Boston College Athletics
Eagles Legend Harold Vincent Connolly Passes Away at Age 79
August 23, 2010 | Men's Track & Field
Aug. 23, 2010
Boston College alumnus Harold Vincent Connolly, former executive director of the Special Olympics and one of the most prolific figures in the history of hammer throwing, passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 18. He was 79.
A native of Brighton, Mass., Connolly won 12 national titles in the hammer throw as an Eagle. Two years after his graduation in 1953, he became the first American to surpass the 200-foot mark in the event. He made an unlikely rise to international fame when he won the gold medal in the hammer throw competition at the Melbourne Olympic Games a year later. The four-time Olympian held the world record in the event from Nov. 2, 1956 until Sept. 4, 1965, progressing the mark on six different occasions. Connolly reigned as the U.S. Track and Field Association champion in the event for seven consecutive years from 1955-61 and reclaimed the crown in 1964 and 1965. He is the last American to win gold in the hammer throw and just one of two to medal in the event in 54 years.
An original member of the Boston College Hall of Fame, Connolly suffered from severe nerve paralysis in his left arm at the time of his birth. He went through 11 years of physical therapy to be able to touch the fingers in his left hand with his thumb. Determined to be an athlete, Connolly tried football, baseball and track, until eventually becoming a hammer thrower under Eagles' head coach Bill Gilligan. Under Gilligan's guidance, the Brighton native went on to claim nine outdoor championships and three indoor titles in the hammer throw. After graduation, he became a teacher and coach in Boston and Los Angeles. In 1988, he was hand-picked by Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver to become the Director of the U.S. Programs for the Special Olympics International. He served the department until 1999. In 2005, Connolly was immortalized with a statue in front of William Howard Taft School in Brighton.
To read more about Harold Connolly, please visit:
Irish Massachusetts
IAAF World Athletics
USA Track & Field
Harold Connolly's Athletic Highlights
Olympic Results
| Year | Host City | Event | Place |
| 1956 | Melbourne | Hammer Throw | 1st |
| 1960 | Rome | Hammer Throw | 8th |
| 1964 | Tokyo | Hammer Throw | 6th |
| 1968 | Mexico City | Hammer Throw | -- |
World Record Marks in the Hammer Throw
| Distance in meters (ft.-in) | Date | Location |
| 68.54 (224-10.42) | Nov. 2, 1956 | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| 68.69 (225-4.33) | Nov. 2, 1958 | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| 70.33 (230-8.89) | June 20, 1960 | Walnut, Calif. |
| 70.67 (231-10.28) | Aug. 12, 1962 | Palo Alto, Calif. |
| 71.06 (233-1.63) | July 21, 1965 | Ceres, Calif. |
| 71.26 (233-9.51) | May 29, 1965 | Walnut, Calif. |
USTFA Hammer Throw Champion
| Year | Distance (ft.-in.) | Club Representing |
| 1955 | 199-8 | Boston AA |
| 1956 | 205-10.5 | Boston AA |
| 1957 | 216-3 | Boston AA |
| 1958 | 225-4 | Boston AA |
| 1959 | 216-10 | SC Stride |
| 1960 | 224-4.5 | SC Stride |
| 1961 | 213-6.5 | SC Stride |
| 1964 | 226-5.5 | CCAC |
| 1964* | 223-5.5 | -- |
| 1965 | 232-1 | CCAC |
*U.S. Track and Field Team Trial Champion
