Speaker 1: Peter Mullins was an Australian basketball player. No wait, Olympic
Speaker 1: to Kathleen, sorry he threw javelins. He was a pole vaulter,
Speaker 1: hockey player, swimmer, footy player. We've all known a guy
Speaker 1: like Peter Mullins that one minute in Pe who's good
Speaker 1: at everything. It's just Peter decided to go and be
Speaker 1: a world champion about it. Hey, I'm Tony Armstrong and
Speaker 1: welcome to the pool room. This is where we celebrate
Speaker 1: the winners, losers and the weird stuff between. Peter Mullins
Speaker 1: was actually a pe teacher. He was the definition of
Speaker 1: living and breathing sport, trying his hand at pretty much
Speaker 1: everything as what was the sports I already listed, which
Speaker 1: was most of the ones that exist. He played table tennis,
Speaker 1: regular tennis, soccer, water polo and rugby league and union.
Speaker 1: He started pole vault when he was fifteen and from
Speaker 1: there he just kept adding on more events until he
Speaker 1: had a hold to cathalon. In case you're not across it,
Speaker 1: a decathlon is a one hundred meters sprint, long jump,
Speaker 1: shot put, high jump and four hundred meters sprint. Then
Speaker 1: you go get some sleep and on the second day
Speaker 1: you do on one hundred and ten meter hurdles, discuss
Speaker 1: pole vault, javelin and fifteen hundred meter run. He was
Speaker 1: bloody good at to Cathalon's in nineteen forty seven, aged twenty,
Speaker 1: he smashed Theustralian record by more than five hundred points.
Speaker 1: That's a lot of points. To put it in context,
Speaker 1: the current world record is more than nine thousand points.
Speaker 1: World War II put the Australian to Cathlon Championship on
Speaker 1: indefinite hiatus, but Mullins simply went out and won medals
Speaker 1: in various other track and field events. In nineteen forty eight,
Speaker 1: after his string of wins in running, throwing and jumping,
Speaker 1: things were looking good for a Game's Berth. Selectors told
Speaker 1: newspapers at the time that Mullins would be a shoe
Speaker 1: in as long as he could quote forego some of
Speaker 1: the successes of single or double event specialization. He needed
Speaker 1: to stop being incredible at individual things and focus on
Speaker 1: being incredible at ten of them at once. Anyway, he
Speaker 1: went to London where he placed sixth, breaking the Australian
Speaker 1: record again in the process, then won another goal to
Speaker 1: the Australian National champs once again. Making his own record
Speaker 1: for But here's the twist. Track and field isn't even
Speaker 1: what Peter Mullins is great at. In fact, he only
Speaker 1: went to the Olympics once. At this time, chins were
Speaker 1: wagging for another reason. People were starting to recognize his
Speaker 1: talent in other sports, namely basketball. Being six foot four
Speaker 1: and ninety kilos made him an obvious candidate as soon
Speaker 1: as he picked up the ball. The papers were obsessed.
Speaker 1: Jerno's called him an inspiration, Australia's most versatile athlete and
Speaker 1: probably one of Australia's greatest all rounders of all time.
Speaker 1: Then came an offer he couldn't refuse, a college track
Speaker 1: scholarship in Washington. It was, he told newspapers at the time,
Speaker 1: the hardest decision he had ever had to make. After
Speaker 1: years of playing every possible sport simultaneously, Peter Mullins was
Speaker 1: forced to narrow down his incredible sporting curriculum like just
Speaker 1: a little at Washington State University, he could be a
Speaker 1: basketballer and an athlete. When the famous Harlem globetrot Has
Speaker 1: toured Australia in nineteen fifty four, they brought along Peter
Speaker 1: Mullins and his Boston Whirlwinds so they'd have someone to beat.
Speaker 1: After playing b ball while he was studying, he moved
Speaker 1: to Canada and became a coach at the University of
Speaker 1: British Columbia the Thunderbirds. That country, so far from his
Speaker 1: beginnings in Sydney, would become his spiritual basketball home. From
Speaker 1: repping Canada at the World Basketball Tournament in Chile to
Speaker 1: leading the next generation of champions, Mullens shonnas coach, but
Speaker 1: his nineteen sixty nine seventy teen was his real crowning glory.
Speaker 1: That squad won the title of Canadian University champions by
Speaker 1: a monster twenty one points, finishing unbeaten against its Canadian
Speaker 1: competition and landing at a spot in the UBC Sports
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame. Mullins himself was inducted two years later.
Speaker 1: For two decades, he was head basketball coach of the Thunderbirds,
Speaker 1: the second longest head coaching role in the college's history. Together,
Speaker 1: he and his teams won three hundred and thirty seven
Speaker 1: games against local and US teams, including seven Western Canadian
Speaker 1: Championships and two Canadian University Championships, and he's remembered with
Speaker 1: the kind of reverence and admiration you'd expect. He was
Speaker 1: inducted into the British Columbia Basketball Hall of Fame in
Speaker 1: two thousand and four and Canadian into University Sports still
Speaker 1: awards the Doctor Peter Mullins Trophy to the men's basketball
Speaker 1: Rookie of the Year. When he died in twenty twelve,
Speaker 1: back in his home country of Australia, he was the
Speaker 1: longest serving men's basketball coach in the history of British
Speaker 1: Columbia University. Peter Mullins was a basketballer. He was a decathlete.
Speaker 1: He played first class Aussie rules, first class rugby union,
Speaker 1: represented his country on the world stage, played A grade
Speaker 1: tennis and was regarded as one of New South Wales's
Speaker 1: best table tennis players. But what he was really good
Speaker 1: at was loving the sport, whatever it happened to be,
Speaker 1: being part of a team, or showing others they could
Speaker 1: be champions too. That's what made Peter Mullins a truel rounder.
Speaker 1: Thanks for dropping by the pool room. You've been listening
Speaker 1: to an iHeart production. I'm Tony Armstrong. Catch you in
Speaker 1: the next episode. Yeah,