Talk:Houston McTear

GA Review

I failed this as a GA because although it's loaded with references, it's not well written, there's no lead, and the references are formatted improperly (they must go after punctuation).--Wizardman 16:46, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

  Houston's hometown was actually a small sawmill town known as Milligan, south of Baker on the Yellow River. His older brother George was also an athletic talent, and had held Florida's state record in the 100-yard dash before Houston became well-known.
  Their track coach was also the football coach, and he was heavily dependent on the brothers; Houston had an average of 9.7 yards per carry. The coach resigned in 1976 due to a scandal that did not involve athletics.
  The track facilities at his school were greatly improved after McTear became well-known; the pressure of media attention was at the time believed to have influenced the local school district to spend the money. Houston did not graduate with his high school classmates; his teachers cited his attendance record.
  After seeing the afore-mentioned poverty that the McTear family lived in, the boxer Muhammad Ali bought a house for this family in the nearby city of Crestview. The Milligan home was later destroyed in a flood. As an adult, Houston lived at the boxer's home for a time.

Turnered2 (talk) 03:35, 11 June 2011 (UTC)

New Film about Houston McTear, "9 Seconds"

Written by Andrew Pilger and Randy Vennowitz, “9 Seconds” is the true story of Houston McTear, a one-in-a- billion athlete who rose from crushing poverty to worldwide fame… then descended into homelessness and drug addiction before rising again to find redemption.

Houston grew up in rural Florida, in a dilapidated shack across the train tracks from a sawmill. He spent his youth dodging raindrops from his leaky ceiling and racing the freight trains that charged past his home. It was there that Houston developed his gift: to run faster than any human who has ever lived.

In 1975, as a high school junior, he stunned the sports world when he tied the world record in the 100 yard dash with a time of 9 seconds flat. His rise to stardom was similarly fast – magazine covers, jet- setting around the world, hanging out with Muhammad Ali – all under the watchful eye of the charismatic promoter Harold Smith.

Then it all fell apart. Harold Smith was arrested for a massive bank embezzlement scheme; it turns out he was one of the most notorious con men of the 20th century. Houston was left with no friends, no money, and nowhere to run. He turned to drugs, and within two years, he was homeless on the beach in Santa Monica.

After nearly a decade of sleeping on the sand, he reconnected with an old track friend, Swedish star Linda Haglund . With her help, Houston cleaned up and began an amazing comeback.

It culminated in 1991, when, at age 34, he stunned the sports world for a second time by defeating track’s premier sprinters at the European World Championships. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Soverstreet (talk • contribs) 00:19, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

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