Dellinger

Bill Dellinger's personal bests may not impress some people today. But when looking at personal bests you have to look at the time in which the runner ran. Dellinger was in his running prime in the 1950's. This is well before the in depth knowledge and technology and nutrition for running that we have today. His times may not match today's standards but it certainly matched the standards of when he was running. In fact, he rose above some of the standards. He held several American and World records during his time. Perhaps even more impressive in Bill Dellinger's career is what he did after his retirement. He first became the assistant coach at Oregon behind legendary coach Bill Bowerman and became head coach after Bowerman's retirement. As head coach, he won five NCAA titles. He coached many great runners at Oregon like Steve Prefontaine. He even coached post-collegiates such as Alberto Salazar.