UofL Indoor Track & Field Meet Named for Lenny Lyles

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville's Feb. 17 men's and women's indoor track and field meet at the new Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center in Louisville will be named the Lenny Lyles Cardinal Invitational in honor of the Cardinals' former track and football star.

The event, which will be the first staged in the new facility, had originally been titled simply the Cardinal Invitational, but the new name was fitting to include Lenny Lyles, a Louisville native who starred in track and as a football runningback and defensive back for UofL and NFL Baltimore Colts. Lyles was among the first in a rich tradition of Black student-athletes to attend UofL and in universities across the south.

"While Lenny Lyles was known as the 'fastest man in football" -- and track for that matter -- he was also known for his business success and community leadership in his hometown of Louisville," said UofL Vice-President/Director of Athletics Vince Tyra. "It is incredibly rewarding to recognize Lenny by naming the inaugural track meet in the new indoor track facility in west Louisville is his honor. We know he would be so proud of the facility and our community's efforts to support west Louisville."

The collegiate meet next Wednesday will include host Louisville with teams from Bellarmine, Eastern Kentucky and Notre Dame. No open or club athletes will compete in this event. It will include eight running events and six field events for men and women beginning at noon. Due to COVID-19 guidelines, the event will not be open to the general public.

Lyles was a four-year football starter for the Cardinals (1954-57) and totaled 2,786 yards on the ground for UofL. He left UofL as its all-time leading rusher but currently stands at seventh at UofL.

Lyles' 49 career touchdowns is surpassed at UofL only by Lamar Jackson and his 21 touchdowns in 1957 are tied for second-most ever for the Cardinals. His 300 career points stood as the Cardinals' all-time scoring record for 50 years and is currently tied for fourth.

Known as the "Fastest Man in Football" in 1957, Lyles became the first Cardinal to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season that year. He earned first-team Little All-America honors that season when his 1,207 yards led the nation.

While meters are used as standards for track distances now, Lyles' speedy marks of 9.64 seconds in 100 yards and 20.84 seconds for 220 yards were set as UofL records.

Following graduation, Lyles was selected in the first round of the 1958 National Football League draft by the Baltimore Colts, where he teamed with former UofL quarterback Johnny Unitas. Lyles spent two seasons with the Colts before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 1959. He returned to the Colts in 1961 and played his final eight seasons in Baltimore.

In his first stint with the Colts, Lyles played in the 1958 NFL Championship Game which ended in sudden death overtime with the Colts defeating the New York Giants, 23-17. The game has been called "the greatest NFL game ever played."

Lyles was among the first group of former players to have his jersey honored with the Cardinals. A member of the UofL Athletic Hall of Fame, Lyles followed his NFL career with an equally successful career in private business. A statue of Lyles is in place on the UofL campus on the Floyd Street side of Cardinal Park between the track stadium and Trager Stadium. Lyles died at age 75 on Nov. 20, 2011.

The Lenny Lyles Cardinal Invitational will be the first indoor track and field meet staged in the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center, located at 3029 West Muhammad Ali Blvd.

Ground was broken for the facility at 30th Street and West Muhammad Ali Boulevard in late August 2019 and the indoor facility will be complete this month. The 24-acre, multi-sport complex located in Louisville's Russell neighborhood, will host a variety of local, regional and national track meets, other sporting events, concerts and other events. The facility features 90,000 square-feet of floor space with a 4,000 seat, 200-meter banked indoor track and competition areas for all jump, vaults and throws and a 400-meter outdoor track.

The indoor track's Mondo hydraulic floor can be lowered to provide space to add a stage and floor seating to host concerts and a variety of other events. Additionally, the complex will include a 4-lane mini bowling alley, an interactive rock-climbing wall and a multi-purpose space to be used for educational programming for the Louisville community.

University of Louisville Athletics

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