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The
Lightbody Award
The Lightbody Award is the highest honor bestowed on an
individual by the Delaware County Sports Heritage Foundation.
It recognizes that contributions of an individual who has
excelled in the participation, support or promotion of athletics
with a link to Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana.
James Davies Lightbody was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
in 1882. His family traveled to Muncie (Delaware County),
Indiana where he went to high school before attending the
University of Chicago. The legendary coach Amos Alonzo
Stagg recruited him there. He went on to establish
himself as one of the premier track athletes of the early
20th century. Jim Lightbody distinguished himself
at the 1904 Olympic games in St. Louis where he captured
three gold medals and one silver medal.
At these Olympic Games, he won the steeplechase race, an
event he had never ran before, when he beat the favored
runner for his first Olympic victory. He also won
a gold medal as an underdog in the 800-meter race, establishing
an Olympic record with a time of 1:56.0. He continued
his dominance by setting a world record in capturing the
1,500-meter race in 4:05.4. He was part of the Chicago
Athletic Association team that captured a silver medal in
the four-mile cross-country team race.
Jim Lightbody won national AAU races in the one-half mile
and mile races in 1905. At the Intercalated Games
in Athens, Greece in 1906, he won a gold medal in the 1,500-meter
race and a silver medal in the 800-meter event.
After a illustrious career, Jim Lightbody settled in Charleston,
South Carolina where he died in March 1953.
James Lightbody
Award
Selection Process
The selection
for the Lightbody Award is as follows:
1. Nomination
for this award must be made by a current Delaware County
Athletic Hall of Fame board member. The nomination
must be narrative in nature and presented in writing to
the board.
2. After presentation
of the nomination and any necessary discussion a ballot
vote will be taken. A person selected to receive a
ballot for voting and the 90% required for selection will
be taken for the remaining ballots.
3. In the event
that a board member is unable to attend the selection meeting,
a proxy will be provided and cast by the member unable to
attend. In the event that the nominee is a member
of the board, he/she will not receive a ballot for voting
and the 90% required for selection will be taken for the
remaining ballots.
4. Only one recipient
of this award may be selected each year. If there
is more than one nomination for the award, the board will
decide which nominee will be placed on the ballot each year
and other nominees will be placed on the list to be considered
in future years.
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