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In late 2006, History San Jose organized the exhibit \u201cSpeed City : From Civil Rights to Black Power<\/em>,\u201d an in-depth examination of American sport in an era that spanned the aftermath of World War II through America\u2019s tumultuous involvement in Vietnam. The exhibition focused on San Jose State College\u2019s athletic program, from which many coaches and student athletes became globally recognized figures as the Civil Rights and Black Power movements reshaped American society. San Jose State College \u2013 now known as San Jose State University \u2013 was selected as the focus of the exhibit as several Spartans became principal figures during this period of dramatic social transformation. This imitation cherry pie, part of the exhibit, represented the pies baked by the wives of Coach Bud Winter and his assistant Bert Bonanno.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lloyd \u201cBud\u201d Winter arrived in San Jose to coach track and field in 1940, but left to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Upon his return after the war, he resumed his coaching position with assistant Bert Bonanno. Though Winter had coached some fairly successful teams through the 1940s and early 1950s, it was not until the mid \u201950s that a young Black sprinter would bring Winter\u2019s genius to the forefront.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ray Norton, then a high school senior, tells the story of Winter watching him run on the track along with a couple of friends days before the national outdoor track and field championships at the University of California. Winter questioned the young sprinter, and told him that if he were to come to San Jose State, he would make him \u201cthe World\u2019s Fastest Human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Within two years of his arrival in San Jose, Norton, who competed in the 1956 Olympic trials as an Oakland City College freshman, literally became the World\u2019s No. 1-ranked sprinter. Teaching the same relaxation methods he had taught fighter pilots during the Second World War, Winter trained Norton to relax while sprinting. Norton later would set or break world records in the 100 and 200 meters, and the 100 and 220 yards six times during the 1958, \u201959 and \u201960 outdoor seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the coming of Norton and California State Junior College champion sprinter Robert Poynter in 1956 and \u201958, respectively, San Jose would become somewhat of a magnet for athletes from as far afield as Brazil (Jose Azevado), Jamaica (Dennis Johnson), Nigeria (Jimmy Ogmabemi), and Venezuela (Lloyd Murad), earning the nickname \u201cSpeed City.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But not all was as glorious in San Jose as songstress Dionne Warwick sang in her hit \u201cDo you know the way to San Jose? (\u201cThere\u2019ll be a place where I can stay . . .\u201d). Although these world-class athletes were \u201con scholarship,\u201d they sometimes went hungry. \u201cOn weekends when we didn\u2019t have anything to eat, we would just stay in the house,\u201d said Poynter, who notes how Coach Winter would divide six scholarships amongst forty athletes. \u201cSometimes we would eat walnuts off the tree in the backyard and drink sugar water, or if Chuck Alexander would hash (wait tables) at a fraternity or sorority house, he would bring home chicken for us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n At one point, Norton, whom other athletes teased about being \u201cBud\u2019s favorite,\u201d approached Winter to discuss his famished teammates. Soon, Winter had set up a \u201creward system\u201d in which everyone, from Norton, the World\u2019s Fastest Human, to the slowest person on the team would be fed. \u201cIt was interesting because he knew the athletes who were hungry,\u201d Norton said. \u201cBut Bud would do it so that he wouldn\u2019t embarrass anyone.\u201d Winter\u2019s wife, Helen Winter, and his assistant\u2019s wife, Betty Bonanno, began to bake cakes and pies for the athletes. Winter also was able to get restaurants including Original Joe\u2019s \u2013 still located at 301 South First Street in downtown San Jose \u2013 to feed the athletes in the afternoon or in the evening. \u201cIf you did well in practice and Bud liked it,\u201d Norton said, \u201cBud would give you a little chip and you could go over there and get a milkshake and a hamburger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the fact that Norton and Poynter, amongst others, brought worldwide recognition to the City of San Jose, they still were forced to live in segregated housing along with a dozen or so other Black males who attended SJSC, and called themselves the Good Brothers. \u201cWe had to help each other in order to survive, so that\u2019s what we did,\u2019 Poynter said. \u201cAll of us were determined to succeed because we knew we couldn\u2019t just go back home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Excerpted from \u201cSpeed City: From Civil Rights to Black Power\u201d by Urla Hill, 2005)<\/p>\n\n\n\n