William Watson (decathlete)

[3] In all, Watson won 12 individual championships in six track seasons (three indoor and three outdoor) competing for the University of Michigan.

[2] The Associated Press called Watson a "finely proportioned negro" and "the big gun to watch in Michigan's powerhouse array of talent.

[4] Personally, press accounts described Watson as "quiet and unassuming, intelligent, a high-ranking student," with "a thorough social understanding.

"[4] As Watson concluded his collegiate career in 1939, he took a job as the private secretary to heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis,[2][5] and began training for the 1940 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.

In June 1939, sports columnist Charles Dunkley wrote and article predicting success for Watson in Helsinki.

Dunkley wrote: Two ambitions figure to zoom 'Big Bill' Watson, 20-year-old negro lad, called the University of Michigan's one-man track team, to distinguished athletic heights.

Foremost is a proud desire to wear the shield of the United States across his chest in the Olympic games in Finland a year hence.

[1] And on August 21, 1939, less than two weeks before the German invasion of Poland, Time magazine predicted that Watson would be America's 1940 Olympic hero, even comparing him to Jesse Owens.

"[5]With his talent in numerous track and field events, many believed Watson could have set a new world decathlon record in the Olympics.

[6] The favorites going into the 1940 AAU championship were Watson and two-time defending American decathlon champion Joe Scott, who had overcome infantile paralysis.

This is the first time Watson has participated in the grueling test and a comparison of his and Scott's abilities indicates the rest of the field will merely be a supporting cast for their act.

Watson continued training in 1944 to defend his AAU decathlon championship, but a sinus attack forced him to withdraw from the competition.

"[14] By the time the Olympic Games were resumed in 1948, Watson had given up track competition for a full-time career with the Detroit Police Department.