Hall of Fame
Ray Conger was one of the most prolific middle-distance runners in the United States during the 1920s. He captured the 1927 NCAA title in the mile run and won Missouri Valley Conference mile championships three consecutive years, from 1925 to 1927. He added a conference title at 880 yards in 1926. Over the course of his collegiate career, Conger led the Cyclones to seven conference team titles and ran on 19 conference-winning relay teams.
Conger earned a place on the 1928 U.S. Olympic team and competed in the 1,500-meter run in Amsterdam, winning his qualifying heat before finishing in the final. He held the world record at 1,000 yards and the American record in the 1,500 meters. He went on to compile a two-year unbeaten streak in the mile from 1929 to 1930, winning three National AAU mile championships and three more U.S. crowns at 1,000 yards.
Perhaps the most storied moment of Conger’s career came on February 9, 1929, when he became the first — and only — athlete to defeat Finnish legend Paavo Nurmi in the mile, coming from behind in the final two laps to win the Wanamaker Mile at Madison Square Garden by eight yards. The victory was front-page news and was long referred to as one of the greatest upsets in track history.
A native of Riceville, Iowa, Conger later earned a master’s degree in physiology, did graduate work at Columbia University, and spent nearly four decades in academia — teaching at Carleton College and then as a professor of physical education at Penn State until his retirement in 1970. He was inducted into the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in 1963 and the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999. He passed away on October 23, 1994, just shy of his 90th birthday.