Harrison Dillard

A lifesize statue of 4-time Olympic gold medalist track athlete Harrison Dillard. Dillard is a Cleveland native and Baldwin Wallace University alumnus. Dillard is represented at the peak of his jump over a hurdle. His trailing leg is high enough in the air to clear the hurdle, which, according to his daughter, is a part of the sport that Dillard was very particular about when he coached her as a little girl. In addition to being a decorated athlete, he also served with Buffalo Soldiers during the Second World War. After retiring from sports, Dillard continued to work in Cleveland for the Indians as a PR manager, and for the Public School District.

In creating this statue, Deming was tempted to include dimes on the frame of the hurdle because of an anecdote Dillard told him. Dillard said he used to practice the event with dimes flat on top of the hurdle, and his goal was to knock the dimes off without knocking the hurdle over. He wanted to develop the most efficient jump possible, and judging by his 2 hurdling gold medals, he succeeded. But because of the statue's location on a college campus, surrounded by mischievous students in search of money, Deming elected not to include this small detail. However, a detail he did include (albeit coincidentally) is that the bronze statue weighs exactly as much as Harrison Dillard did while he was racing in 1949: 152 lbs.