Emerson Lane "Bud" Spencer (October 10, 1906 – May 15, 1985) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 athlete, winner of gold medal in 4x400 m relay

Relay race

During a relay race, members of a team take turns running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating parts of a circuit or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games...

 at the 1928 Summer Olympics

1928 Summer Olympics

The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...

.

Emerson Spencer won, as a Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

 student, the NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 Championships in 440 yd (402.3 m) in 1928 and set the new 400 m world record

World record progression 400 metres men

The first world record in the 400 m for men was recognized by the International Amateur Athletics Federation, now known as the International Association of Athletics Federations, in 1912...

 of 47.0 in the same year.

At the Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 Olympics

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

, Spencer ran the second leg in the American 4x400 m relay team that won the gold medal with a new world record of 3.14.2. A week later in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Spencer bettered his own 4x400 m relay world record to 3.13.4.

He was married to Laura 'Henrietta' Halliday (d. of Dr. John LeRoy & Tacy Marie Halliday) in Memorial Church, Stanford University, Tuesday, September 1, 1931. She was from Wellington, KS- HS class of 1924.

Emerson Spencer died in Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...

, aged 78.