# Who is better known - Roger Bannister or Jim Hines? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 25, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007 "2012-02-25T22:08:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/21 "2012-02-26T21:24:52Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I’d say they’re equally well known in the USA… but for very different reasons. Bannister is remembered for his record breaking mile run, while Hines is remembered for his political fist-raising gesture, rather than for what he accomplished on the track. I am by no means the authority of American perceptions, but I really think you are quite wrong. I think Bannister is way, way more known than Hines. I’d put Bob Beamon ahead of Hines, too. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/22 "2012-02-26T22:09:32Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I’d say they’re equally well known in the USA… but for very different reasons. Bannister is remembered for his record breaking mile run, while Hines is remembered for his political fist-raising gesture, rather than for what he accomplished on the track. As **Little Nemo** points out, you are confusing Hines with the [John Carlos/Tommie Smith incident](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carlos) (which probably reinforces how relatively unknown Hines is today). And while they’re better known than Hines and the incident itself is remembered, I don’t think that either Carlos or Smith is as well known by name as Bannister. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/23 "2012-02-27T00:37:30Z")
American here. I heard of Bannister when I was a kid in the 1970s (IIRC, I first heard of him when reading an [SRA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Research_Associates) reading lab assignment about him breaking the 4-minute mile mark). I’d never heard of Hines before reading this thread. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/24 "2012-02-27T14:58:07Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Are you sure? The fist raising incident I and most people remember involved Tommie Smith and John Carlos, not Jim Hines. You’re right, and I’m embarrassed. I’ll go sit quietly in the corner now. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/25 "2012-02-27T15:54:50Z")
I also am an American who knows who Bannister is but not Hines. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/26 "2012-02-27T16:25:39Z")
I could immediately tell you who Roger Bannister is and what he’s known for. Not so much Hines. However, in my case I chalk it all up to to reading [The Perfect Mile](http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Mile-Athletes-Minutes-Achieve/dp/0618562095/ref=pd_sim_b_1) a couple of years ago. Without reading that, I don’t think that Bannister would ring a bell either. Good book, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![mkecane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@mkecane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkecane)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/27 "2012-02-27T17:02:59Z")
I’m an American and I’ve heard of Bannister (I’ve known about him since I was a kid in the 80s), and I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Jim Hines. With running at various distances, the names that come to mind from the past (in my example, anything from '96 and prior, since I turned 18 in '96) are Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, Edwin Moses, Bannister, Steve Prefontaine, and…that’s about it. I was and am a big sports fan, but my knowledge about running has only increased a fair amount in the past 5 years, and I wouldn’t consider people like Alberto Salazar, Frank Shorter, or Bill Rodgers to be very famous to the general public, or even general sporting public. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/28 "2012-02-27T18:31:44Z")
I would say Bannister, in part because Hines wasn’t exactly the first to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m; he was the first to do it with electronic timing. (There were a number of hand-timed 9.9 100m runs before that; I wouldn’t be surprised if he ran at least one of them.) Also, the “4-minute mile” seems to be more of an “accomplishment” than the “10-second 100m”. How many people today know who Javier Sotomayor (the first 8-foot high jumper) or Sergey Bubka (the first 20-foot pole vaulter) are? ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/29 "2012-02-27T19:57:13Z")
Peruvian here. Hines. The 100m dash is the king of running. The 4 minute mile is an interesting thing, but the mile isn’t an Olympic distance; didn’t know who broke the 4-minute thingy. Sotomayor and Bubka are even bigger names for me. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/30 "2012-02-27T20:23:32Z")
Bannister is a household name that was taught to us many times during my elementary school days. I’ve never heard of Hines until today. However, now that I know the name, I’m sure I will hear of him many times in the future. ETA: I grew up in NJ ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/31 "2012-02-27T20:57:26Z")
I’m American and know of Bannister and hear of him fairly often. Have never heard of Hines. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/32 "2012-02-27T22:40:54Z")
Bannister, by a mile. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/33 "2012-02-28T15:26:01Z")
I see what you did there. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/34 "2012-02-28T15:48:10Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Bannister, by a mile. > [@Snickers](#): > > I see what you did there. 🙂 To be nitpicky, it was Bannister by 1650.639 yards. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/35 "2012-02-28T20:05:57Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > To be nitpicky, it was Bannister by 1650.639 yards. 😃 To be really nitpicky, the exact difference is 1509.344 meters (or is it “metres” when talking about the distance?). ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007/36 "2012-02-29T00:26:12Z")
Aren’t you both saying the same thing? 1 mile less 100 metres expressed in yards and metres. Anyway my quip was snappier… To be honest I’d have struggled to recognise Hines was a sprinter, but Bannister is a household name in NZ (as well as NJ). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-better-known-roger-bannister-or-jim-hines/614007.md?page=1)