Ivory Crockett works to help others as he was once helped

Life has been anything but slow for Ivory Crockett, the former world-record holder in the 100-yard dash and former member of the Saluki track and field team.

What began as a childhood heading in the wrong direction, Crockett has helped turn things around to make a career of helping others.

Advertisement

Crockett grew up like so many other troubled youth-a broken home and having to live with an aunt and uncle.

Going to high school in Brentwood, Mo., Crockett found himself having trouble with classes.

“I didn’t start off right,” Crockett said. “I didn’t think I was going to be in track and field. I was this person who had some issues because my mother and father weren’t together and I blamed everybody on my problem.”

Crockett gives credit to Mrs. Calderwood, an English teacher, and Dr. Roper, a thoracic surgeon and father of a teammate, for turning his life around.

He had been putting a lot of negative energy into his life. He wasn’t going to classes, not doing his homework and not listening to his aunt and uncle. When he did go to class, he was disruptive.

Crockett didn’t get into the kind of trouble that would get a person arrested, but said he was hanging out with the wrong people.

“What you are really asking for is for someone to help,” Crockett said. “Finally, someone reached out and helped me. Most people want some praise. People want the opportunity to say they can do some things. I think that is what happened to me.”

Advertisement*

Roper suggested he tryout for the track and field team at the school and Crockett made it. He said he used the sport as a tool to turn his life around and get new perspective. It gave him a stage to do something for himself. The skills he learned there have taken him all over the world including Europe, Tokyo and Russia.

“Where else could an African-American, black, young man, born in Halls, Tenn., see the world for free?” Crockett said. “And get a free education. Track and field gave me that.”

Graduating from high school, Crockett brought his running shoes to Southern Illinois University in 1968.

Crockett also gave credit to Seymour Bryson, the director of the Center for Basic Skills at SIU, for his education.

“All of us truly enjoyed Ivory,” Bryson said. “He helped make SIU one of the top 10 programs in the country. He and some of his teammates set very high standards for the University.”

Despite the country’s difficulties involving race in the late 1960s, Crockett said he never experienced racism in college.

“There was no tolerance for racism when I was there,” Crockett said. “That issue was outside of the campus. I never had a problem with racism when I was there at SIU-Carbondale. I was treated very fairly.”

He may not have seen anything on campus, but Crockett expressed the belief that the problem of racism still needs to be worked on, even today.

“All of us have to continue to work on racism and diversity,” Crockett said. “Not only in Carbondale or Illinois, but wherever I am. As our country continues to expand and we continue to get other people in our neighborhoods, our country and in our schools, we must understand diversity.”

Crockett enjoyed his time at SIU as he majored in administration of justice. One of the reasons he chose Carbondale was because the school was integrated before anyone else. The quality of the track and field program didn’t hurt either.

A year after graduating from SIU, Crockett competed in the Tom Black Classic in Knoxville, Tenn. The TBC is an amateur USA track and field meet hosted by the University of Tennessee. At this event, Crockett set a world record for the 100-yard dash.

“It was real good,” Crockett said. “It was a real good feeling to do something no one else had done before. Also, to be among the other athletes like Bob Hayes all those people I had revered all my life.”

Since then, Crockett has been a salesman for IBM and Anheuser-Busch and eventually, Coors. He then moved on to become senior vice-president of a construction company.

In Louisiana, Crockett worked for Sen. John Breaux.

He then moved to Rehab XL where he was senior vice-president for marketing and where he found his love for health care.

He is currently working as the Director of Physician’s Services at Forest Park Hospital in St. Louis. He helps recruit physicians and works with them everyday.

No matter what job he has, Crockett continues to try helping others as he was helped back in high school.

“Because there are so many people in the village, all the people, no matter what color they were, wanted to see myself succeed,” Crockett said. “I didn’t get anywhere on my own. No one gets anywhere on their own.

“Everyone has to have someone come into their life to give them the opportunity to get somewhere. I was given two.”

Reporter Christopher Morrical can be reached at [email protected]