Orville Rogers | |
---|---|
Born | Orville Curtis Rogers November 28, 1917 Hubbard, Texas, U.S. |
Died | November 14, 2019 101) Dallas, Texas, U.S. [1] | (aged
Alma mater | University of Oklahoma |
Occupation | Pilot with Braniff Airways |
Spouse | Esther Beth Shannon (m. 1943;died 2008) |
Orville Curtis Rogers (November 28, 1917 – November 14, 2019) was an American pilot, military veteran, and competitive runner.
Rogers was born to Stephen Alfred Rogers and Lillie Leona Johnston at home in Hubbard, Texas. The family moved to Okemah, Oklahoma soon after. Orville's sister, Veva Jean, was born in 1922. After short stays in Oklahoma City and Edmond, Oklahoma, Stephen left, and Lillie moved her family back to Okemah to live with her parents, Rueben Jefferson Daniel Johnston and Mary Elizabeth Gilbreath. When Orville was 10, Rueben moved the family to Sulphur, Oklahoma. Lillie had five brothers, including William (Bill) Green Johnston and Ralph A. Johnston. Both found success in the oil industry. [2] [3] Orville graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1940, where he met his future wife, Esther Beth Shannon (class of 1941). [4] [5] Rogers was a veteran of WWII and the Korean War as a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps and U.S. Air Force, respectively.
Based in Dallas, Orville Rogers was a Braniff International Airways commercial pilot for more than three decades. He was hired by Braniff Airways, Inc., in 1945 and retired after 32 years of service in 1977. During the late 1960s, he flew the famed McDonnell-Douglas DC-8-62 Intercontinental four-engine jet over the company's vast route system between the US Mainland and South America. His favorite Braniff aircraft was the Boeing 727-200 Trijet airliner. [6] [4]
Braniff Airways Foundation awarded Mr. Rogers, its coveted Braniff Airways Foundation Hall of Fame Award. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in June 2017. In 2020, Braniff Airways Foundation will place Captain Rogers name along with the other Hall of Fame Recipients on a special plaque at The University of Texas at Dallas History of Aviation Collection in Richardson, Texas. [7]
Rogers set multiple world records, shown in the List of world records in masters athletics. At the age of 50, Rogers took up running after reading the book Aerobics by Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper. [8] [9] Rogers credited Dr. Cooper with saving his life, "at least once, probably twice," first by kickstarting his running career, and again when Dr. Cooper discovered blockage in his heart during a Cooper test. Orville competed in Masters athletics races, setting records at the age of 90 [10] and 95. [11] In 2015, Orville teamed up with other nonagenarians to set multiple relay running records. [12] He made national news after a video of his sprint against then 92 year old Dixon Hemphill went viral. Rogers, 99 at the time, won the race by 0.05 seconds. [13] [14] To celebrate his 100th birthday, Orville and his family ran a combined 100 miles. [15] [16] He then set two 100-year-old age group records in the 60m at 19.13 and 400m at 4:16:90 while competing at the 2018 USATF Masters Indoor Championships. [17] In 2020 was voted to the USATF Masters Hall of Fame.
Orville, and his wife, were donors to many organizations, including Dallas Baptist University [18] and the Frontiers of Flight Museum. [19]
A heart condition was found in early 2019, for which he underwent surgery. [20] Rogers died on November 14, 2019, while in hospice care at the age of 101.
Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport is a public airport six miles (10 km) east of downtown Amarillo, in Potter County, Texas, United States. The airport was renamed in 2003 after NASA astronaut and Amarillo native Rick Husband, who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in February of that year.
Corpus Christi International Airport is 6 miles west of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas. It opened in 1960, replacing Cliff Maus airport at 27.767°N 97.44°W, where the Lozano Golf Center is now located.
Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport is five miles north of Lubbock, in Lubbock County, Texas, United States. Originally Lubbock International Airport, it was renamed in 2004 for former Texas governor Preston E. Smith, an alumnus of Texas Tech University.
Braniff Airways, Inc., operated as Braniff International Airways from 1948 until 1965, and then Braniff International from 1965 until air operations ceased, was a major airline in the United States that flew air carrier operations from 1928 until 1982 and continues today as a retailer, hotelier, travel service and branding and licensing company, administering the former airline's employee pass program and other airline administrative duties. Braniff's routes were primarily in the midwestern and southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. In the late 1970s it expanded to Asia and Europe. The airline ceased air carrier operations in May 1982 because of high fuel prices, credit card interest rates and extreme competition from the large trunk carriers and the new airline startups created by the Airline Deregulation Act of December 1978. Two later airlines used the Braniff name: the Hyatt Hotels-backed Braniff, Inc. in 1983–89, and Braniff International Airlines, Inc. in 1991–92.
Paul Revere Braniff was an airline entrepreneur. Braniff was one of the original founders of Braniff International Airways. He served as a mechanic in World War I in the United States Army and then as a pilot in World War II.
Wichita Falls Regional Airport is a public and military use airport six miles north of Wichita Falls in Wichita County, Texas. Its runways and taxiways are shared with Sheppard Air Force Base; most operations are military, but American Eagle flies to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
Greater Southwest International Airport, originally Amon Carter Field (ACF), was the commercial airport serving Fort Worth, Texas, from 1953 until 1974. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport opened in 1974 a few miles north to replace Greater Southwest and Dallas Love Field as a single airport for the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The area is now a commercial/light-industrial park serving DFW International, centered along Amon Carter Boulevard, which follows the old north-south runway.
Braniff Inc. was a US-based airline that operated flights from 1984 until 1989 and was partially formed from the assets of the original Braniff International Airways. The domestic air carrier was originally headquartered at Dallas Love Field in Dallas, Texas, and later Orlando, Florida. The airline is sometimes referred to as "Braniff II".
Robert Mueller Municipal Airport was the first civilian airport built in Austin, Texas, United States. It was located a few miles northeast of downtown Austin. It was replaced as Greater Austin's main airport by the Austin–Bergstrom International Airport, which is located on the site of the former Bergstrom Air Force Base. The airport was named after Robert Mueller, a city commissioner who died in office in January 1927. Robert Mueller Municipal Airport was identified with the airport code AUS, which was reassigned to Austin–Bergstrom International Airport in 1999.
Fort Worth Airlines was a low-fare airline headquartered at Meacham Field in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was founded and largely operated by former executives from recently dissolved Texas-based Braniff International Airways. Flights between Fort Worth and three Texas cities commenced in December 1984 and additional Oklahoma and Texas destinations were added in 1985; however, the airline was unable to operate profitably, and it ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in September of that year.
Harding Luther Lawrence was executive vice president of Continental Airlines and then president and chairman of Braniff International Airways, a Dallas, Texas-based carrier. Lawrence's bold and dramatic accomplishments at both airlines earned him the reputation as not only a maverick of the transportation industry but as one of the last legendary titans of aviation. While at Braniff, Lawrence turned the conservative airline into a progressive and flamboyant carrier known for high fashion flight attendant uniforms, exemplary inflight service, and brightly painted planes. Lawrence' revolutionary approach included approving the "End of the Plain Plane" campaign in 1965, which called for imaginative aircraft paint schemes, interiors, and never before seen passenger service comforts. Previous airlines were commonly patterned after less than appealing military operations.
Charles Edmund Beard was the former President of Braniff International Airways, from 1954 until 1965. He was the third president since its inception in 1928, the first person outside the Braniff family to be CEO of the airline. Beard, along with Braniff Board Chairman Fred Jones, managed the airline conservatively, but recorded record growth and traffic statistics between 1954 and early 1965.
Thomas Elmer Braniff was an original co-founder of Braniff International Airways, along with his brother Paul Revere Braniff. Known as Tom Braniff, he was also a noted insurance pioneer in Oklahoma. In 1928 he formed Paul R. Braniff, Inc., with his brother Paul Braniff, to operate schedule air carrier flights between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
R. V. Carleton who worked for Braniff International, the Dallas, Texas, based airline, for nearly 40 years, began as a line captain and retired as executive vice president. As an aviator he pioneered South American airline routes and chaired the first worldwide symposium on supersonic transport aircraft. He was a celebrated figure in the field of aviation with an impressive list of accomplishments and contributions to the industry that he cherished.
Jacquelyn Camille Herron is an American ultramarathon runner and scientist born on December 25, 1981 in Norman, Oklahoma. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest Ultramarathon runners of all time.
Raevyn Rogers is an American middle-distance athlete. She won a bronze medal in the 800 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the fourth fastest woman in U.S. history in the event. At the 2019 World Championships, Rogers came from seventh with 100m remaining in the race to place silver over USA teammate Ajeé Wilson in bronze. She earned a world indoor title as a member of national 4x400 m relay squad that took gold at the 2018 World Indoor Championships.
This is the history of Braniff International Airways.
The USATF Masters Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition which serves as the national championship for the United States for athletes in masters age groups. Organized by USA Track & Field, the national governing body for the sport, the competition was first held in 1968. Athletes compete in 5-year age groups, beginning from 25 and up to 105. Traditionally limited to athletes over 35, a "pre-masters" group was introduced in 2020 to encourage post-collegiate athletes over 25 to continue competing.
The USATF Masters Indoor Championships is an annual track and field competition which serves as the national indoor championship for the United States for athletes in masters age groups. Organized by USA Track & Field, the national governing body for the sport, the competition was first held in 1975. Athletes compete in 5-year age groups, beginning from 25 and up to 105. Traditionally limited to athletes over 35, a "pre-masters" group was introduced from 2020 onwards to encourage post-collegiate athletes over 25 to continue competing.