Schmidt was Olympic-sized winner in sports, business
This little two-county corner of Western Pennsylvania is home to some strong sports-minded towns that have produced a two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, a world boxing champion when there was only one recognized title holder per weight class, multiple NFL head coaches, a Rose Bowl team and Pro Football and Baseball Hall of Famers.
When it comes to Olympic medalists from this area, you can count them on one hand and have several digits unused.
The first from the area to win an Olympic medal was Canonsburg’s Bill Schmidt, who won a bronze medal in the javelin at the 1972 Summer Games in Munich.
Schmidt died Aug. 30 in Knoxville, Tenn. He was 78 years old. His obituary appears in this edition of the Observer-Reporter.
One of the popular things among sports fans these days is to compile a Mount Rushmore of greats for a team, city or sport. It provides plenty of debate. When it comes to a Mount Rushmore of athletes from Washington County, Bill Schmidt deserves strong consideration as a first-ballot selection, not only for what he did as an athlete but in his professional career as well.
Schmidt went from Canonsburg to North Texas University as a walk-on to the track team in 1966 and earned a scholarship because of his ability to fling the javelin. He was a two-time Missouri Valley Conference champion and runner-up at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in 1970.
At the 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, Schmidt beat all of the other competitors to earn a spot at the Summer Games. In Munch, he barely made it to the track for qualifiers. A scheduling miscommunication left him without transportation to the Olympic stadium, so he had to run there. He qualified for the finals by finishing in 12th place.
A rested Schmidt saved his best for the finals. His throw of 276 feet, 11.5 inches secured the bronze medal.
Schmitt was welcomed back to Canonsburg with a ticker-tape parade.
In 2012, his hometown said thank you one more time, honoring him with a marquee that stands near the corner of Pike Street and Ashland Avenue.
“Forty years seems like a couple of eye blinks now,” Schmidt told the Observer-Reporter in 2012. “Canonsburg has always been a special place for me.”
Schmidt was a special person in both the sports and the corporate worlds.
He worked for Gatorade and helped elevate the image of sports drinks companies when he signed future NBA legend Michael Jordan to an endorsement deal worth $14 million over 10 years. The “Be Like Mike” campaign was credited to Schmidt.
Schmidt also was instrumental in the “Gatorade Bath” campaign and the company sponsoring high school athletes of the year in various sports and from each state.
In 1999, Schmidt left Gatorade and worked for Oakley, the sunglasses and apparel company. He owned a sports marketing company in Knoxville and was a planning officer and marketing consultant for an agency that had more than two dozen NFL players as clients.
Schmitt also was instrumental in getting the Home Run Derby into Major League Baseball’s All-Star events and the Slam Dunk Contest at the NBA All-Star Game.
He was a gold medalist in the corporate world.
Sports editor Chris Dugan can be reached at dugan@observer-reporter.com