Dr. Edward Collymore a 1955 graduate of Rindge Technical High School. Ed would begin his track career as a freshman at Rindge Tech where he trained under Coach Duffy and by the time he was a senior he found himself as the premier track athlete in the Boston area. In 1954 and 55 Ed went undefeated in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, while gathering wins in the Class A and New England Championships in the 220 and 600 yard dashes. Though Ed would say his favorite race was the 220 it would be the 440 that brought him first to National prominence.

During his senior year at Rindge he found himself as the national indoor 440 high school champion. His victory helped propel the Rindge team to the National High School Team Title. With Ed’s outstanding high school career, Villanova offered him a scholarship to run for the Wildcats. Ed flourish in his new surroundings and proved that his range of ability from the shorter 60-yard races to the longer 600 yards would be invaluable to the Villanova team. Ed ran his first dominant collegiate race in 1957 as a sophomore at the IC4A Championship when he won the 220 in a remarkable time of 21.0. Later that year Ed would qualify for the finals of the NCAA Championship in the 100Y and place third in the 220.

In 1957 Ed’s performance helped the Wildcats of Villanova capture its first NCAA Team Championship. With his performance in the 220 he would be ranked 6th in the world at that distance. IN his junior year he would get a 5th in the NCAA 100 yard at 9.7 and would win the NCAA 220 Championship with a time of 20.7 He would go on to place 5th in the AAU 100 Yard and 4th in the 220. IN a meet verses Russia in 1958 he would gain a 2nd in the 100m in a time of 10.2 and win the 220 in a time of 21.0. Also in 58 at a meet in Compton Calafornia he would run a 9.5 100 yard and 20.3 in the 220. In 1958 Ed would be ranked 3rd in the world at the 220. Just to show his wide range of ability Ed Collymore would complement his long sprint dominance with a USA Track and Field Championship performance in the 60-yard dash with a world leading time of 6.1. His most dominant overall season would be his senior indoor year when TRACK and FIELD NEWS ranked Ed Collymore # 1 in the world for the combined 440-600 yard races. During that 1959 indoor season he would go unbeaten in the 600 yard and anchor the NCAA 4 X 440 relay team in a victory over the number one ranked team in the country from the University of Texas. Ed’s 45.6-anchor leg gave the Villanova Wildcats a 3:10.4 to 3:10.7 win over the favored Texas team. In one of his more spirited races that indoor season, Ed Collymore defeated his former high school and college teammate Charlie Jenkins, a member of this Hall of Fame, in a blazing 600 yard time of 1:10.3 just 8 tenths off the meet and world record time. In his senior year outdoor he again won the IC4A 220 but pulled a muscle and was unable to compete in the NCAA championships. Upon graduation from Villanova Ed would join the marines where he competed for the Marine track team.

In 1960 he would finish 3rd in the USA Track and Field Championship and would make it to the finals of the 1960 Olympic trials. He reached the level of colonel upon retirement from the reserves and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Villanova must have made a huge impact on Dr. Ed Collymore, as he would spend a large portion of his professional career at his Alma Mata, most notably as the Director of Multicultural Affairs. Ed retired in 2004; he enjoys fishing and has a black belt in karate. He lives in Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania with his wife Marcia