Bill Dellinger, Olympic medalist and influential Oregon Ducks track coach, dies at 91

Olympic Olympian and former University of Oregon track coach Bill Dellinger passed away on Friday. He was ninety-one.

Dellinger competed for the United States in the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Olympics, taking home a bronze in the 5,000-meter event in 1964.

According to Dellinger’s account in Kenny Moore’s book Bowerman and the Men of Oregon, “I pictured it happening exactly like this.” When the speedier youngsters died on the playground, I won a grueling last 600.

Famous distance runner Steve Prefontaine and fellow UO distance greats Rudy Chapa, Matt Centrowitz, Bill McChesney, and Alberto Salazar were all coached by Dellinger.

According to Gonzaga coach Pat Tyson, who shared a room with Prefontaine while running for Dellinger at Oregon, his exercises are still utilized by a lot of people today and are founded on the five principles he held dear. They are callousness, variation, progression, moderation, and flexibility. They simply never go out of style.

Dellinger was born on March 23, 1934, in Grants Pass. Prior to his second year in high school, his family relocated to Springfield. The first Oregon boys state high school cross-country race was won by Dellinger in 1949.

He was a classmate of author Ken Kesey at Springfield. Running to school as part of his training, Kesey recounted in Moore’s book seeing out the bus window in the morning as it moved away from Dellinger.

“That’s the kind of nut who would expect to win the state cross-country title—running to school instead of riding rain or shine,” Kesey added.

While running for coach Bill Bowerman’s Men of Oregon, Dellinger won two NCAA titles. After graduating from college, he kept competing and set six U.S. records in addition to two world indoor records.

Before going on to Lane Community College, he started his coaching career at Springfield’s Thurston High School. Dellinger became Bowerman’s first full-time assistant in 1967.

In 1969, Dellinger took over as head coach of the Oregon men’s cross-country team.

The colorful star Prefontaine, who formerly held every U.S. record between 2,000 and 10,000 meters, was particularly close to him. Pre won two U.S. championships and seven NCAA cross-country and track titles.

At the age of 24, Prefontaine lost her life in an automobile accident in 1975. Dellinger was devastated by his passing.

Tyson compared it to losing a son.

In 1977, Dellinger took over as head men’s track coach at Oregon, replacing Bowerman. He would lead the UO men to the 1984 NCAA men’s track and field championship and four NCAA cross country team titles. At the time, Oregon had its own women’s track and field program.

Tyson claimed that Dellinger’s readiness to try out different teaching techniques was a major factor in his success.

According to Tyson, he was a lifetime student. He may have learned certain things in Europe from Pre or Bill McChesney. Joaquim Cruz introduced soccer-style drills to the training sessions. That’s not a bad idea, Bill would say. I’ll include that in the training variation.

Oregon Ducks head coach Bill Dellinger watches the 1979 PAC 10 Cross Country Championships, which were held at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, in November 1979.Getty Pictures

Cruz won a gold medal in the 800 meters for Brazil in the 1984 Olympics and three NCAA track titles for Oregon.

Outside of the track, Dellinger was a competitive person. He was a skilled card player and a formidable opponent at pool and darts.

After coming as a transfer from Manhattan College in 1976, Matt Centrowitz, the father of Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz and a four-time U.S. 5,000 champion, got into a heated argument with Dellinger about the length of his hair.

The Magician, a movie on RunnerSpace.com, featured Centrowitz challenging Dellinger to a game of pool. What’s at stake? Centrowitz could wear his hair as long as he pleased if he prevailed. Dellinger agreed.

The team assembled to observe the game being put up. After arriving, Centrowitz warmed up. About fifteen minutes after the start time, Dellinger showed up and declared he would not be warming up.

“I let him shoot first, which was a mistake,” Centrowitz said. I was never given another chance. After the first 8-ball rack, it was clear who was in charge. I started the second rack by turning around. Bill runs half the table while we break.

Centrowitz found out that Dellinger had been warming up at a pool table in a neighboring bar before to the fight after having his hair cut by his barber.

A New York fool was scammed by an Oregonian. Centrowitz stated.

Bowerman and Dellinger became at odds in the late 1970s over who should be given credit for Prefontaine’s achievement.

This was made worse when Dellinger agreed to wear Adidas clothing. Bowerman co-founded Nike, a competing athletic clothing firm, with Phil Knight, a former UO runner.

Dellinger created a running shoe and attempted to sell the concept to Nike, according to John Gillespie, his former lead assistant. Nike was successful. Adidas didn’t.

Adidas footwear was used by Dellinger’s UO distance runners for a while.

The fact that UO track competitors were allowed to wear different brands when competing in other disciplines, according to Gillespie, was less well documented.

Gillespie stated, “He allowed me and the jumpers to be with Nike.” He could achieve that because of his powerful personality.

Gillespie claimed that Dellinger received a negative reputation as a result of the pushback. When he secured the Adidas deal, he took the necessary financial action. Later, he returned to Nike.

In the 1990s, Bowerman and Dellinger got back together.

According to Tyson, the animosity simply vanished. They went on after developing a genuine friendship.

After receiving a prostate cancer diagnosis, Dellinger left his position as Oregon coach in 1998. When he had a crippling stroke in 2000, he was still teaching post-collegiate runners after a successful battle with cancer. His ability to talk was permanently hampered by the stroke, which also damaged one side of his body.

Dellinger is a member of the University of Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame, the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. Dellinger received USA Track & Field’s Legend Coach Award in 2021.

Dellinger is survived by his sons, David and Joe, and several grandchildren, as well as a brother, Fred. Dellinger s sister, Peggy, died earlier in June at 95. Dellinger was preceded in death by another son, Dan. Divorce ended a first marriage. In 1987, he wed Marol Bucknum. In 2014, she passed away.

The UO annually hosts a cross country meet named for Dellinger.

It s a fitting way to honor a man who gave his life to the sport.

As Tyson said, He was meant to run.

— Ken Goe for The Oregonian/OregonLive

1020@gmail.com KenGoe

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