No. 34 | |
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Position: | Tackle |
Personal information | |
Born: | Oak Grove, Louisiana, U.S. | June 20, 1912
Died: | November 10, 1969 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. | (aged 57)
Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Weight: | 285 lb (129 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Oak Grove (LA) |
College: | LSU |
Career history | |
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
Career NFL statistics | |
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
John Torrance (June 20, 1912 – November 10, 1969) [1] was an American shot putter and American football player. Torrance broke the shot put world record several times in 1934, his eventual best mark of 17.40 m remaining unbeaten until 1948. At the 1936 Summer Olympics he placed fifth.
Torrance studied at Louisiana State University, competing for the LSU Tigers in a variety of sports and events. Although shot put was his best event, he was also a good discus thrower, football player and basketball player. [2] In 1933, his junior year, he won his first NCAA championship in the shot, throwing a meet record 16.10 m (52 ft 10 in) to beat his challengers by more than two feet. [3] In addition, he placed third in the discus. [4] LSU won the NCAA team title that year, narrowly beating favored University of Southern California. [5] [6] Torrance also won the national championship in the shot that year, throwing 15.68 m (51 ft 4+7⁄8 in) to beat Stanford's Gordon Dunn and John Lyman. [7] His winning mark at the NCAAs was the best in the world that year and only four inches short of František Douda's world record of 16.20 m. [8] [9] [10]
Torrance reached his peak in 1934, becoming the world's leading shot putter. [9] His main rival that year was John Lyman. [9] [11] Torrance broke Douda's world record in Lafayette on March 24, throwing 16.30 m (53 ft 6 in). [11] [12] Lyman tied that mark on April 14 [11] [13] and then threw 16.48 m (54 ft 3⁄4 in) on April 21, setting a new world record. [10] [14] [15] However, that record lasted for only six days as Torrance improved to 16.80 m (55 ft 1+1⁄2 in) at the Drake Relays. [10] [14] In May, he reached 17.19 m (56 ft 5 in) in an unofficial exhibition. [9] [11]
Torrance successfully defended both his NCAA title and his national title. At the 1934 NCAA championships he won with a put of 16.62 m (54 ft 6+9⁄16 in), defeating Lyman by almost a foot. [3] [11] [16] However, he failed to qualify for the discus final. [17] At the June 30 national championships in Milwaukee, Lyman improved to 16.70 m (54 ft 9+1⁄2 in), better than Torrance's NCAA mark; however, Torrance won with 16.89 m (55 ft 5+1⁄4 in), breaking his own world record. [7]
Torrance then went on a European tour. He set his final world record at Bislett in Oslo on August 5, throwing 17.40 m (57 ft 1 in). [9] [10] [18] In a separate competition in the same meet, he threw 16.73 m (54 ft 10+5⁄8 in) with his right hand and 11.95 m (39 ft 2+3⁄8 in) with his left hand to break the world record total for both hands by one centimeter. [19] In total, he had ten competitions of 16.45 m (53 ft 11+1⁄2 in) or better during 1934. [20]
While Torrance did not improve his record in 1935, he remained the world's leading shot putter. [9] He was national champion both in the indoors and outdoors event [1] and topped the world list at 16.60 m (54 ft 5+1⁄2 in), ahead of Germany's Hans Woellke and Lyman. [8] With the Olympic Games in Berlin less than a year away, he was considered not only a clear favorite for the Olympic shot put, [9] but one of America's top prospects in any event. [21]
Torrance, though, was badly overweight by the summer of 1936, weighing 325 pounds in July. [22] Attempts to reduce his weight ahead of the Olympics were unsuccessful. [23] He had also cut down on training. [20] Even so, he entered the Olympics as the world leader [24] and winner of the United States Olympic Trials. [20] In Berlin, he only managed 15.38 m (50 feet 5+1⁄2 in), placing him fifth. [1]
After the Olympics, Torrance turned his attention to other sports. He debuted as a boxer in December 1936, knocking out Owen Flynn in the first round. [25] [26] [27] His next three bouts were also quick knock-out wins. [28] In the aftermath of an aborted February 1937 fight, however, his manager Herbert Brodie was suspended and fined for attempting to fix his matches. [29] Torrance himself was found not to have played a part and continued his boxing career. [29] On April 28, 1937 he was knocked out in the second round by Abe Simon [30] [31] and his boxing career subsequently went on a downward spiral. [32]
He subsequently worked briefly as a policeman, a car salesman and as custodian of the old Louisiana State House. [33] [34] In 1939 he signed with Chicago Bears of the National Football League. [35] He played tackle in a total of fifteen games in 1939 and 1940. [36]
Torrance's shot put world record outlasted his sports career, remaining in the books until Charlie Fonville threw 17.68 m (58 ft 1⁄4 in) on April 17, 1948. [10] [37] Torrance was inducted in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1961. [38] He died in November 1969 of a heart attack. [38] In 2015, Torrance was inducted into the USATF Hall of Fame in New York City.
No. 34 | |
---|---|
Position: | Tackle |
Personal information | |
Born: | Oak Grove, Louisiana, U.S. | June 20, 1912
Died: | November 10, 1969 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. | (aged 57)
Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Weight: | 285 lb (129 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Oak Grove (LA) |
College: | LSU |
Career history | |
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
Career NFL statistics | |
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
John Torrance (June 20, 1912 – November 10, 1969) [1] was an American shot putter and American football player. Torrance broke the shot put world record several times in 1934, his eventual best mark of 17.40 m remaining unbeaten until 1948. At the 1936 Summer Olympics he placed fifth.
Torrance studied at Louisiana State University, competing for the LSU Tigers in a variety of sports and events. Although shot put was his best event, he was also a good discus thrower, football player and basketball player. [2] In 1933, his junior year, he won his first NCAA championship in the shot, throwing a meet record 16.10 m (52 ft 10 in) to beat his challengers by more than two feet. [3] In addition, he placed third in the discus. [4] LSU won the NCAA team title that year, narrowly beating favored University of Southern California. [5] [6] Torrance also won the national championship in the shot that year, throwing 15.68 m (51 ft 4+7⁄8 in) to beat Stanford's Gordon Dunn and John Lyman. [7] His winning mark at the NCAAs was the best in the world that year and only four inches short of František Douda's world record of 16.20 m. [8] [9] [10]
Torrance reached his peak in 1934, becoming the world's leading shot putter. [9] His main rival that year was John Lyman. [9] [11] Torrance broke Douda's world record in Lafayette on March 24, throwing 16.30 m (53 ft 6 in). [11] [12] Lyman tied that mark on April 14 [11] [13] and then threw 16.48 m (54 ft 3⁄4 in) on April 21, setting a new world record. [10] [14] [15] However, that record lasted for only six days as Torrance improved to 16.80 m (55 ft 1+1⁄2 in) at the Drake Relays. [10] [14] In May, he reached 17.19 m (56 ft 5 in) in an unofficial exhibition. [9] [11]
Torrance successfully defended both his NCAA title and his national title. At the 1934 NCAA championships he won with a put of 16.62 m (54 ft 6+9⁄16 in), defeating Lyman by almost a foot. [3] [11] [16] However, he failed to qualify for the discus final. [17] At the June 30 national championships in Milwaukee, Lyman improved to 16.70 m (54 ft 9+1⁄2 in), better than Torrance's NCAA mark; however, Torrance won with 16.89 m (55 ft 5+1⁄4 in), breaking his own world record. [7]
Torrance then went on a European tour. He set his final world record at Bislett in Oslo on August 5, throwing 17.40 m (57 ft 1 in). [9] [10] [18] In a separate competition in the same meet, he threw 16.73 m (54 ft 10+5⁄8 in) with his right hand and 11.95 m (39 ft 2+3⁄8 in) with his left hand to break the world record total for both hands by one centimeter. [19] In total, he had ten competitions of 16.45 m (53 ft 11+1⁄2 in) or better during 1934. [20]
While Torrance did not improve his record in 1935, he remained the world's leading shot putter. [9] He was national champion both in the indoors and outdoors event [1] and topped the world list at 16.60 m (54 ft 5+1⁄2 in), ahead of Germany's Hans Woellke and Lyman. [8] With the Olympic Games in Berlin less than a year away, he was considered not only a clear favorite for the Olympic shot put, [9] but one of America's top prospects in any event. [21]
Torrance, though, was badly overweight by the summer of 1936, weighing 325 pounds in July. [22] Attempts to reduce his weight ahead of the Olympics were unsuccessful. [23] He had also cut down on training. [20] Even so, he entered the Olympics as the world leader [24] and winner of the United States Olympic Trials. [20] In Berlin, he only managed 15.38 m (50 feet 5+1⁄2 in), placing him fifth. [1]
After the Olympics, Torrance turned his attention to other sports. He debuted as a boxer in December 1936, knocking out Owen Flynn in the first round. [25] [26] [27] His next three bouts were also quick knock-out wins. [28] In the aftermath of an aborted February 1937 fight, however, his manager Herbert Brodie was suspended and fined for attempting to fix his matches. [29] Torrance himself was found not to have played a part and continued his boxing career. [29] On April 28, 1937 he was knocked out in the second round by Abe Simon [30] [31] and his boxing career subsequently went on a downward spiral. [32]
He subsequently worked briefly as a policeman, a car salesman and as custodian of the old Louisiana State House. [33] [34] In 1939 he signed with Chicago Bears of the National Football League. [35] He played tackle in a total of fifteen games in 1939 and 1940. [36]
Torrance's shot put world record outlasted his sports career, remaining in the books until Charlie Fonville threw 17.68 m (58 ft 1⁄4 in) on April 17, 1948. [10] [37] Torrance was inducted in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1961. [38] He died in November 1969 of a heart attack. [38] In 2015, Torrance was inducted into the USATF Hall of Fame in New York City.