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Chicago names new track and field facility in honor of former Bears player

By FOX 32 News
Published  April 6, 2022 4:46pm CDT
Chicago Park District
FOX 32 Chicago

Chicago track and field facility named in honor of Bob Pickens

Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined the Chicago Park District on Wednesday to honor a former Olympian from Chicago.

CHICAGO - Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined the Chicago Park District on Wednesday to honor a former Olympian from Chicago.

The park district named a new track and field facility at Jackson Park in honor of Bob Pickens.

Pickens was a South Side native who played for the Chicago Bears in the late 1960s and was the first African-American to wrestle in the Summer Olympics in 1964.

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Pickens also served on the Chicago Park District board.

"I am delighted to uplift Bob Pickens name and carry on his legacy of advocacy for parks and recreational opportunities on our South Side," Lightfoot said.

The Obama Foundation funded the new field house.