Once Famous Track To Become Student Parking at SJSU

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Some will call it progress, others a crying shame. 

San Jose State, once known as "Speed City" and a capital of U.S. sprinting, announced that it will build a four-story parking garage on the site of Bud Winter Field, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

It's worth noting, or pausing to consider, the impact of coach Bud Winter and the athletes he coached in the 1960s. 

John Carlos and Tommie Smith were not only two of the fastest men in the world, but their protest at the 1968 Olympics for social justice in Mexico City was one of the iconic moments of a turbulent decade. 

This riveting quote from former San Jose State sprinter Kirk Clayton cuts to the heart of the reaction to the university's decision to prioritize student parking over an historical, albeit delapidated, landmark.

“To take that hallowed ground and pave it over, you are committing a sacrilege,” Clayton said of the site where Olympians Tommie Smith, John Carlos and Lee Evans, among others, excelled. “San Jose State is stealing the history of track and field from the state of California.”