Background
He was born in Brooklyn, New York and died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York and died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
At the 1904 Summer Olympics he finished ninth in the 1500 metres event.
Two years later at the 1906 Summer Olympics he finished fifth in the 400 metres competition and sixth in the 800 metres event. Just a month and a half before the 1908 Olympic Games in London, Bacon ran in Philadelphia setting a new unofficial world record of 55.8 in the 400 metre hurdles. This record was recognised by IAAF, thus Bacon became the first world record holder in the 400 metres hurdles.
The same year, Bacon set the worlds record for the 440 yards, 10 hurdles, 3 feet 6 inches at Celtic Park, Queens, New York, the home of the Irish American Athletic Club on October 11, 1908.
