Eddie Southern Obituary

Eddie Southern was an American sprinter and hurdler who won a silver medal in the 400 meters hurdles at the 1956 Olympics.

Southern was a 1955 graduate of Dallas’ Sunset High School, where he won four individual State Championships and set two State and National High School Records, was an American athlete who competed mainly in 400-meter hurdles, as well as sprints and relays.

He was clocked at 20.7 seconds on the 220-yard dash, the best by a high school student in Texas or any other state. Then he turned right around and broke the state and national records in the 440-yard event with a time of 47.2 seconds.

Individually, Southern earned three straight 440-yard SWC championships in 1957, 1958, 1959 and the 1959 NCAA quarter-mile title. Southern ran the anchor for the world record 440 and 880-yard relays while at the University of Texas.

Southern won another silver medal in the 4 x 400m relay at the 1959 Pan American Games.