Monmouth University professor James Mack (l) struck up a friendship with Olympic decathlon champion Milt Campbell in recent years. When a memorial tribute for the late Olympic champion, who passed away last November, was held in Plainfield, Mack was invited to speak about Campbell’s humanitarian contributions. I n the twilight of his life, Olympic decathlon champion Milt Campbell finally received his long-overdue recognition.
Campbell passed away last November from prostrate cancer, but not before the most underappreciated of America’s Olympic decathlon champions enjoyed a victory tour.
That was in no small part due to Monmouth University Professor James Mack, who saw to it that the Plainfield native was overlooked no more.
It was Mack who brought Campbell back into the spotlight, less for his athletic accomplishment than for his social work. Mack was the force behind Campbell receiving an honorary degree from Monmouth — a Doctor of Public Service degree — in 2008.
Monmouth is the only university to have given Campbell an honorary degree.
“Milt’s athletic achievements are just one side,” Mack, a biology professor, said at the time. “Everything he did with the community and social work was outstanding. He inspired the young.”
Mack and Tim McLoone, Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School’s crosscountry coach and former collegiate distance running star at Harvard University, were the co-sponsors of Campbell’s nomination to the New Jersey Hall of Fame last year. Campbell joined actor Michael Douglas and St. Anthony High School (Jersey City) boys basketball coach Bob Hurley, among others, in the New Jersey Hall of Fame Class of 2012 last June.
It was an honor that Campbell truly appreciated.
“It is very special to me, saying that you contributed to the growth of your state,” he said at the time of his induction. “It’s fantastic to me.”
Because of all the work Mack had done for Campbell, he was invited to speak at the Aug. 10 Memorial Tribute for Campbell that his late brother, Thomas, held at the Emerson Elementary School in Plainfield.
“Milt dedicated his life to humanitarian efforts and community service, especially working with underprivileged children and adults,” Mack told those in attendance.
Mack cited Campbell’s return from Canada — he played professional football in the Canadian Football League — when the race riots broke out in 1967. He worked with the police to help ease tension and restore peace to Newark and Plainfield.
He was a co-founder of the Chad School in Newark. He was a strong advocate for education. Mack noted that Campbell’s answer to the rioters was, “Fighting is not the answer — education is.”
Campbell also supported the DARE program, Scared Straight and the Model Cities program in Newark, as well as the Special Olympics. He brought three Special Olympics students home with his family to care for.
In other words, the late Olympic champion was a role model for everyone.
“Milt showed us — not by word, but by his actions — the ways we can be a good humanitarian and serve our community,” Mack said.
Being a public servant came naturally to Campbell.
“I’m proud of the fact that I would come back to a troubled town and make a lot of sacrifices,” he said. “It was my turn to come back and give back. That’s the way I was brought up.”
During the last few years, Mack did more than just nominate Campbell — they became friends. He admired Campbell’s frankness, and how he would visit inmates in prison and tell them right off the top, “You’re in here because of what you did.”
Accountability was important to him. He went after public service with the same commitment and dedication that made him an Olympic champion. Mack said he will always remember the message on Campbell’s cell phone when he would call him and Campbell wasn’t available: “You know the drill.”
Of course, it’s as an athlete that Campbell made a name for himself. He was one of the greatest high school athletes in state history, if not the best.
He was a swimming state champion, football star and track and field champion at Plainfield High School. While still in high school, he made the 1952 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team that competed in Helsinski, Finland, and he won the silver medal behind Bob Mathias.
It was Campbell’s time in 1956. There would be no denying the Plainfield athlete, as he won the gold medal in Melbourne, setting the Olympic record in the process (7,934 points) and winning by the greatest margin in the event’s history (350 points) over future champion Rafer Johnson.
It was an historic triumph, as Campbell became the first African-American to earn the title “World’s Greatest Athlete,” which goes to the Olympic decathlon champion. After his Olympic triumph, Campbell played football professionally in both the National Football League, where he was a roommate of Jim Brown while playing with the Cleveland Browns, and the Canadian Football League as a member of the Montreal Alouettes.
Campbell is a member of the U.S. Track and Field, Swimming and NJSIAA Hall of Fames, as well as Indiana University’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He played football and ran track for the Hoosiers.
He was still inspiring athletes long after he retired. Dan O’Brien, the 1996 Olympic decathlon champion, spoke via video message at the tribute about how Campbell was a mentor to him.
The last year of Campbell’s life was fruitful. Along with his induction in the New Jersey Hall of Fame, he was a special guest along with the United States’ other decathlon champions at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.