What did NCAA champion track and field athletes normally do following graduation in the 1950s?
At that time you went in the armed service after you finished college because the mandatory draft was in effect. I had anticipated being drafted when I started at Marquette but when I got there I got involved with everything on the track right away. I planned on enrolling in ROTC but Bus told me it was too late. So, I was subject to the draft and that was a two year commitment. Those who were in ROTC went in as officers, but I went in as an enlisted man and took my basic training like everyone else did. Then I was earmarked for athletics. After Marquette when you were drafted into the U.S. Army, how did this allow you to continue training as a track and field athlete? In my last year at Marquette with Bus we competed at Madison Square Garden and I was approached by officers of the U.S. Army. They knew my background and told me they would be watching for me because they wanted me to participate in the armed forces program leading up to the Pan-American Games in Mexico in 1955. They pick
