NARD CAZZELL - INDUCTEE #111
hall of fame fast fact:
In 1994, the U.S. Gymnastics Federation honored Nard Cazzell with the organization's lifetime achievement award. He was just the fifth person to be so honored.
Nard Cazzell
Nard Cazzell joined the U.S. Navy and used a trampoline for aviation preflight training.
Nard Cazzell left the Navy and returned to Amarillo in 1946; he promptly purchased a trampoline, set up a shop, and began a teaching career with six students.
Cazzell and his wife, Sissie, opened Nard’s Gymnastics School in 1954; he operated the school for 30 years. Some of Cazzell’s students gained worldwide notoriety; one of the best was Ronnie Munn who became a national champion at 15 and later became president of the U.S. Trampoline Association.
Trampoling became a medal event at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australila, thanks to Cazzell’s heavy influence.
Cazzell was a member of the Gymnastics Association of Texas Hall of Fame. In 2002, he was named to both the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame and the World Acrobatics Society Gallery of Honor.
Cazzell died in 1999 at the age of 86.
