The other collegiate medalists were Washington’s Bell, a bronze medalist in the discus throw in Antwerp, and Earl Eby, a World War I veteran from the University of Pennsylvania who claimed a silver medal in the 800-meter run.

However, it may have been lesser-known competitors at the Chicago meet who provided the biggest thrills — and offered the most compelling stories.

Watson and Paulu

Typically, the mile run was the first event contested at collegiate track meets during that era, and the inaugural event in Chicago was won by a youngster from the Great Plains who also had competed at the 1920 Games.

Even though Ray Watson, running for what is now Kansas State University, already was an Olympian, he only recently had begun attracting national attention to his performances — in large part because he had lost his right hand in a childhood accident.

Not every standout collegiate athlete of the day was present in Chicago. The University of Southern California, which would dominate the championships for lengthy periods during the 1930s and again in the 1950s, did not make the trip — nor did the Trojans’ star sprinter, Charlie Paddock, the 1920 100-meter gold medalist who recently had posted a world record in the 220-yard dash.

Paddock’s absence likely cleared the way for the NCAA meet’s most surprising winner: Leonard Paulu from Grinnell College.

Paulu may have been the classic late-bloomer. He had enrolled at Grinnell in 1915 but struggled with classes while working to pay tuition. So, he dropped out to work full time, then enlisted in the Army during the war.

In 1918, while he slept on the ground near St. Mihiel, France, a German shell struck a nearby tree and the shrapnel hit Paulu in four places — including his right eye.

He recovered and returned to Iowa, where veterans’ benefits permitted him to return to Grinnell. Paulu, however, never had run better than 10.4 in the 100-yard run entering the NCAA meet during his junior year.

In Chicago, Paulu won in 10 seconds flat, and a year later, he returned to sweep the 100- and 220-yard events.

As the 1924 Olympics approached — the Paris competition known today for their depiction in the Academy Award-winning film "Chariots of Fire" — Paulu’s times continued to improve, but he ultimately chose family over attempting to qualify, choosing to focus on what would be a 44-year career as an educator in his home state.

Years later, when Des Moines Register writer Maury White interviewed the 81-year-old Paulu to commemorate his selection for the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame, the retired teacher and coach showed off a scrapbook that prominently featured a letter announcing his election to Phi Beta Kappa alongside newspaper clippings detailing his performances on the track.

"You know, I was never a good starter," Paulu told White. "If I could have done that better..."

A modest beginning

In a sense, NCAA championships started slowly, too. Rain kept the crowd small during that first meet in Chicago June 17-18, though the meet’s organizers — Amos Alonzo Stagg of the University of Chicago, John L. Griffith of Illinois and Thomas E. Jones of the University of Wisconsin, Madison — reported later that "gate receipts were large enough to permit the committee to refund to the visiting teams two-thirds of their traveling expenses."

A year later, "profits were sufficiently large to enable the committee to pay the railroad and Pullman fares for all competing athletes," Stagg, Griffith and Jones reported.

Because 1924 was an Olympic year, the NCAA opted not to stage the championships, permitting athletes to focus on the qualifying meet in Boston. However, the Association started a second championships event, in swimming, then renewed the track championships a year later. Four years later, the NCAA added competition in wrestling.

By 1925, Palmer Pierce saw the events as a rousing success; he believed that NCAA championships were exactly what he had envisioned five years earlier.

"Both (track and swimming) have proven very successful in stimulating interest and establishing common and high standards of sportsmanship," he said.

A year later, Pierce offered another view of the championships, and this time his remarks focused squarely on the experience of participation.

"A wonderful spirit pervades these games," he said.

Today, those 1921 championships are difficult to appreciate fully through mere results in a records book and dusty archival photographs, but that "wonderful spirit" survives today — 88 times a year.

Leonard Paulu, Grinnell College: After surviving shrapnel wounds (including loss of an eye) suffered in France during World War I, he eventually won three NCAA titles, beginning with his 100-yard victory in 1921. After graduation, the chemistry, physics and mathematics student taught and coached track and field in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, until his retirement in 1964.

Eric Wilson, University of Iowa: A Hawkeye track fan growing up as a professor’s son in Iowa City, he won the 200-yard run in 1921 and again in 1923 (he finished second behind Paulu in 1922), then was a bronze medalist at the 1924 Paris Olympics in the 400-meter dash. After graduation, Wilson served for 44 years as Iowa’s sports information director.

Frank Shea, University of Pittsburgh: A 1920 Olympian, he won the 440-yard run in Chicago, then coached at the university until 1927, when he returned to his hometown of Irwin, Pennsylvania, to practice law.

Earl Eby, University of Pennsylvania: Carrying a New York newspaper clipping in which a writer described the World War I veteran and 1920 Olympic 800-meter silver medalist as "washed up" as an athlete, he wrapped up a standout collegiate career with his 880-yard victory in 1921. After graduation, he became a reporter for the Philadelphia Bulletin and covered Penn athletics for 32 years.

Ray Watson, Kansas State University: He won the mile one year after overcoming the loss of a hand as a boy to compete at the 1920 Olympics. In 1924, Watson offered the only real challenge to one of the great performances in Olympic history, Pavvo Nurmi’s double victory in the 1,500- and 5,000-meter runs — running stride for stride with the Finn until the last 300 meters in the 1,500.

Earl Thomson, Dartmouth College: A 1920 Olympic gold medalist for Canada in the 110-meter hurdles, he won the 120-yard hurdles in Chicago. Thomson, who retained his Canadian citizenship after his family moved to southern California for his mother’s health when he was 8, coached track and field for 36 years at the U.S. Naval Academy.

August "Gus" Desch, University of Notre Dame: One of two world-record holders for the Irish (along with high jumper Johnny Murphy) and a 1920 Olympic bronze medalist, he won the 220-yard hurdles. Desch also was a football standout for the Irish as a halfback playing for Knute Rockne, who also coached Notre Dame’s track team.

Longino Welch, Georgia Institute of Technology: The pole vault champion graduated from Georgia Tech in 1923 with a degree in electrical engineering.

Gus Pope, University of Washington: Also an Olympic medalist in 1920, he won the shot put and discus to become the first two-event winner in NCAA championships history.

Gaylord "Pete" Stinchcomb, Ohio State University: In addition to leading the Buckeye football team to its first Rose Bowl appearance as a halfback in 1921, he won that year’s long jump title. Stinchcomb, who also played basketball at Ohio State, played in the National Football League for five seasons then entered the construction business in Findlay, Ohio.

Johnny Murphy, University of Notre Dame: Another Irish world-record holder who joined Gus Desch as the school’s first Olympians in 1920. He won back-to-back high jump titles beginning in 1921.

Flint Hanner, Stanford University: After qualifying for but missing the 1920 Olympics due to an elbow injury, he won the javelin throw. The economics and history graduate taught and coached track and field at California State University, Fresno, where he founded the first track and field relay carnival in California in 1927 (the West Coast Relays, known today as the Fresno Relays).