Hall of Fame
Heard, a native of Detroit and graduate of Detroit Mumford HS, was one of Wayne State's premier sprinters in the early 1970's. He lettered twice in men's indoor and outdoor track in 1969-70 and 1970-71, and set indoor, outdoor and Wayne State Stadium records for the Tartars.
What made his career unusual from most other Tartar student-athletes, though, was that he ran at Wayne State in his late twenties, after a career in the U.S. Air Force and attending Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Mich. Head was referred to as the "Old man in the sprint lanes" by his teammates and coaches during his WSU career.
Heard set the Wayne State record in the 100-yard dash at 9.4, and consistently was able to run the 100 dash between 9.5 and 9.7 throughout his two years. His 100-yard mark was also the Wayne State Stadium record. On the indoor track, Heard set the Tartars' 60-yard dash record with a 6.2 clocking. All three records were set in his senior year.
Heard also ran the 220-yard dash and the 300-yard dash events during his career at WSU, finishing fourth on the all-time list in the 220 at 21.4, and tied for fifth in the 300 at 32.8.
Along with several teammates, Heard represented WSU at the Penn Relays, the NCAA College Division National Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, and the NCAA National Indoor Track and Field National Championships in both 1970 and 1971. The last event was held each year at Cobo Arena in downtown Detroit.
At the 1970 Penn Relays Heard ran a leg on the 440-yard relay, and the Tartars' squad finished second at 42.0. He also participated in the 100-yard dash and 880-yard relates at both Penn Relays.
Hard ran in the individual 100-yard dash and 220-yard dash and the 440-yard relay events at all three NCAA national championship meets.
Other top finishes in top meets during his Tartar career include a sixth-place finish at the 1970 Central Collegiate Conference (CCC) Indoor Championships in the 600-yard dash at 6.3, and a sixth-place finish at the 1971 CCC Outdoor Championships in the 100-yard dash at 9.5.
At the later meet Heard tied the team's record in the 100-yard dash he first set in 1970 at the Michigan Federation Championships. He finally ran 9.4 in the 100 against Cleveland State on May 22, 1971.
Heard was named the team's MVP after both seasons, and he captained the 1970-71 team. He led the 1969-70 team in scoring with 73 points, and finished second in scoring with 20.5 in 1970-71.
Prior to coming to Wayne State, Heard ran two years on Henry Ford's track team that captured conference titles both seasons. He also ran in the national junior college track championships at Garden City, Kan., both seasons. Heard earned an Associate's degree from Henry Ford CC.
While attending and running for both Wayne State and Henry Ford CC, Heard was working full-time at the Pontiac Fisher Body plant. He began working there after his honorable discharge as a airman first class from the Air Force in 1965.
Heard entered the Air Force after graduating from Mumford High School. During his military career Heard continued to run track, once finishing second in the 100-yard dash at the 1964 U.S. Armed Forces Interservice Championships at Shepherd Air Force Base in Texas.
Heard graduated from WSU in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education. Since 1973 he has taught as a science teacher in the Detroit Public Schools, the last 12 years at Southeastern High School.
Heard and his wife, Joyce, reside in Detroit, and they have four daughters, Wanda, Angela, Kim and Sheryl.
