Torrance, Jack

▪ American athlete

byname  Baby Jack, or Baby Elephant  

born June 20, 1912, Weathersby, Miss., U.S.

died Nov. 11, 1969, Baton Rouge, La.

      American world-record holder in the shot put (1934–48).

      Torrance played tackle on the football team and was a member of the track team, the Fabulous Five, at Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge), the latter winning the 1933 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship. He broke the world shot-put record in 1934 and before the year was out had broken it twice more, his best throw being 17.40 m (57 feet 1 inch). He also set the Amateur Athletic Union record in 1934 that lasted until 1949. He set NCAA records in 1933 and 1934, but after 1934 he never bettered them. Though he put the shot in the 1936 Olympic Games at Berlin, he finished fifth with throws far short of his record.

      Later he boxed professionally, played with the Chicago Bears professional football team in 1939–40, was a deputy sheriff, and worked for a rubber and chemical company.

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