Sir Roger Bannister, the first person to break the 4-minute barrier in the mile, died today in England. He was 88. Bannister set the record on May 6, 1954.

Two days later, on May 4, at the Coliseum, USC graduate Parry O’Brien broke another barrier when he became the first person to break the 60-foot mark in the shot put. O’Brien did it in a special event added at the USC-UCLA dual meet. He threw the shot 60-5 1/4. And it occurred midway through a streak of 116 consecutive victories.

O’Brien won the gold medal at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics and as the photo shows, was one of the rare USC athletes to make the cover of Time magazine.