Clyde Hart, longtime Baylor University track and field coach and deacon at First Baptist Church of Waco, died Nov. 1 in Waco. He was 91. He was born Feb. 3, 1934, in Eudora, Ark., to Erma Lee Hart and Thomas Clyde Hart. He grew up in Arkansas and was a state championship sprinter at Hot Springs High School, graduating in 1952. His collegiate career at Baylor University included multiple school records in track and field. He graduated from Baylor in 1956 and later received a master’s degree in education from the University of Arkansas. While a student at Baylor, he met Maxine Barton. They married in 1956 and moved to Wink where he worked briefly for Pan American Oil Company before turning to coaching. Hart served as head track and field coach and head athletic trainer at Little Rock Central High School from 1957 to 1963. In 1963, Baylor University hired him as head track and field coach—a role he held for 56 years, the longest tenure of any coach in Baylor history. Baylor’s track and field facility bears his name. During his coaching career, Hart received numerous honors, including Arkansas Track Coach of the Year five times, Southwest Conference Indoor Coach of the Year four times, and NCAA Coach of the Year twice. In 2008, the International Amateur Athletic Federation named him International Track and Field Coach of the Year. He received the National Coach of the Year award three times from the U.S. Olympic Committee and three times from USA Track and Field. He was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, Drake Relays Hall of Fame, Houston Meet of Champions Hall of Fame, Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame and the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Hart was a member of First Baptist Church of Waco for 62 years, where he served as a deacon. He was preceded in death by two brothers. Survivors include his wife of 69 years, Maxine Barton Hart; son Greg Patterson Hart; son Scott Barton Hart and his wife Kimberly; three grandchildren; one great-grandson; and brother James B. Hart and his wife Carolyn.
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