Photo from the Indiana Track and Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame
Marion and Grant County boast a legacy of outstanding athletes across every sport and era. Our county has been represented by numerous men and women who have excelled in their athletic pursuits.
Residents remember Wayne and Natalie Seybold representing this area at the Olympics. They were not the first from Marion to reach the heights of Olympic competition. The first was Homer Thomas, a 1904 US Track and Field team member at the Olympics held at the World’s Fair in St. Louis.
According to the Indiana Track and Field Hall of Fame, Thomas was an outstanding student-athlete at Marion High School, a football halfback, and a national record holder in the twelve-pound hammer throw. In 1903, Thomas won the state finals with a 160-5 throw.
Homer attended Purdue, where he was selected as football team captain. In an article in the Marion Leader, Thomas said he looks forward to defeating Indiana.
After college and the Olympics, Thomas married in 1907. In 1917, he began coaching various sports at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He also ran a summer camp in Michigan until 1960.
Leader-Tribune (Marion, Indiana) · Thu, Jun 16, 1904 · Page 4
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Leader-Tribune (Marion, Indiana) · Wed, Apr 13, 1904 · Page 8
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Leader-Tribune (Marion, Indiana) · Mon, Oct 17, 1904 · Page 6
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Leader-Tribune (Marion, Indiana) · Tue, Nov 8, 1904 · Page 6
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