the world record in the shot put from 1953 to 1959. Later he went into banking and real estate. At the family’s request, there will be no service.
