By BERLINDA BRUCE
11/21/2001

Former track star Bob King hasn't run in more years than he can count. Yet, at 130 pounds, he is only three pounds over his competition weight.

"I walk to exercise now," said King, 62, of Wilmington. "When you're in top shape, you develop what they call the killer instinct. You'll compete against anybody. I don't have that anymore."

King set records as a runner at Howard High School in the late 1950s and later at Morgan State University. He was inducted into the Delaware Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1995.

"I've been going over some memories,'' he said. "I guess the thing that really stands out is the people who got you there. The coaches, the teachers, the team. You don't do it alone.''

Tuesday, King again was inducted into the Delaware Track and Field Hall of Fame, this time as a member of Howard High School's 1958 cross country team. In cross country, the lowest score wins. The team's 17 points in the state championship meet, led by King's first-place finish, still stands as a boys' state record.

"I had Bobby when he was a little kid on the playground,'' said Cliff Lewis, who coached King in junior high school. "It's my opinion that Bob is the best athlete that ever left Delaware. He could jump 6 feet. He could dunk a basketball. I couldn't dunk a basketball and I'm 6-2."

King wanted to play football and basketball in high school, but he was too small. Coach George Johnson redirected him to track.

Johnson is one of those who pushed the team to the killer instinct that helped set records, King said. Johnson passed away a few years ago.

Lewis, who trained some of the inductees in junior high school, is another. Lewis' top rule was hard work. Every day.

"I used to run them 1 1/2 to 2 hours a day,'' said Lewis, 72. "They learned how to work hard in junior high and when they got to high school, they were ready.

"They liked it. It paid off. We used to rule the junior high program and Howard used to rule the high school program.''

The induction ceremony brought the surviving team members together for the first time since high school. No one had seen or heard from runner Emmett Osburn until he arrived in town from the Atlanta area for the ceremony.

"I've been in the military," said Osburn, 59. "I used to come through Delaware to visit my family. Since 1959, I haven't seen any of them."

Osburn brought his yearbook with him to reminisce.

Like King, he credits the coach for pushing hard and advocating team spirit.

"I remember one time we were up in Brandywine practicing," Osburn said. "A dog started chasing us. Coach Johnson got behind the dog and chased him with a stick.

"I have some good memories with the guys. We were a team,'' he said.

King said the leadership he enjoyed as a child helped shape the rest of life.

"When I went to junior high school, that's when I decided what I wanted to be in life,'' he said.

"When I saw Cliff Lewis in the gym teaching kids and having fun, I said, 'He's having fun and getting paid for it.' I went to Mr. Lewis and said, 'Mr. Lewis, how do you go to school to do this?' ''

King is a retired administrator and teacher for the Brandywine School District. He went to college on a track scholarship.

The physical training he learned as a child stayed with him all these years. That's why he has been able to stay near his competition weight.