Darrow Hooper

Although Darrow Hooper was deprived of a single AAU title by contemporaries such as Parry O’Brien, he was one of the great shot putters of his time. He beat world record holder O’Brien and former record holder, Jim Fuchs, at the 1952 Final Trials, and only lost the Olympic title to O’Brien by a mere two centimetres. His winning throw of 57-1⅝ (17.41) at the 1952 Trials was the best mark of his career and would have sufficed to win the Olympic gold medal had he been able to repeat the performance at Helsinki. At Texas A&M, Hooper was NCAA champion in 1951, defeating O’Brien, but then was runner-up to O’Brien at the 1953 and 1954 NCAA Meet.

At Texas A&M Hooper also played football, appearing variously at quarterback, halfback, tight end, and place kicker. He was approached by the New York Giants in 1953-54 but opted instead to join the Air Force, where he served as a second lieutenant. After his service he began work in engineering for Gifford Hill, Texas Laboratories. In 1977 he opened his own engineering firm, Hooper Engineering Laboratories. He led the company until he retired in 1999. In 1992 Hooper endowed the Spencer Buchanan Chair in civil engineering at Texas A&M, and also established a President’s Endowed Scholarship in the name of his longtime favorite coach, Colonel Frank Anderson.

Personal Bests: SP – 57-1⅝ (17.41) (1952); DT – 170-0 (51.81) (1952).