Bob Hayes byname of Robert Lee Hayes, also known as “Bullet” Bob Hayes was born on December 20, 1942 in Jacksonville, Florida. Robert “Bullet Bob” Hayes is the only athlete to win both a Super Bowl ring and an Olympic gold medal. Hayes was once considered the world’s fastest man by virtue of his multiple world records in the 60-yard, 100-yard, 220-yard, and Olympic 100-meter dashes.

Hayes attended Matthew Gilbert High School (now a middle school) in Jacksonville, where he was a backup halfback on the 1958 football team who went undefeated to become the first all-Black school to win a state football championship in Florida. The 1958 Gilbert Panthers finished 12-0, winning the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Association black school state championship with a 14-7 victory over Dillard High School of Fort Lauderdale. In times of segregation laws their achievement went basically unnoticed, yet 50 years later they were recognized as one the best teams in FHSAA history.

Hayes took his incredible speed and athleticism to Florida A&M University in Tallahassee where he attended from 1961-1964.  Highly recruited, Hayes excelled in both track and football during his time at Florida A&M. While at Florida A&M, Hayes never lost a 100-yard or 100-meter competition. He was the first person to break six seconds in the 60-yard dash with a time of 5.9 seconds in 1962. In 1963, he set a new world record time of 9.1 in the 100-yard dash, a mark that would not be broken for eleven years (until Ivory Crockett ran a 9.0 in 1974).  Hayes was selected to represent the United States in the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics in which he won the gold medal in the 100-meter dash by tying the then-world record of 10.06 seconds. He then won the gold in the 4x100 relays, which also produced a new world record of 39.06 seconds. Hayes’ leg of the relay was the fastest in history, which helped the U.S. come from behind to win in impressive fashion.  Hayes was not only a symbol of athletic excellence, but a role model for Jacksonville’s Black community.

The Dallas Cowboys selected Hayes in the seventh round of the 1964 NFL Draft with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft Hayes before his college eligibility was over.  As a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, Hayes helped the team play in two Super Bowls, including playing an instrumental role in the Cowboys first ever Super Bowl win in 1972. In his first two seasons, he caught 110 passes for 25 touchdowns while averaging 22 yards per catch. As a wide receiver and kick returner who was impossible to catch considering his speed, Hayes made the Pro Bowl during his first three seasons. Hayes played for the Dallas Cowboys for 10 seasons and one season with the San Francisco 49ers.  His ability to combine his speed with precise route-running and incredible ball-tracking skills led coaches to adopt and refine complicated zone defense strategies, since no other player could catch him in man-to-man defense. 

Hayes' 7,295 receiving yards are the sixth-most in Dallas Cowboys history. Hayes holds 10 regular season receiving records, four punt return records and 22 overall franchise marks, making him one of the greatest receivers to ever play for the Cowboys.  In addition, one of the best high school track and field meets in the state of Florida is held annually and was named after the iconic athlete, the “Bob Hayes Invitational Track meet,” which began in 1964.  Hayes passed away on September 18, 2002, in Jacksonville, Florida. In 2009, Hayes was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.