Greene?s Life Reflects the Career of an Army Major

N-Sider: Five Years Ago, Greene's World Record Finally Fell

N-Sider: Huskers Appreciate Greene's Wit, Wisdom, Energy

Seattle Columnist: Greene Took Skills and Ran with Them

Randy York’s N-Sider

Official Blog of the Huskers

Everyone who’s anyone in the wide world of track and field knows that Nebraska’s own Charlie Greene was once the world’s fastest man. A former world record-holder in the 100-meter dash, Greene was a member of the United States gold medal-winning 4x100-meter relay team that set a world-record time of 38.19 in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. More than 4½ decades later, Greene will be enshrined as part of the inaugural class of 22 named last March to the University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame.

At Nebraska's Sept. 5th season-opening football game with BYU, Greene will be introduced as the first Husker men's track and field Hall-of-Fame inductee, representing an athletic program that has won 26 team national championships, captured 156 individual NCAA titles and leads the nation with 317 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and 17 NCAA Top 10 Award winners.

Nebraska's first student-athlete to defend an NCAA title successfully in any sport, Greene won three straight NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60-yard dash and three consecutive NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 100. A seven-time All-American and 11-time Big Eight champion, Greene describes his incredible success and implausible achievements in one word – discipline. He also aligns his accomplishments with a favorite six-word expression – Do what you’re supposed to do – a line that resonated with Frank Sevigne, Nebraska’s legendary head track and field coach who recruited Greene from Seattle and coached him in Lincoln.

Serving Two Decades as an Army Officer Defines Greene’s Values

Greene can debate any subject in exhaustive style. He's cryptic and straightforward. He knows his stuff and enjoys a sense of intrigue. In capturing the essence of an Olympic gold medalist, Greene's post-athletic role as a major in the U.S. Army gives readers the compression of his deepest thoughts and candid views.

When asked a question that otherwise could take him 30 minutes to answer, he cuts to the core. His comments are the Cliff’s Notes version of the life and times of Charlie Greene, whose wide and varied experiences reflect the 20-year career of an Army major, a military officer grade that is one rank above a captain and one rank below a lieutenant colonel.

"Generals give orders," Greene said. "Colonels, majors and captains relay those orders to the sergeants, who operate the Army. Good soldiers mean everything, save their spouses, their children and God. That's how you win and how you become successful in life!"

Greene: Like a Team: The Army is Only as Good as Its Weakest Link

Asked how the Army shaped his life, Greene said like everything else, success boils down to people. “Most good human beings try to understand how to ID people who don'tcare about the team and only care about themselves,” said Greene, pictured above with Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst. “The Army is like a team. You're only as good as the weakest link.”

Greene considers his selection as the first Husker male track and field inductee in the University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame as a team honor every bit as much as an individual accolade. “It means I stood for patience, education and winning by going to practice and giving my best every day,” he said. “Everyone in their own mind thinks they work hard. The goal is to work smart as well as hard. Working smart is what makes you a winner. I have always said and still believe that 49 percent of winning is talent and 51 percent is mental. Sports Illustrated published a recent cover story that calls for attention to details and strength and toughness like Vince Lombardi taught. That's a tough comparison. We'll see.”

Greene became a repeat visitor to Memorial Stadium and marveled at the combined culture that Nebraska uses to measure success in academics, athletics and life. Fortunately, Greene used the first two measurements when he became a Husker student-athlete in the mid-1960s. Fundamentals are inherent. “Go to class every day,” Greene said. “Pay attention. Be respectful. Go to practice every day. Do as you are told and let your talent be your shield and sword.”

Greene Relishes the Footnote to a Meaningful Milestone at Missouri

In the 1960s, just like today, student-athletes will compete when they are not 100-percent healthy. Of all the highlights that Greene (pictured above), experienced in college, the one that sticks out most in his mind was his performance in the 1966 Big Eight Conference Outdoor Championships in Columbia, Mo. “We won the meet and I did my job on an injured leg, unknown to others,” Greene told me. “Winning the Olympic gold medal in world-record time as a member of the 4x100-meter relay was important mainly because we won. Although injured, I did my job.”

He did it for the team more than for himself. Sevigne drilled that performance standard into everyone’s individual psyche, just like Bob Devaney instilled the same mindset, practice after practice. Greene had a lot of friends who played Nebraska football and he watched them practice often. He saw them rise up and win when they were far less than 100 percent physically. His outstanding athlete award in the 1966 Big Eight Championships in Missouri was his testament to toughness because he gave his best when he was not at his physical best.

“I learned a lot just watching how our football players competed,” Greene said. “Coach Osborne even asked me once if I wanted to come on the field and give football a try.” Greene did his level best to compete every bit as hard as Nebraska’s best football players, but he also believed strongly in competing smart, and he was smart enough not to cross over from one technique-driven sport into another that required helmets and shoulder pads (Smile, everyone. Charlie did).

Greene on Why Nebraska Attracts Multiple World-Class Leaders

As a city, Lincoln has grown in all kinds of ways, and that’s why Charlie and Linda Greene love living in Nebraska’s capital city. Asked why the University of Nebraska attracts so many world-class leaders, Greene offers up an instant answer – “people, people, people,” he said. “Bob Devaney...Don Bryant (both pictured above)...Frank Sevigne...Paul Schneider...George Sullivan...Tom Osborne...all are important and all set high standards for excellence. They were all Hall-of-Famers in football, sports information, coaching, athletic administration, and athletic training. They were the best in the business and set the table for all who came after them.”

The best counsel Greene received is the same advice he shares with others. “Do your job ALL the time,” he said, "and be responsible for your actions!”

The powerful legs that carried Charlie Greene to six individual NCAA championships and four world sprint records, plus the Olympic gold and bronze medals, no longer hold him up. In his own home, he has to lean against the doorway to keep himself vertical when Nebraska Director of Athletics Shawn Eichorst visited his home last March to share the news of his being an inaugural inductee into the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame.

With a New Kidney, Charlie Greene Shares His Pearls of Wisdom

Diabetes and kidney failure took a toll and cost Greene the bounce in his step. He experienced tough times and battled through all of them before receiving a kidney that changed his life. Throughout his medical issues, Linda Greene, his wife, was strong and helped keep his mind and ability to communicate in peak form. Thanks to an agreement between former Athletic Director Osborne and Keith Zimmer, Nebraska's Associate Athletic Director for Life Skills, Greene spent hundreds of hours as a volunteer for Nebraska's Life Skills Department. The experience re-energized Greene and inspired dozens of student-athletes who picked his brain and appreciated his wit and wisdom.

Among Green's friends/admirers (pictured above from left) are former Husker student-athletes Roy Helu Jr. (football), Amanda Gates (volleyball) and men's and women's track and field multi-event performers Patrick Burke and Erin Hannon. Helu fell in love with Charlie's experiences and stories, and Nebraska's all-time single-game rushing leader brought his teammates to visit Greene at Lincoln's Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital. Talk about a proud man in desperate need to conquer classic symptons. Charlie was a blur on any indoor and outdoor track, but there comes a time when even a powerful champion can lose his traditional cheer and tough-minded confidence while waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant.

Asked which experiences laid the groundwork for his prosperity and what he considers to be his most memorable life lessons, Greene thinks, processes, then delivers. “One, being in the military,” he said. “Two, taking orders. Three, giving orders. Four, being responsible for the end game. There's always a winner and always a loser. Be known as a winner!”

Charlie and Linda Greene Celebrated Their 46th Anniversary This Year

Charlie is pictured above with Linda in October of 1968 at a post-Olympic banquet in Mexico City, where they met. The two married three months later and celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary last January. Time remains a treasure for Charlie and Linda, the parents of two grown daughters, Mercedes and Sybil. For Charlie, half a century is a series of sprints that took him to the University of Nebraska, where he earned his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Education. Greene has been inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame. During the first weekend in September, he will join 21 other trailblazing Huskers named to the inaugural class of the University of Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame.

Linda is proud of Charlie's achievements and mentions an honor that pervasively reflects his life. A decade ago, Greene  was inducted into the University of Nebraska Army ROTC Hall of Fame. His photo hangs inside that building on campus and just might be the ultimate proof of what the Reserved Officer Training Corps taught Charlie Greene about leadership and teamwork, about being responsible, and yes, about doing what you’re supposed to do. 

Nebraska Athletics thanks Hail Varsity Magazine for permission to use the photo at the top of this column.

Send a comment to ryork@huskers.com (Please include city, state)

Follow Randy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RandyYorkNsider

Randy’s N-Sider Blog Archive

Randy’s N-Sider Column Archive

Olympic gold medalist Charlie Greene is flanked by fellow Husker legends Tom Oborne and Warren Buffett.

Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame Profiles

Football: Dave Rimington

Softball: Lori Sippel

Men's Gymnastics: Jim Hartung

Bowling: Shannon Pluhowsky

Soccer: Christine Latham

Men's Track and Field: Charlie Greene

Voices from Husker Nation

Well deserved, Charlie! Congrats. Frank (Sevigne) would be so proud, not just for this honor, but for your life as a good and honorable human being! Husker Nation is proud of you and all of your accomplishments. I remember when our son, Steve, and (Greene's daughter) Mercedes played together back in the day! The Bush family spent most holidays with the Sevignes. Charlie and other track athletes were often at Frank and Ginny’s home. Loved those times! Also LOVE the picture of Don Bryant!! Karen Bush Hoiberg, Ames, Iowa

What a wonderful story about Charlie Green! As a first-year high school track coach in 1978, I listened to and wrote down every word Charlie said while he was presenting at the Nebraska Coaches Association Clinic that year. This past indoor track season, I had the great honor of meeting him and thanking him for sharing his knowledge!  He acknowledged my thanks and then replied, "What was it that I said that made such a difference?" I replied, "Only everything you said!" He was so humble and so easy to talk to! Congratulations to Charlie Green on his Hall of Fame induction and thanks for the story! Steve J. Borer, Retired High School Athletic Administrator, Seward, Nebraska

I think Charlie still holds the world record for the 100-yard dash, but I didn’t see that in the story. Larry Peterson, Lincoln, Nebraska

Editor’s note: Click this link, the same featured at the top of this column. On May 27, 2010, in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell broke Charlie’s 43-year-old world record in the 100-yard dash. In that era, the 100-yard dash was one of the most famous distances in athletic history, and Greene's 9.21 was the quickest officially measured automatic time for that historic event. In Britain and the United States, the 100-yard distance was more commonly run than the 100 meters. Although 100 meters has always been the distance used in the modern Olympics, Britain's AAU Championships included the imperial distance until 1968, while the Americans held out until the 1970s. Meet organizers in the Czech Republic decided to set up equipment to record 100-yard splits in 2010, and for the first time in 43 years, someone was clocked electronically faster than Greene.

My favorite quote from Charlie is: “Pay attention. Be respectful. Go to practice every day. Do as you are told and let your talent be your shield and sword.” I don’t think my brother Steve and I ever missed a meet in Mushroom Gardens. We were there for one reason – to see Charlie run. He was amazing. Chuck Sinclair, Lincoln, Nebraska

Great article. Greene was a relationship “guru” long before networking became a way of life. Congratulations. Linda Dockery, Eagle, Nebraska

Additional Charlie Greene Memories

My name is Mel Pender. When I read the heart-breaking news about my 1968 teammate, Charlie Greene, and his heath problems, I had to respond. Charlie is the nicest man that I have known. We have known each other more than 30 years. If I was physically able, I would have been glad to give my longlife friend one of my kidneys. I want to commend you for what NU has done for Charlie. You have brought life back into him. He has given back to the youth and serving our country, and now it is time for us to give back to him. May God bless him, and I will keep him in my prayers. Dr. Mel Pender, 1968 Olympian, Gold Medalist, Atlanta, Georgia

The first time I saw Charlie Greene was in 1966. I was a high school senior, and he was a Nebraska University freshman running in New York City against Bob Hayes at Madison Square Garden. Before the big race, Charlie predicted that Bob "The Bullet" Hayes would have to break the world's record in order to beat Charlie. Charlie almost beat "The World's Fastest Human", forcing Hayes to break the world's indoor record for the 60-yard dash just as Charlie Greene had predicted. From 1966 to 1969, I was a half-miler on the Nebraska track team with Charlie. Charlie has been my hero as a world-class athlete, and he has been my role-model as a successful student and post-graduate. When your hero and role model not only models for you, but actually cheers you on, that is true inspiration that you can succeed with. Thank you and all the best to you Charlie "Peeps" Greene. You're still the best. God bless you as you overcome new challenges as true a champion. Much love, appreciation, and gratitude, from"Big Mike" Randall,  Class of 1970 (NU Alumni Achievement Award 2000), New York City, New York.

What a man, What a man, What a man, What a mighty good man!!!!!! Beckie Tuttle, Lincoln, Nebraska

As an official in track and field over the past three-plus decades, I have had the opportunity to know, watch and officiate for a number of my boyhood heroes - Jim Ryan at the KU relays, Billy Mills at KU periodically and often Charlie Greene at Nebraska for a number of years. What a privilege to see young men and women under Charlie's teaching and mentoring. I've posted this article and video on my Facebook Page to share around the net with my fellow track officials. It's a great article about an important cause - transplants. Now one of our own is open to a hand from those he has rubbed shoulders with over decades of his Husker life. Thanks to all who participated in making this important information available to the Husker Nation.Mike Williams, North Bend, Nebraska

Outstanding article on Charlie Greene. You captured the true essence of the moment in this article. Thank you and everyone else who have helped Charlie Greene during his tribulation. Will Cummings, Des Moines, Iowa

Growing up in Nebraska's Panhandle in the 1960s, we all loved it when Bob Devaney moved from Wyoming and put Nebraska on the national football map, but we were just as excited following the storied career of Charlie Greene, who put Nebraska on the world map. We were absolutely fascinated by his ability to beat the best sprinters in the world on a consistent basis. Part of his appeal, of course, was a Cornhusker putting on sunglasses and leaving everyone in his rear-view mirror. I chuckled reading about why Charlie wore those sunglasses. He was a true champion then, and all of these decades later, he remains one the University of Nebraska's greatest athletic legends, regardless of sport. I still remember what a thrill it was just to watch Charlie work out in Mushroom Gardens. He was such a hero in the eyes of so many of us, and was ready to be part of that search to find a kidney match. I'm glad they found the right donor, but I am his blood type and was more than willing to do whatever it took to help one of my favorite Nebraska athletes of all time. Ri Edwards, Yuba City, California

I was a student at the UNL College of Journalism, taking former Nebraska SID Don Bryant's Sports Media Relations class, when one of our guest speakers was Charlie Greene. As a graduate of the class of '09, I am much too young to have remembered his days as the world's fastest man. However, the stories he told, and the passion he displayed truly showcased what type of person he was. I was impressed with how much he cared for the university that gave him a start, and how committed he was to giving back to his community. I saw him out and about and around Lincoln many times since the class, and I've always said hello, and he has always been so kind as to start up a conversation. I wish him nothing but the best, and hope that he is able to continue his life with the same vigor and enthusiasm as I will always remember him for. Garrett Wright, Bristol, Connecticut

What a trip down memory lane as I read of the plight of one of Nebraska's greatest athletes of all time, Charlie Greene. My late father, Jerry Mapes, who started his career as a Lincoln Journal-Star sports writer, instilled in me the love of competitive sports, specifically Nebraska sports. My mom and dad were the host family to two of Nebraska's all-time great track athletes, Lennox Burgher and Clifton Forbes, who competed in the late '60s after coming to Nebraska from their native Jamaica. It was through this association that I had the honor of meeting Charlie Greene. What a thrill for a 9-year-old boy with stars in his eyes. I still remember him bringing his Olympic gold medal from the 4x100 relay and the bronze medal he won in the 100-meter dash in Mexico City to our Lincoln home in early 1969. Having watched him compete in the old Mushroom Gardens, it was certainly a thrill to have the chance to meet him in person and to share a part of his success. He was larger than life with a big personality, and I knew even as a child that this was something I would remember for a lifetime! After more than 40 years, Charlie Greene is still one of the great Nebraska sports icons of all time, and I hope and pray that the proper kidney match can restore him to improved health! Bruce Mapes, Phoenix, Arizona

As an ex-Husker track coach with Frank Sevigne, I have bonded closely with Charlie Greene over the years. We have visited each other's homes, attended Husker sports events, and he was influential in my daughter attending NU. Life has thrown him some tough curves physically and mentally without a doubt, but he has rallied and endured. His mantra has always been "to give back". While campus ombudsman and beyond his message to student-athletes, he always stressed in a positive way how important it was to attend class, listen to your coaches, train hard and respect the law.  Many with his laurels would be all about themselves, totally self-absorbed, but Charlie always asks how you're getting along and how he might help make your day better. This is what makes Charlie a great representative for Nebraska and the USA, and an even better friend - one I admire greatly. John Korky, NU Class of 1977, Long Valley, New Jersey

While I was a student at the Pharmacy College in the mid '60s, we had an intramural "flag football" game with a team from the ROTC College. They had one play only - to hike it to this kid who would take off running, and no one on our team was able to come close to catching him. After a very close loss (something like 63-0) I remember somebody asking someone on their team: "Hey, who was that kid that could run like hell?" The response was: "That's Charlie Green...I think he's on the track team." Later, when Charlie won the Gold Medal at the 1968 Olympics, it made me feel proud knowing that I had my butt kicked by one of the greatest athletes ever. Ron Anderson, R.Ph., North Bend, Nebraska