December 23 Birthdays

1947
William Henry Rodgers, United States, long-distance runner. In 1975 Bill Rodgers first served notice on the international stage by winning the bronze medal at the IAAF World Cross-Country Championships. Less than a month later he won the Boston Marathon in an American-record time of 2:09:55. It would be the first of four Boston titles for Rodgers, who also won in 1978, 1979, and 1980, setting another American record (2:09:27) in the 1979 race. Rodgers also won the Fukuoka marathon in 1977 (2:10:55), during the era that race was considered the unofficial world championship for the marathon. He was on the United States marathon team in the 1976 (Montreal) Olympic Games and won four straight New York City Marathons from 1976 to 1979. His running memoir, Marathoning, is certainly worth a read.