Bill Carr

Who was Bill Carr?

William Arthur Carr was an American athlete, a double Olympic champion in 1932.

Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Carr studied at Mercersburg Academy and the University of Pennsylvania, where he was coached by 1904 Olympian Lawson Robertson. Carr's favorite events were the 440-yard dash, the 880 y and the long jump, but he had never managed to win a major race until 1932. At the IC4A championships of that year, he caused an enormous upset by beating world record holder Ben Eastman in the 440 y. He repeated this feat some weeks later at the Olympic Trials.

Now Carr was a favorite for the 400 m gold at the 1932 Summer Olympics, which were held in Los Angeles. He cruised through the heats, as did Eastman. In the final, Eastman led for most of the race, but with less than 100 m to go, Carr pulled up next to the Stanford athlete, and sprinted to victory in 46.2 seconds, a new world record, with Eastman taking the silver.

Carr won another gold medal as a member of the American 4x400m relay team, which did not include Eastman. The team nevertheless won easily, setting a new world record as well.

On March 17, 1933, Carr's athletic career was cut short when he was involved in a car accident. He broke both his ankles and his pelvis, and never competed again.