Bob Dintelmann, former Illinois distance runner and winner of the 1957 Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor, celebrates his 80th birthday on Monday.
The Belleville native answered an ad in the Daily Illini and walked on to coach Leo Johnson’s track and field squad in January 1954. A few weeks later, Dintelmann placed third at the Big Ten Indoor Track Championships.
In the spring of 1957 at the Drake Relays, he ran a 4:11.5 mile, placing second behind Iowa’s Charles “Deacon” Jones, who won the event in 4:10.8.
Dintelmann’s time would have established an Illini record, but Illinois had a rule that didn’t permit a non-winning time to be a record.