In 2020, as Oklahoma State University wheat geneticist Brett Carver prepared to release the OSU Wheat Improvement Team’s latest variety, he had a creative idea for its official name.
It was the first summer of the pandemic, and the Olympic games in Tokyo had been postponed. When an article in “The Oklahoman” about James Butler, a former OSU track and field star and 1980 Olympic hopeful, caught Carver’s eye, he branded the wheat variety, Butler’s Gold.
Four years later, the Olympic games in Paris are underway, and Butler is reflecting on how his namesake in OSU Agriculture is golden redemption for the Olympic start he never made.
“When I hear the name Butler’s Gold, it always makes me smile,” he said. “It was such an honor when Brett reached out to me. It’s special, and it feels good to know someone wants to recognize my efforts 40-plus years later.”
A standout athlete at the early age of 7, Butler quickly gained the support of his community in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Neighbors on his block helped arrange for him to compete in a track and field meet in the nearby town of Idabel, and he won almost every event that day, kickstarting his athletic career.
“I wasn’t allowed to mess up. I had every eye in the city watching to make sure I did the right thing at all times,” Butler said. “If I didn’t, my mom heard about it. I was pushed and encouraged by a lot of people, and I felt like I owed it to them to give it everything I had and win.”
He also credits Howard Minor, his high school track coach, as one of the “most inspirational people he’s ever met.”
“He tirelessly worked with me to help me transition from just an average high school sprinter to a world-renowned sprinter,” Butler said. “For this, I owe a huge debt of gratitude.”
Under the coaching and mentorship of OSU’s then track and field coach, Ralph Tate, Butler established himself as a sprinter at the collegiate level. After winning the 200-meter dash at the 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, he was poised to compete for gold at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. However, his dreams of an Olympic medal were dashed when President Jimmy Carter announced the U.S. would boycott the games due to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
“It was a huge letdown for me and everyone in my town who said, ‘Our guy is the best guy in the world,’” Butler said. “I’ve won American records, but it’s not the same stage as the Olympics.”
That same summer, he won gold in the 200-meter dash at the Liberty Bell Classic, an alternative track and field meet for countries that had boycotted the Olympics. Butler also received a Congressional Gold Medal for his Olympic qualifying performance and continued pursuing his sprinting career. He won the 200-meter dash at the 1982 Men’s Division | Outdoor Track and Field Championships and competed in other professional track and field events into the late 1980s, but nothing relieved the sting of his Olympic miss.
“Every Olympics always brings back that feeling of what I could have done,” Butler said. “It’s me not being able to prove myself until you stack up against the best in the world.”
Butler’s Gold feeds others
While Butler didn’t get to take on the world on a track, the wheat variety named after him feeds the world in golden fields spread across the Southern Great Plains. Butler’s Gold wheat continues to gain popularity among producers for its:
- High yield potential
- Optimal planting window in late November
- Strong protection against stripe rust, leaf rust and other diseases
- Minimal delay of harvest with delayed planting
- Preferred milling and baking characteristics
“I was looking for a name that captured the notion that this new variety could sprint to the finish, even after a late start,” Carver said. “Butler’s accomplishments captured that idea perfectly and gave us the added opportunity to shine some light on OSU history that seemed to me to have gone unnoticed. This was not just a naming opportunity, but an educational and enlightening one.”
Four decades later, Butler is a father of four and a successful technical support analyst at a software company in Florida. He communicates regularly with Carver and the OSU Wheat Improvement Team, and he returns to Oklahoma frequently to visit family who reside in the McCurtain County area.
The director of OSU’s prominent wheat breeding program, Carver manages some of the country’s top wheat genetics targeting disease resistance, grazing tolerance and yield potential. Increased kernel size, clean-label inspired flour quality and proven enzyme activity extend the impact of OSU’s wheat program beyond the field to the marketplace in Oklahoma and around the globe.
OSU Ag Research has significantly expanded its wheat variety lineup during the past 20 years with Carver selecting distinguished names as a nod to the legacy of other OSU champions, including Smith’s Gold and Gallagher after legendary OSU wrestling coaches John Smith and Edward Gallagher.
“As Olympic winners, some guys might be pictured on the Wheaties box, but I’m in the box,” laughed Butler. “I’m still taken aback that people remember my hard work 40 years later.”
PHOTO: The OSU wheat variety, Butler’s Gold, grows in a wheat plot near Kingfisher in 2024. The variety is named after native Oklahoman, former OSU track star and 1980 Olympic qualifier James Butler. (Photo by Mitchell Alcala, OSU Agriculture)
