Jack Daniels, Legendary Coach and Innovative Scientist, Dies at Age 92

Runner’s World – Jack Daniels, widely acknowledged as one of the most influential and successful running coaches and exercise scientists in the United States, died on September 12 at age 92.

According to an email from his wife, Nancy, “He died happy after watching the Green Bay Packers win last night. He tested the Packers team when he was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, and has loved the team ever since.”

During a career that spanned more than six decades, Daniels worked directly with dozens of elite American distance runners, authored several books and more than 50 articles on running, and produced ground-breaking innovations and research.

But his most cherished experiences involved helping more “normal” athletes find success and enjoyment in the sport.

Daniels fell into distance running, and eventually began coaching, in a roundabout way. A strong collegiate swimmer in the early 1950s, he became a two-time Olympic medalist in modern pentathlon despite initially struggling in the event’s running component. It was through working to improve his own running that Daniels developed a passion for human performance and coaching others to success.

Born in Detroit, Daniels was still an infant when his parents moved the family to the Bay area of northern California. There Daniels had an active childhood and, after failing at baseball tryouts, became an accomplished competitive swimmer at Sequoia Union High School in Redwood City before entering the Colorado School of Mines in 1951. A year later he transferred to the University of Montana in Missoula, where he was a standout on the swimming and rifle teams and also went through the ROTC program.

Daniels graduated from Montana in 1955 with a double major in physical education and mathematics …