Thomas W. Courtney

1933 - 2023

Thomas William Courtney, 90, of Naples, Fla., an American track & field athlete who won two gold medals in the 1956 Olympics, the 800-meter race and 4x400-meter relay, died Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, in Naples, Fla., days after his 90th birthday. Born Aug. 17, 1933, he grew up in Livingston, N.J, and attended Fordham University on a track scholarship. Track & Field magazine rated him number one in the world in both the 400-meters and 800-meter races in 1956 and 1957. He held seven world records and six American records in distances from 400-meters to 1000-yards. While at Fordham, he developed an intense rivalry with Arnie Sowell of the University of Pittsburgh and the 800-meter race became the marquee event in the indoor track meet circuit, which consisted of over a dozen major meets as well as outdoor meets in the U.S. and Europe. The competition caused Courtney to redouble his training and he credited it with his subsequent successes. The two were a study in contrasts, Courtney was a brawny 6' 2" and weighed 185 pounds, and Sowell was a willowy 5' 11", weighed 130 pounds and ran like a feather. At the 1956 Olympics 800-meter final in Melbourne, Australia, Courtney and Sowell battled each other over the last turn, perhaps starting their finishing sprint too early with 200-meters to go. Courtney passed Sowell with 120-meters, but both were tying up. Derek Johnson of Great Britain passed them with 50 meters left. At that point, Courtney dug deep into his inner reserves and launched a second finishing kick, catching Johnson at the tape, by one-tenth of a second. It was the most dramatic event of that Olympics. Never had a runner been passed in the last 50 meters only to double-kick and win. Courtney was so exhausted that he passed out after the race and the victory ceremony had to be delayed for several hours. After the race, Courtney said if he lived, he would never run again. But he did a few days later in the 4x400 relay. He was the anchor leg and turned a small lead into a blowout victory, for his second gold medal. He was not originally on the relay team. The U.S. Olympic Trials at that time were held over two days, now they are held over seven days, the same as the Olympic competition. The 400-meter event was held five minutes after the 800 meters and Courtney was too tired to enter the 400. The team for the relay was determined by the finish of the 400 meters at the trials. Courtney petitioned the coaching staff to put him in the relay since he was the American record holder at the event and had won the AAU 400-meters that year. The Olympic coach, Jim Kelly of the University of Minnesota, said Courtney could be on the relay if he beat all four members of the relay team plus the two alternates. Courtney defeated the six at a warm-up competition in Australia two weeks before the Olympics, including his teammate, Charlie Jenkins, of Villanova, who won the Olympic 400-meters. From 1957 to 1959, Courtney coached track at Harvard while getting an MBA there. This made him a professional under the rules of the AAU then and not eligible to compete. At the height of the Cold War, there were a series of U.S. vs. Russia track competitions. The U.S. State Department requested that the AAU let Courtney come out of retirement in 1958 and 1959 to participate in those competitions, which he won. He was an American hero. His humility and hard work won him many fans. After his running career, Courtney went on to a remarkable career in investment management. In New York City, he worked at Kidder, Peabody & Co. and Mackay Shields & Co. He moved to Boston, Mass., to become president of the Boston Company Institutional Investors and then moved to Pittsburgh, where he was president of federated institutional investors. He then started his own investment firm, Courtney Associates and served on the boards of 25 mutual funds. He was chairman of the board at Oppenheimer Funds, chairman at Pimco Funds and audit chairman at the Aquila Funds. He was a director of the Financial Analysts Federation and a chartered financial analyst. Tom Courtney was the son of James and Dolores Courtney. He had four brothers, James, Brian, Dennis and Kevin. He grew up in Livingston, N.J., and attended Grover Cleveland High School, Caldwell, N.J. He attended Fordham University. As a top college runner, he anchored the Fordham two-mile relay team to a new world record in 1954. In 1955, he was the Intercollegiate 800 champion and was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He was elected to the National Track and Field Hall of Fame and to the original Hall of Fame at Fordham University in 1978. In 2011, he was elected to the Fordham Hall of Honor. Tom married Margaret (Posy) L'Hommedieu, in 1963. They had three sons, Thomas W. Courtney Jr. and his wife, Vien, and children, Andrew, Sophie, Nicholas and Henry, of Corona del Mar, Calif.; Peter L'Hommedieu Courtney and his wife, Elizabeth, and children, Marielle and Lyon, of Southport, Conn.; Frank A. Courtney and his wife, Donna, and children, Marguerite, Francesca and Josephine, of Sewickley. Tom resided in Sewickley Heights, and Wyndemere Country Club, Naples, Fla. He was an avid tennis player and golfer. He won the senior golf championship at Allegheny Country Club and won five doubles championships in tennis, the last one at age 79 with his son, Frank, as his partner. He was an active participant at St. Mary's Church, Aleppo, and St. Elizabeth Seton Church, Naples, Fla. He considered his three visits to Medjugorje, Yugoslavia, where the Blessed Mother Mary appeared to six youths every day, to be the most rewarding experience in his life. A funeral mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 14, at St. James Church, 200 Walnut St., Sewickley, PA 15143. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations be made to: (1) Fordham University, contact Kristina Dzwonczyk, director of donor relations at 212-636-7451, (2) United States Olympic Committee, One Olympic Plaza, Colorado Springs, CO 80909-5760 and (3) Avow Hospice, 1095 Whippoorwill Lane, Naples, Fla. 34105. Tom Courtney's world records include records set in the 800 yard event, 1:45.80, on May 24, 1957, Los Angeles Coliseum; 600-yard indoors, 1957, Boston Garden; two-mile relay: 7:27, 1954, Los Angeles Coliseum; and the two-mile relay for a second time: 7:13, 1956, Sidney, Australia; and one-mile relay: 3:03, 1956, Sidney, Australia. Tom Courtney's American records include half-mile: 1:46.4, Los Angeles Coliseum; 800 meters: 1:45.8, 1957, Bislett Stadium, Oslo, Norway; 400 meters: 45.8, 1957, Bislett Stadium Oslo, Norway; fastest 400 meters in a relay: 43.1, Los Angeles Coliseum; and the fastest 800 meters in a relay: 1:43, 1955, Penn Relays, Philadelphia. Tom Courtney major championships include the 1956 Olympics 800-meter and 1600-meter relay gold medals; the 1955 NCAA Championship in the 880-yard event; and the 1955 AAU Championship in the 440-yard event. Tom earned his BA from Fordham University, Class of 1955, and his MBA from Harvard University, Class of 1959. Tom's personal bests include 45.8 seconds in 400 meters (1956); 1:45.8 in 800 meters (1957); and Track and Field Magazine's No. 1 in the world in 800 meters in 1956 and 1957, and No. 1 in the world in 400 meters in 1956 and 1957. For online condolences, please visit Tom's Tribute at www.fullernaples.com.