The late Milt Campbell was one of the greatest all-around athletes nobody ever heard of. Campbell who won the decathlon at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne Australia was a U.S. Olympian who excelled at just about any game he played. He even played professional football for a spell but few people knew of Campbell’s athletic prowess. There are various explanations for his relative lack of glory. One is that the ’56 Melbourne Games were not televised as extensively as they would later be. Another is that his gridiron career in the U.S. was short-lived with the Cleveland Browns as he wound up playing nine professional seasons in the Canadian Football League. But prior to any of that Campbell was an accomplished athlete at the University of Indiana.

This lot features Campbell’s 1956 U.S. National A.A.U. Western Regional Decathlon Championship Trophy. Positioned on a separated two-tiered black marble base the 18-inch trophy features a 15-inch sculpted heroic male figure made out of alabaster resin throwing the discus. This event was the precursor to the Olympic trials and prior to Campbell’s eventual Olympic victory in which he set a new Olympic record of 7937 points for the 10 events. Of particular note is the fact that Campbell defeated U.S. teammate Rafer Johnson who claimed the silver medal in Australia before gaining world-wide recognition four years later in Rome by winning the gold medal. The entire statue including its seven-inch-wide by seven-inch deep marble base weighs 15 pounds. Engraved on the front of the black marble base is the following text: “U.S. National A.A.U. Western Region 1956 Decathlon Champion.”

Includes Letter of Provenance from the San Diego Hall of Champions.