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{{Short description|American track and field coach}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name                      = LeRoy T. Walker
| image                     = File:LeRoy Walker.png
| caption                   = LeRoy Walker as Chancellor of North Carolina Central University, 1984
| birth_date                = {{Birth date|1918|06|14}}
| birth_place               = [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], US
| death_date                = {{Death date and age|2012|04|23|1918|06|14}}
| death_place               = [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]], [[North Carolina]], US
| alma_mater                = [[Benedict College]]<br>[[Columbia University|Columbia]]<br>[[New York University|NYU]]
| title                     = President of [[United States Olympic Committee]]
| term                      = 1992–1996
| predecessor               = 
| successor                 = 
| spouse                    = 
| children                  = 2
| awards                    = [[USA Track & Field|USATF]] Hall of Fame<br>[[U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association|USTFCCCA]] Hall of Fame<br>[[National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics|NACDA]] [[Corbett Award|James J. Corbett Memorial Award]]<br>George Dales Award
}}

'''LeRoy T. Walker''' (June 14, 1918&nbsp;– April 23, 2012) was an American track and field coach and the first African-American president of the [[United States Olympic Committee]]. In the 1996 Olympics, Walker was delegated to lead a 10,000 member group of the most talented athletes in the world. His goal was to make sure that American citizens have a feeling of ownership in the program, saying,
{{blockquote|We ought to keep them informed. We ought to let them know what the [[Olympic movement]] is all about and what’s happening to the dollars that they give.{{cite quote|date=June 2016}} }}

In 1988 he was elected to the position of Treasurer, one of the four officer positions on the Board of Directors (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer) for a four year term. Largely on the strength of his performance as Treasurer, he was elected to the position of President for a four year term. He gave up his six figure salary position as the director of sports for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games to take the unpaid presidency position.

==Education and career==
Walker received degrees from [[Benedict College]] (B.A.) and [[Columbia University]] (M.A.).<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/25/sports/olympics/leroy-t-walker-us-olympic-committees-first-black-president-is-dead-at-93.html LeRoy T. Walker, a Pioneer of U.S. Olympics, Dies at 93], New York Times. Retrieved 28 April 2012.</ref> Walker competed on the football and basketball teams at Benedict, and he also was a national-class sprinter for the track and field team despite Benedict not having a track facility to train on.<ref>{{cite web |title=Leroy Walker, Ph.D. |url=https://benedicttigers.com/honors/hall-of-fame/leroy-walker-ph-d-/4 |website=benedicttigers.com |access-date=22 November 2024}}</ref> He received his Ph.D. in [[biomechanics]] at [[New York University]]. He went back to [[Benedict College]] to begin a track and field collegiate coaching career. He received enough sports scholarships to finance his college expenses.
In 1945, he became the head coach for the [[North Carolina Central University]] track team. He also chaired the physical education and recreation departments. NCCU track and field athletes were all in the Olympic Games between the years 1956 and 1980. When Walker retired in 1986 as North Carolina's chancellor-emeritus, his team won 11 gold medals, 80 were named All-American, and 35 had national championships. 
In addition to coaching NCCU, he coached track teams from other countries. [[Israel]] and [[Ethiopia]] in 1960, [[Trinidad and Tobago]] in 1964, [[Jamaica]] in 1968, and [[Kenya]] in 1972.
The last team he led to the Olympic Games was for the United States in 1976. The team included [[Caitlyn Jenner]] (then Bruce){{efn|Jenner changed her name due to [[gender transition]] in 2015.<ref>{{cite magazine|author = Buzz Bissinger|author-link = Buzz Bissinger|title=Introducing Caitlyn Jenner|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/06/caitlyn-jenner-bruce-cover-annie-leibovitz/|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=June 1, 2015|accessdate=June 1, 2015}}</ref> }} and [[Edwin Moses]].

He served as the honorary chair of the Board of Directors of the Africa News Service, based in Durham North Carolina.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Preliminary Guide to the Leroy T. Walker Africa News Service Archive, 1952-1998 and undated (bulk 1952-1994)|url=https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/findingaids/africa/|access-date=2020-06-23|website=David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library|language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==
He had a daughter, Dr. Carolyn Walker Hopp, and a son, LeRoy T. Walker Jr. His home was in [[Durham, NC]]. Katherine, his wife, died in 1978.

Walker was a member of [[Omega Psi Phi]] fraternity.

== Awards ==
In 1991 Walker was awarded the Eagle Award from the [[United States Sports Academy]].  The Eagle Award is the Academy's highest international honor and was awarded to Walker for his significant contributions to international sport.

Walker was recognized as a Main Honoree by the Sesquicentennial Honors Commission at the Durham 150 Closing Ceremony in Durham, NC on November 2, 2019. The posthumous recognition was bestowed upon 29 individuals "whose dedication, accomplishments and passion have helped shape Durham in important ways."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Durham 150|url=https://archive.org/details/durham-150-closing-ceremony-program|title=Durham 150 Closing Ceremony Program|date=2019-11-02}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Biography - An Olympic Journey: The Saga of an American Hero: LeRoy T. Walker by Charles Gaddy - Griffin Publishing Group (1998)
* Ebony. Introducing: Dr. LeRoy T. Walker, USOC president- United States Olympic Committee. LeRoy T. Walker. June 1994. [findarticles.com/p/articles/mi]
* NYTimes obit. [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/25/sports/olympics/leroy-t-walker-us-olympic-committees-first-black-president-is-dead-at-93.html?hpw]
* {{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=leroy-t-walker}}

==External links==
* {{sports links|properties=-P12285}}

{{Footer USA Track & Field 1976 Summer Olympics}}
{{Presidents of the United States Olympic Committee}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, LeRoy T.}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni]]
[[Category:North Carolina Central University people]]
[[Category:African-American sports executives and administrators]]
[[Category:American sports executives and administrators]]
[[Category:Benedict Tigers men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Benedict Tigers football players]]
[[Category:Benedict Tigers men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:College track and field coaches in South Carolina]]
[[Category:People from Atlanta]]
[[Category:American biologists]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Presidents of the United States Olympic Committee]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]]
[[Category:American male sprinters]]