Ralph Metcalfe, Marquette: Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame, Class of 2022

Ralph Metcalfe was the first athlete to win two 100-200 doubles at the NCAA Championships. He was also the first to win three, and that collection includes the first – and still only – three-peat in the 200 meters/220 yards.

Two of Metcalfe’s sweeps are unique in that they included world records – just part of 12 WRs he set or tied as a collegian. As a sophomore he earned silver (100) and bronze (200) medals in the 1932 Olympics.

No one’s post-collegiate career was part of the selection to this Hall of Fame, but Metcalfe’s is hard to ignore – coaching the first HBCU team to a Penn Relays title (1939 4×100 by Xavier/New Orleans), rising to first Lieutenant during World War II for the U.S. Army and serving four terms in the U.S. Congress for Chicago up until his death in 1978.