Charles "Rut" Walter

No Howard County native has achieved so much as an athlete and coach as the often-decorated Walter, who died in 1997 at age 91. Many still consider him the greatest multi-sport athlete ever from this area and he’s the only Kokomo native ever to coach an Olympic team.

The 1926 Kokomo High School graduate was first and foremost a genuine track and field star. He won seven IHSAA state track championships over three years. At his final state meet, having already won three titles, he won four more, setting records in the 220 and 440 dashes and tying the 100 record. He anchored the Kats’ state championship half-mile relay and, in almost an afterthought, finished fifth in long jump. Walter’s :21.6 clocking in the 220 dash at the state meet stands 78 years later as an all-time Kokomo best. Walter’s track career had only begun. At Northwestern University, he won the Big Ten 440 championship three times and over a three-year span at the NCAA Championships, placed third, second and first in the 440.

Walter then turned his talents to coaching. He was track coach at Northwestern from 1952-60, then took over the cross country and track programs at Wisconsin. While he was coach at Wisconsin, the Badgers won seven Big Ten championships and had 57 individual conference champs. His crowning achievement was coaching the men’s track squad at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

He was also an outstanding basketball player at Kokomo, leading the 1925 team to the state championship game. During the four-game state finals series, he scored a record 72 points and was the recipient of the Gimbel Prize, the forerunner of today’s Trester Award.

Three years at Northwestern and captained the team his senior year. Walter is a member of the Indiana Basketball and Indiana Track halls of fame, the Wisconsin Hall of Fame and the Drake Relays Hall of Fame.