John Woodruff, Pittsburgh: Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame, Class of 2022

John Woodruff’s first prominence was in the mile. A national high school record setter in the event, he found no peer collegiately in the 880 yards and even added the 440 to his championship repertoire. His three years of Varsity competition at Pitt included three-straight NCAA 880 titles from 1937-39 that followed a trio of 440/880 doubles at the IC4A Championships.

Woodruff gained legendary status before any of those Varsity races. His first year collegiately was limited to the freshman squad, but in the summer he PRed in four-straight races and nearly set a world record to make the 800-meter team for the Olympics. A month later in Berlin he backed up his role as favorite, overcoming a slow pace to win Olympic gold in becoming the event’s first black winner.