In celebration of Arizona's centennial, the Star will feature our picks for the 100 best athletes, moments and teams.
Throughout the summer, we will showcase our list - with the first 90 in no particular order. In August, Greg Hansen will choose his top 10, with a column on each.
Henry Carr
Achievement
Henry Carr was a true champion on the track.
As a standout at Northwestern High School in Detroit, Carr won several state championships. State titles turned to national titles when Carr went to Arizona State to run in college.
He won three national titles for the Sun Devils, setting a then-world record in the 200-meter dash in 20.3 seconds. He also was a part of ASU's 4x400 relay team, which also won a national championship.
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The titles didn't stop there.
Carr traveled to the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and picked up right where he left off in college.
He set a then-Olympic record with another 20.3 in the 200 while winning the gold medal. He also anchored USA's gold-medal-winning 4x400 relay team and ran his leg in 44.5 seconds, helping set a world record of 3 minutes 0.7 of a second.
Carr's win in the 200 was a showcase event at the '64 Olympics because of the talent in the race. Carr was in second place down the stretch, but glided by USA teammate Paul Drayton in the final meters to win.
At age 21, it looked like Carr was just getting started winning Olympic gold medals. Instead, he opted to change career paths and switched his sport of choice to football.
With his blazing speed, NFL teams were interested in Carr, and the New York Giants selected him in the fourth round of the 1965 draft.
"Winning the Olympics was more of a personal, individual achievement," Carr told The Associated Press in 1966. "I think football is even more of an achievement for me. I can do more concrete things for myself and use football as a steppingstone for the future, along with my Olympic connections.
"I was a champion and I quit a champion."
Carr played three seasons with the Giants at cornerback and safety. He played in 38 games and had seven career interceptions.
Hometown, age
Detroit, 68
He said it
"There was nothing more for me to accomplish in track. ... I got out when the getting was good. I never have been sorry." - Carr, to the AP in 1966.
Daniel Berk
