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James Mays

James Mays - Inductee #177

hall of fame fast fact:

James Mays earned the nickname "JAM", comprised of his three initials.

James Mays

“Lean to the left and try to be the first one back,” is how track star James Mays jokingly described his running style in a May 1999 newpaper article. It worked.

The Hereford native was the UIL Class 4A state champion in 880-meters in 1977 for Hereford High and used that performance as a springboard to an outstanding career at Texas Tech.

During his freshman year at Tech, Mays also played basketball, his first love, as well as running track.

However, soon Mays was only running track as his life changed when he met U.S. track legend Jesse Owens, who came to Tech for a speaking engagement.“He said, ‘You’ve got some God-given talent, and it may not be in basketball,’” Mays said in a Globe-News article. “He told me to concentrate on track.”

During his remaining three years at Tech, Mays became one of the top collegiate 800-meter runners in the country.

Mays finished fourth in the 1980 and 1981 NCAA Outdoor events and placed third in the 1981 NCAA Indoor 800 meters.Mays become a two-time Southwest Conference champion and Texas Tech’s first three-time All-American in the 800.

For the next 10 years, Mays compete for the U.S. national teams and in Europe. Mays was a member of 10 U.S. national track teams and was a three-time Olympic Trials qualifier.

In 1984, in an 800 meters race in Stockholm, Mays ran the fastest two-lap race of his career, clocking in at 1:44.62 — the fastest ever run by a native Texan at that time.

Mays was inducted into the Texas Tech Athletic Hall of Honor.