Throwing their weight around: The blue-collar stars of the Relays

Glen McMicken

	Michael Carter (Photo: AP)

Texans love to do things big -- from landholdings like the enormous King Ranch to the hairspray-supported coifs on the heads of the state’s grand dames. But few things come as big as the legends of the shot put and discus throwers who have left a sizable mark on Texas Relays history.

From the earliest days of the Relays, the hefty heavers have thrilled the crowds. Olympic legends like Al Oerter and Randy Matson got their start as collegians at the Relays, and record-holders Randy Barnes, Michael Carter and Darrow Hooper populate the lists of past champions.

Oerter, one of the all-time Olympic greats with four gold medals in the discus, captured three straight Relays discus titles for the Kansas Jayhawks from 1956-1958, and added the 1958 shot gold for good measure. Hooper dominated the university division shot and discus for Texas A&M from 1951-1953, taking all six available titles, and he also won two shot crowns in the high school division in 1948-1949.