Herb Carper is probably the fastest sprinter to
come out of Beaver County. On February 28, 1959, while serving in
the Army, he broke the world indoor record in the 60 yard dash
with a time of six seconds flat. In fact he did it twice in the same
day, in the preliminaries and in the final heat. He beat West
Germany’s Armin Nary and France’s Jocelyn Delacour on that memorable
day. And he tied his own record twice more in the same year. Herb,
a native of Bridgewater, was noted for his fast start. He scored
over 100 points in each of his three years of track competition at
Rochester High, where he graduated in 1954. He won the WPIAL
100 yard dash title and placed third in the state in that event. He
also was as three year letterman in football for the Rams and gained
a reputation as a fine punter and halfback. At the University of
Pittsburgh, Herb was the
IC4A 100 yard dash champion in 1956 with a time of 9.4 seconds.
Ironically, a blood clot behind a pulled muscle prevented him from
qualifying for the 1956 Olympics, and a similar injury did the same
in 1960. After his track career Herb resided in Santa Barbara, California, as
a rehabilitation counselor for the state.
Herb Carper is probably the fastest sprinter to
come out of Beaver County. On February 28, 1959, while serving in
the Army, he broke the world indoor record in the 60 yard dash
with a time of six seconds flat. In fact he did it twice in the same
day, in the preliminaries and in the final heat. He beat West
Germany’s Armin Nary and France’s Jocelyn Delacour on that memorable
day. And he tied his own record twice more in the same year. Herb,
a native of Bridgewater, was noted for his fast start. He scored
over 100 points in each of his three years of track competition at
Rochester High, where he graduated in 1954. He won the WPIAL
100 yard dash title and placed third in the state in that event. He
also was as three year letterman in football for the Rams and gained
a reputation as a fine punter and halfback. At the University of
Pittsburgh, Herb was the
IC4A 100 yard dash champion in 1956 with a time of 9.4 seconds.
Ironically, a blood clot behind a pulled muscle prevented him from
qualifying for the 1956 Olympics, and a similar injury did the same
in 1960. After his track career Herb resided in Santa Barbara, California, as
a rehabilitation counselor for the state.