A former world record holder, Babka also won a silver medal in the discus event at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.

[1] He starred in football, basketball, and baseball in addition to track and field at Palo Alto High School before graduating in 1954.

He subsequently attended nearby Menlo College and the University of Southern California (USC).

Knee injuries eventually obliged him to withdraw from USC's football and basketball teams, but as a discus thrower he continued to climb toward the top of the world rankings.

Babka continued to compete as a discus thrower until 1969, when he retired to devote himself to various business pursuits.