MVC Hall of Fame Release

GRINNELL, Iowa - Grinnell College alum F. Morgan Taylor '26, who achieved legendary status at Grinnell College and went on to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games, has been named to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Hall of Fame.

The 24th MVC Hall of Fame class also features two of the league's "Founding Fathers" in Clark W. Hetherington of Missouri and James Naismith of Kansas; a college basketball Hall of Famer in Maurice Cheeks of West Texas State; a two-time NCAA champion in men's basketball in Tom Thacker of Cincinnati; a star women's basketball player and coach in Connie Yori of Creighton; the league's first three-time softball MVC Pitcher of the Year in Tara (Oltman) Higgins of Creighton; and a Pro Football and College Football Hall of Famer in "Mean" Joe Greene of North Texas State.

A medal winner at three Olympic Games, Taylor is Grinnell's most famous athlete and the first former athlete from Grinnell inducted into the MVC Hall of Fame. Grinnell was a league member for 21 seasons (from 1918 through 1939). Taylor took the gold in his specialty, the 400-meter hurdles, at the Paris Olympics in 1924 in a then-record time of 52.6 seconds. Running for the Illinois Athletic Club of Chicago, he placed third at Amsterdam in 1928. And in 1932 at Los Angeles, where he was the U.S. flag bearer, he won the bronze medal again despite a sore leg. His Olympic accomplishments and four national AAU championships in the hurdles won him election to the prestigious Helms Foundation National Hall of Fame in 1967.

Taylor dominated college competition in several track events, and still holds Grinnell's record in the hurdles and the long jump at 25-2. At Grinnell, the Sioux City, Iowa, native also was an ace pass catcher in football. In 1925 he grabbed a 40-yard toss that helped the Pioneers nick Iowa State, 14-13. On campus he was an all-around achiever, pursuing dramatics and vocal music as well as athletics.

Later Taylor, who was inducted into Grinnell's inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame class in 1995, found success as a retail business executive. He passed away in 1975.