Sport: Athletics

Hometown: Memphis, TN

Biography:  The late John Pennel was the best in the world in the pole vault in the early 1960's. He became the first college freshman to clear 15-feet in 1960 and in 1963 he tied or broke the world pole vault record seven times and became the first man to clear 17-feet. Pennel cleared the mark in Coral Gables, FL on August 24th, 1963 using a vaulting pole he borrowed from teammate and soon to be Olympic Champion Fred Hansen. The jump cleared 5.2m, or 17’ 0.75”. He was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2004.