'Crow' could fly: Bob Hayes' legendary career began in Jacksonville

"People are coming by the bus loads; it's going to be an amazing sight," said Bob Hayes Jr., a Dallas resident who will help present his father for induction along with Roger Staubach, the Cowboys' Hall of Fame quarterback." Many of Hayes' Gilbert High classmates and football players from the 1958 black state championship team are taking a charter bus to Canton. Dr. James Ammons, the Florida A&M president, and three past presidents of the school will also be in attendance.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — You called him "Bullet." But they called Bob Hayes "Crow." Long before he became the world’s fastest human by winning double gold medals at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo — and well before he came to Dallas to play for the Cowboys, earning a Super Bowl ring and in the process changing the game — he was "Crow."

On the brink of his posthumous induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his former high school teammates and childhood friends shared their memories of Hayes as a youth. Not of the world-renowned "Bullet" Bob Hayes, who is still the only man in history to win an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring and was so fast that opposing teams had to revise how to play zone defenses. But of "Crow:" the playground speedster yet reluctant athlete who honed his skills in the sand and muck on the east side of Jacksonville in an area called the black bottom.

Sitting in a wheelchair outside a beat-up old house on the corner of Odessa and Iona, Charles Sutton started to laugh. "I would say 'Bullet’ and he would say, 'Stop that, Knotts,’ " said Sutton, whose childhood nickname was Knotts because he would bump his head so many times that it would swell up in, well, knots. "I said, I can’t call you Bullet. They call you Bullet. He said call me what you been calling me."

2009 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement
WHEN: 7 p.m., Saturday.WHERE: Canton, Ohio. TV: ESPN/NFL Network. Inductees: Bob Hayes, Ralph Wilson, Randall McDaniel, Rod Woodson, Derrick Thomas, Bruce Smith.

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USA wins the 4 x 100m relay at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics in a then World Record time of 39.06 seconds. The improbable victory was made possible by the phenomenally swift anchor leg run by FAMU's (#702) Robert Lee "Bullet Bob" Hayes.

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Finally!! FAMU's Bob Hayes named to Pro Football Hall of Fame

Bob Hayes had run a 9.1 100 as an 18-year-old freshman at Florida A&M; he later changed professional football forever, bringing speed into the game in a way it had never been there before. A four-time All-Pro, Hayes is the only man that has won an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl.

TAMPA, FL – Bob Hayes' wait is finally over. On Saturday, Hayes, the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and Olympic gold medalist, earned induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, nearly 30 years after he was first eligible to be selected and seven years after his death from kidney failure. "It didn't matter how long it took," his oldest sister, Lucille Hester, said not long after the announcement. "He's made it. This day is here

Hayes is joined in the Class of 2009 by Minnesota guard Randall McDaniel, Buffalo defensive end Bruce Smith, Pittsburgh cornerback Rod Woodson, Kansas City pass rusher Derrick Thomas and Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson. The induction ceremony in Canton, Ohio, will take place Aug. 8.

Hayes became the 11th member of the Cowboys' organization to earn induction, joining teammates Bob Lilly, Roger Staubach, Rayfield Wright and Mel Renfro as well as fellow Ring of Honor members Tony Dorsett, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Randy White, Tom Landry and Tex Schramm.

Had Hayes not been selected this time, it would have been highly unlikely for him to come through the Senior Committee a third time. He made it to the finals in 2004 only to miss the cut. Five years to the day of that disappointment, however, came elation. "I guess the only downside is that he's not here to enjoy this moment," Hester said. "It's such a wonderful moment for him, a wonderful moment.



Across the state in Hayes' native Jacksonville, (Florida) Charles Sutton, Hayes friend from elementary school and teammate at Matthew Gilbert High School and Florida A&M, got a phone call from their high school coach, Earl Kitching.

"He says, 'Your boy made it. Y'all played ball so you're a part of it,' and all I could think was, 'Thank you, Jesus, thank you,' " Sutton said. "I can see Bob now. He'd be hugging me and saying, 'I made it, roomie, I made it. Let me kiss you.' He would've been so happy he would've started crying and I'd say, 'Man, what are you crying for?' "

Hayes' stats with Cowboys
1,000-yard receivers Pro Bowlers

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Bob Hayes Letter:

October 29, 1999

Lucille,

You know I am not sure I am going to be around if I get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame so you must read this for me, I am not sure, I guess I am feeling sorry for myself at this time but you must remember everything I want you to do and say. Mother said you would do what I want because you always did. So read this for me.

I would like to thank everyone who supported me to get into the NFL Hall of Fame, the Dallas Cowboys organization, all of my team mates (sic) and everyone who played for the Cowboys, (thank the San Francisco 49ers too). Thank the fans all around the country and the world, thank the committee who voted for me and also the ones who may did not vote for me, thank Mother and my family, thank Roger Staubach and tell all my teammates I love them.

Thank the Pro Football Hall of Fame, all the NFL teams and players, Florida A&M University, thank everyone who went to Matthew Gilbert High School, thank everyone in Jacksonville and Florida and everyone especially on the East Side of Jacksonville. Thank everyone in the City of Dallas and in Texas and just thank everyone in the whole world.

I love you all.