Chuck Beckley

Chuck Beckley

Class of 1954
Inducted in 2002

Chuck Beckley ’54 was a record-setting sprinter who helped the Bishops win 3 outdoor and 2 indoor Ohio Athletic Conference track titles. He was not eligible to compete indoors his freshman year, but soon made his presence felt after freshmen became eligible on April 1, 1951, by winning the 440-yard dash in 4 meets that spring. As a sophomore, he was undefeated in the 440 indoors, winning the event in all 3 dual meets before setting an OAC record with a :52.9 in the conference championship meet. He also helped the mile relay to an OAC-record time of 3:38.5. Outdoors, he tied the OWU record in the 440 with a :49.7 in winning the season opener against Capital. He finished third in the 440, fifth in the 220 and helped the mile relay team win in 3:27.3 as OWU won the OAC outdoor title. The Bishop mile relay team also competed at the Penn Relays that spring, placing third. His junior year, he again won the 440 in every meet indoors and again set OAC records at the conference meet. At the OAC outdoor meet, he was second in the 440 and fifth in the 220 and anchored the first-place mile relay team (3:28.6) as OWU placed second. His senior year, he won the OAC indoor championship in the 440 in :52.6 as the Bishops won the OAC title. At the OAC outdoor meet, he set an OWU record with a :49.5 in the 440, added a fourth in the 220, anchored the first-place mile relay team and anchored the 3rd-place 880 relay team as the Bishops won the OAC title.