ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico athletic department and track & field program are saddened by the loss of former Lobo track great Adolph Plummer, who passed away Monday at the age of 77.
Plummer, originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., starred for the Lobos on the track during the early 1960s, and was best known for breaking the world record in the 440-yard dash while running for UNM at the 1963 Western Athletic Conference Championships.
“Adolph was a trailblazer for UNM track & field,” Lobo head coach Joe Franklin said. “He really put New Mexico on the map. When Adolph set the world record, New Mexico took off. He set things in motion for Lobo track & field.”
After coming to UNM after a stint in the Air Force, Plummer quickly became an attraction in the early 1960s when New Mexico track meets would regularly draw thousands of spectators.
He was a three-time NCAA All-American, winning the NCAA title in the 440 in 1961. He was also named the 1963 Western Athletic Conference Athlete of the Year and won the 220 at the 1965 USA Outdoor Track & Field Champions.
He swept the 220 and 440 at three straight Skyline Conference Championships (1960-62) and won the 440 at the 1963 WAC Outdoor Championships in record fashion, running 44.9 seconds to edge Glenn Davis’ five-year-old world record of 45.7 seconds.
Plummer, whose mark stood until 1969, is the only UNM athlete to break a world record.
Plummer was inducted into the Albuquerque/New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame in 1976 and the UNM Alumni Lettermen’s Association Hall of Honor in 1988, and was named a Living Legend by the UNM Black Alumni Chapter in 2014.
After his time at UNM, Plummer moved to Denver, where he worked as an administrator in the city’s high school system for more than three decades. Plummer also served as UNM’s director of academic advisement from 1991-93.
He is survived by his wife Carolyn and his family.