May 7, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
Already a member of the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center Hall of Fame, former Illinois State women's track and field coach Nell Jackson (1963-65) found an eternal home inside the Sports Museum of America (SmA). The Museum is the nation's first and only interactive, multimedia all-sports museum experience, is set to open in New York City Wednesday.
As part of the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center Hall of Fame, Jackson is among an elite group of women inducted to honor athletes, coaches and pioneers in women's sports. Her story is of a legendary woman who has paved the way for future generation of athletes.
At the 1956 Olympic Games, Mildred McDaniel of Atlanta won gold for the United States in the high jump with a record jump of 5' 9 ¼". Skinny 16-year-old Wilma Rudolph won her first medal-a bronze in the 100-meter relay. Behind the scenes, Jackson was also making history as the first African-American head coach of a U.S. Olympic track team.
Born July 1, 1929, in Athens, Georgia, Jackson was destined to do great things and would become an American record holder in the 200 meters. At youthful age of 15, she competed in her first national championships, and at 17, she was named to the U.S. All-America team. She competed on the 1948 U.S. Olympic team and in the first Pan-American Games in 1951, taking second in the 200 meters and running on the winning sprint relay team. In 1949, she set an American record of 24.2 seconds in the 200 meters. As a student at Tuskegee Institute, Jackson won the national title in the 200 meters in 1950 and anchored Tuskegee's winning 4 x 100-meter relay team.
Jackson later went on to teach and coach at Tuskegee Institute (1953-60 and 1962-63), Illinois State (1963-65), Illinois (1965-73), and Michigan State (1973-81). In 1972, she served as the U.S. Olympic women's track team head coach for a second time. Jackson served as Director of Physical Education and Intercollegiate Athletics at Binghamton University from 1981 to 1988.
During Jackson's coaching career, she coached such athletes such as Karyn Dennis, the 1976 National Champion in the 200-yard dash, and Naomia Rodgers, an Olympic high jumper in 1960. Jackson is also an inductee in the U.S. Track and Field Hall of Fame.
At the time of her death (April 1, 1988), she was secretary of The Athletics Congress (TAC) and had previously been a TAC vice president.
The Nell Jackson award is bestowed annually to an outstanding member of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators.
As the first museum to pay tribute to the history and excitement of all sports, SmA has partnered with more than 60 single sports halls of fame, national governing bodies and other top athletic organizations, to showcase inspiring exhibits, memorabilia, stories and heroes that resonate with fans of all ages. In addition to hosting the first women's sports hall of fame, SmA will also be the new permanent home of the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center and the legendary Heisman Trophy annual presentation.
