Duncan Laundry List of Accolades Now Includes SWAC Hall of Fame
SWAC.org
Dec. 23, 2010
by Roscoe Nance -
Texas Southern track and field coach Clyde Duncan has a laundry list of outstanding accomplishments to his credit.
Duncan was a four-time track All-American for the Tigers, a national champion in the 60 meters and a member of three world record holding relay teams; he has coached countless standout track athletes, including Carl Lewis, Kirk Baptist, Cliff Wiley, Stanley Floyd, Anthony Ketchum, Andre Action Jackson, Cletus Clark, Rodney Milburn and Fred Taylor and 4 x 100 relay that set an NCAA record, during his 17-year career, and he is member of the prestigious Drake Relays Hall of Fame.
However, Duncan says none of that can compare to being selected for the SWAC Hall of Fame because it because it further validates his decision to attend Texas Southern.
Duncan was a blue chip track athlete – he tied a national record with a 9.3 100-yard dash – with hundreds of scholarship offers when he graduated from predominantly white North High School in Des Moines, Iowa in 1965.
However, he had taken special education classes since first grade because school administrators mistook a severe speech impediment for a lack of intelligence. He chose Texas Southern after initially favoring Grambling State believing that a predominantly black school would be a better fit for him.
“Without me coming to Texas Southern I wouldn’t be where I am, and I wouldn’t have done some of the things I did,’’ says Duncan, who earned bachelors and masters degrees. “The faculty made me firm and forced me to learn. When I left high school, to be truthful, my speech was so bad because of my stuttering, I didn’t think I would be able to get my degree. I am so thankful I’m back her where it all began. I couldn’t be more proud.’’
“To be honored by your peers and your conference, I am deeply honored and thrilled,’’ Duncan says. “It’s kind of shocking and pleasing. Honestly I feel blessed. It’s not a common thing. It doesn’t happen to everyone. Out of all of the thousands and thousands involved in sports, I am blessed to be among the few.’’
Duncan became aware of Texas Southern as youngster when the Tigers competed in the Drake Relays in Des Moines. He was impressed with teams’ uniforms -- white shirts and white shorts – and the fact they dominated competition.
When it came time to pick a school Duncan knew he wanted to go to a predominantly black school even though he had grown up in an environment where there were few blacks. He acknowledges being in culture shock initially, but he now says it was well worthwhile.
“After (Coach) Stan Wright realized I had a speech impediment, I felt at home,’’ he says. “ Thank God I was led here. I’ve done nothing but grow and learn.’’
Duncan began dabbling in track when he was in the second grade. He was the eighth child in a family of 14 brothers and sisters. Another family, the Clark, lived up the street from them, and they would race against each other. The competition consisted of races of varying distances and shuttle relays, which Duncan family always won.
Ironically, Duncan wasn’t the fastest runner in his family – he says he had two older brothers who were much faster – but he was the only one who stuck with track. Doing so enabled him to become the only member of his family to go beyond high school.
“I wasn’t your brightest kid as far as school was concerned,’’ Duncan says. “Track and field and football gave me a positive outlook. I didn’t excel in the classroom. Through God helping to be fast, it helped me be focus. I kept thinking that after high school somebody might look at me and I could go to college. There was always someone who would mention that to me.’’
In reality, it was Duncan’s speech impediment – not a matter of not being bright – that kept him from excelling in the classroom. He never said anything in class for fear of being teased; when he was called on to read, he was too nervous to get the words out, and he responded to questions with one-word answers. Schoolmates bullied him because of the way he talked. That led to numerous fights, many of which he says he lost.
Duncan’s teachers took for granted that he was a not able to learn and put him special education classes, and his parents didn’t object.
Duncan’s stuttering problem has gotten better over the years. He has never taken any classes to or seen specialists. He says he has taught himself to relax and slow down, which helps him get his words out. However, the stuttering comes back from time to time when he is nervous.
“It’s funny that my team members say I don’t stutter when I fuss,’’ he says, adding that he is now able to laugh when people laugh at the way he talks. “Maybe I should fuss all the time.’’
Duncan’s father and oldest brother were the only other family members who stuttered. He says sometimes wondered why it had to be him who was afflicted with a speech impediment instead of being blessed with the ability to speak fluently like his brothers and sisters.
“My legs were my blessing,’’ he says.