Matson, "Randy" (James Randel)
Track and Field
b. March 5, 1945, Kilgore, TX
When Matson entered Texas A&M University, he was pretty good-sized at 6 feet, 6 1/2 inches and 215 pounds, but track coach Emil Mamaliga advised him to put on more weight if he wanted to be a champion shot-putter. Mamaliga explained, "You can't fire a 16-inch shell from a PT boat. You have to have a big, heavy ship."
So Matson began lifting weights. Within seven months, he had gained thirty pounds and was throwing the shot six feet farther than he ever had before. He won the national championship in 1964 and finished second to Dallas Long in the Olympics.
After putting on another ten pounds, Matson broke Long's world record with a throw of 70 feet, 7 1/4 inches on May 8, 1965. He was not only the first man to break the 70-foot barrier, he was the only man to do it until 1972. Matson extended the record to 71 feet, 5 1/2 inches on April 22, 1967.
The NCAA champion in both the discus and shot put in 1966 and 1967, Matson was the national shot put champion in 1964 and 1966-71. He won the gold medal in the event at the 1967 Pan-American Games. Matson won the Sullivan Award as the nation's outstanding amateur athlete in 1967.
A fine all-around athlete, Matson averaged 15 points a game as a high school basketball player, did the 100 meters in 10.2 seconds, and once had a 50-yard touchdown run in football. When he graduated from college, he was drafted by teams in the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the American Basketball Association. However, he chose to stay in track and field. He retired after finishing fourth in the 1972 Olympic Trials.