UCLA dedicates track at Drake Stadium to Olympic icon Rafer Johnson and wife Betsy
May 2, 2024
The track at UCLA's Drake Stadium was formally dedicated Friday to alumnus and 1960 Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson and his wife, a fellow Bruin, Betsy. Johnson led UCLA to its first track & field NCAA championship in 1956 and started at forward on the basketball team for the 1958-59 season. He was also student body president in 1959, becoming the second African-American student to hold the position in school history. Johnson was inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1974 and was selected to light the Olympic cauldron at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum a decade later. Following his retirement from competition, Johnson and a small group of volunteers founded Special Olympics Southern California; each year, the organization gives out a humanitarian award in his honor.