He was inducted into the 2012 New Jersey Hall of Fame for his contributions to Sports. He was born in Plainfield, New Jersey.
Professional football player with the NFL's Cleveland Browns (1957) and the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1958), Montreal Allouettes (1959), and Toronto Argonauts (1961[1 game] & 1964).
Olympic decathlete. Won silver medal in 1952. In 1956 became first black athlete to win the gold medal in the decathlon.
Inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1989.
Received the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Gold Medallion Award in 2012.