Education
After graduating high school he attended Kansas University.
After graduating high school he attended Kansas University.
He was denied a chance to run in the 1960 Olympics by injury. Tidwell was a native of Independence, Kansas, where he was a star athlete at his high school. The highlight was a national junior record for the 180 y low hurdles in 1955.
Tidwell was an outstanding sprinter for his college track team, the Kansas Jayhawks, winning five National Collegiate Athletic Association individual titles:
100 y in 1959-1960 (he was also 2nd in 1958)
220 y in 1960
220 y hurdles in 1958 (he was also 2nd in 1959)
In the 1958 National Collegiate Athletic Association championships, Tidwell set a world best time in the 220 y hurdles.
Tidwell"s form meant he was one of the favourites to going into the United States Olympic Trials to qualify for the 100 and 200 m at the 1960 Rome Olympics. However, an injury suffered at the trials ruined his qualification chances.
Tidwell had qualified first in his heat for the final of the 100 m. In the final, Tidwell had one false start.
When the race finally got underway a pulled muscle at 50 m prematurely ended his race. on 14 June 1958 in Berkeley, California, he ran the 220 y hurdles in a new record time of 22.7 son
The 220 y hurdles event was not officially recognized by the IAAF. on 16 May 1959 in Norman, Oklahoma, he equalled his time of 22.7 s for the 220 y hurdles. The 220 y hurdles event was not officially recognized by the IAAF. on 20 June 1959 in Boulder, Colorado, he ran the 200 m hurdles in a new record time of 22.6 son The 200 m hurdles event was not officially recognized by the IAAF. on 16 April 1960 in Abilene, Texas, he ran a 220 yards race in 20.2 s - the course was found to be short at 218 y 10" (19960 m).
Adding another 0.1 s for the missing distance to 200 m gives a time of 20.3 s when the then world record for that distance was 20.5 s! on 10 June 1960 in Houston, Texas, he equalled the then world record for the 100 m with a time of 10.1 son
Armin Hary ran a new world record of 10.0 s on 21 June. In 1962, Tidwell tried out with the National Football League team the Minnesota Vikings.
However, his try out was unsuccessful and he was cut from the squad later that year. Tidwell was ranked among the best in the United States of America and the world in both the 100 m/100 y and 200 m/220 y sprint events in 1959 and 1960, according to the votes of the experts of Track & Field News.
So helping the team win back-to back National Collegiate Athletic Association team titles in 1959 and 1960. Tidwell also won the Kansas Relays 100 y race in 1959 and 1960, winning Athlete of the Meet in 1959, and for this was honored as an inductee in the Kansas Relays Hall of Fame in 2005. Tidwell achieved five world best times during his career - none were ratified as world records by the IAAF:.