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Bob Hayes
Date of birth	December 20, 1942
Place of birth	Jacksonville, FL
Date of death	September 18, 2002 (age 59)
Place of death	Jacksonville, FL
Position(s)	Wide receiver
College	Florida A&M
NFL Draft	1964 / Round 7/ Pick 88
Career Highlights
Pro Bowls	3
Honors	Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor
Stats
Statistics	DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1965-1974 1975	Dallas Cowboys San Francisco 49ers

Olympic medal record
Men's Athletics
Gold	1964 Tokyo	100 metres
Gold	1964 Tokyo	4x100m relay

Robert Lee ("Bullet Bob") Hayes (December 20, 1942 - September 18, 2002) was an American track and field athlete and American football player. He was a two-sport athlete in college where he excelled in both track and football at Florida A&M. He would miss part of his senior year in college because of his 1964 Olympic bid for U.S. Gold.

Contents 1 Olympics 2 National Football League career 3 Death 4 Pro Football Hall of Fame eligibility 5 Links

At the 1964 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, Hayes had his finest hour as a sprinter. First, he won the 100 m by tying the current World Record in the 100 m even though he was running in lane 1 which had, the day before, been used for the 10km and this badly chewed up the cinder track. He also was running in borrowed spikes because one of his shoes had been kicked under the bed when he was playing with some friends and he didn't realize until he got there. This was followed by a second gold medal in the 4 x 100 m relay, which also produced a new World Record.

Hayes ran the final leg like he was shot out of a cannon. His leg was the fastest ever (at 8.5 seconds) according to many critics. His come from behind win for the US team was one of the most memorable Olympic events. Jocelyn Delecour, France's last leg runner, famously said to Paul Drayton before the relay final that "you can't win, all you have is Bob Hayes." Drayton was able to reply, after the race "all you need..." The relay race was also Hayes' last race as a track and field athlete as he permanently switched to football after it.

At the end of that same year, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys, playing as a wide receiver. His first two seasons were most successful, during which he led the NFL both times in receiving touchdowns. In 1966 when the Cowboys played at Washington, Hayes caught 9 passes for 246 yards.

Earlier that same season he caught 6 passes for 195 yards against the Giants at the Cotton Bowl. Hayes' speed forced other teams to develop the zone defense since no single player could keep up with him. By spreading the defense out in order to contain Hayes, it allowed the Cowboys running game, with players like Don Perkins, Calvin Hill, Walt Garrison and Duane Thomas to flourish. Hayes returned punts for the Cowboys and was the NFL's leading punt returner in 1968 with a 20.8 yards per return average and 2 touchdowns including a 90 yarder against Pittsburgh. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times and All Pro four times. He helped Dallas win 5 Eastern Conference titles, 2 NFC titles, played in two Super Bowls, and was instrumental in Dallas' first ever Super Bowl victory in 1971, making Hayes the only person so far to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. Later in his career, as defenses improved playing zone and "bump and run coverage" was developed, Hayes' value as a decoy diminished. Hayes played one season for the San Francisco 49ers before retiring.

Hayes was the first player in the history of the Dallas franchise to surpass 1000 yards receiving in a single season, and he did that in his rookie year by finishing with 1,003 yards. Also during his rookie year, he lead the team with 46 receptions and set franchise records for total touchdowns (13) and total receiving TDs (12). He finished his 11-year career with 371 receptions for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns, giving him an impressive 20 yards per catch average. (Both career TDs and yds per catch average remain franchise records.) He also rushed for 68 yards, gained 581 yards on 23 kickoff returns, and returned 104 punts for 1,158 yards and 3 touchdowns. To this day, Hayes holds 10 regular-season receiving records, four punt return records and 22 overall franchise marks, making him one of the greatest receivers to ever play for the Dallas Cowboys.

On September 18, 2002, Hayes died in his hometown Jacksonville of kidney failure aged 59, after battling prostate cancer and liver ailments.

Hayes was close to being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004, but was denied the opportunity in the final round of decision making. The decision was marred by controversy, with many claiming that the Hall of Fame Senior Selection Committee had a bias against members of the Dallas Cowboys and other NFL teams. Others believe Hayes' longstanding problems with drug abuse marred his chances. Shortly after the announcement of the new 2004 Hall of Fame members, long-time Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman resigned from the Selection Committee in protest of the decision to leave Hayes out of the Hall.

• http://run-down.com/guests/jc_bobhayes.php

Olympic champions in men's 100 m

1896: Tom Burke | 1900: Frank Jarvis | 1904: Archie Hahn | 1908: Reggie Walker | 1912: Ralph Craig | 1920: Charlie Paddock | 1924: Harold Abrahams | 1928: Percy Williams | 1932: Eddie Tolan | 1936: Jesse Owens | 1948: Harrison Dillard | 1952: Lindy Remigino | 1956: Bobby Joe Morrow | 1960: Armin Hary | 1964: Bob Hayes | 1968: Jim Hines | 1972: Valeri Borzov | 1976: Hasely Crawford | 1980: Allan Wells | 1984: Carl Lewis | 1988: Carl Lewis | 1992: Linford Christie | 1996: Donovan Bailey | 2000: Maurice Greene | 2004: Justin Gatlin

Olympic champions in men's 4×100 m relay
1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004
1964 United States Otis Drayton, Gerald Ashworth, Richard Stebbins & Bob Hayes

Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor inductees

1975: Bob Lilly | [1976: Don Meredith | 1976: Don Perkins | 1977: Chuck Howley | 1981: Mel Renfro | 1983: Roger Staubach | 1989: Lee Roy Jordan | 1993: Tom Landry | 1994: Tony Dorsett | 1994: Randy White | 2001: Bob Hayes | 2003: Tex Schramm | 2004: Cliff Harris | 2004: Rayfield Wright | 2005: Troy Aikman | 2005: Emmitt Smith | 2005: Michael Irvin