Mel Patton, Southern California: Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame, Class of 2022

Mel Patton had an inauspicious initial NCAA Championships – taking seventh in the 100 as a freshman – but he never lost an NCAA final in his final three years. His collection of five NCAA Outdoor 100 or 200 titles is second only to the six of fellow inductee Ralph Metcalfe.

He twice equaled the 100-yard world record of 9.4 – including once in the heats prior to his first NCAA title in 1947 – before registering the first 9.3 in in 1948. The ratified old record was shared by him and four others, including Jesse Owens from his famous Day of Days in 1935.

After the first of his 100/200 NCAA sweeps, Patton’s 1948 summer included a 200-meter WR of 20.7 at the Final Olympic Trials before winning Olympic gold at the 1948 Olympics in London (where he also anchored the victorious U.S. 4×100 relay team).

By Patton’s senior year in 1949 he’d gained the nickname of “Pell Mell” and he set his fifth world record as a collegian, clocking 20.2 in the straightaway version of the 220 – breaking yet another record set by Owens in his Day of Days. He finished the year with a second straight sweep of NCAA sprint titles.