| Mike Long |
Full Name: Leighton Simon Long
Born: May 7, 1914, Tunbridge, N.Dak.
Died: December 27, 1997, Glenville, N.C.
Seminole Relations: Father of Curtiss Long
Father of Jim Long
Father of Steve Long
Father of Terry Long
Legacy Bricks: Legacy Walk Map Link
1978 Coach HOF - Loc 19
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| Click On Photo To Enlarge |
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| Steve, Coach Mike, Curtiss and Terry Long |
| FSU Career |
| Track & Field | |
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| Coaches & Administrators | |
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| Member of the FSU Hall of Fame |
| Elected into the FSU Hall of Fame in 1978 |
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Mike Long coached the Florida State track and field team for 23 years, and his remarkable success made the choice to name the university's track after him an easy one. FSU posted a record of 131 wins
and 32 losses under Long. Five teams were undefeated and six others lost just one meet. He truly made the Seminoles a track and field power in the South. Fourteen FSU athletes won All-American honors
during his tenure from 1955-75. In addition, four of Coach Long's sons competed for FSU and one, Terry, went on to long-time success as the FSU track and field coach. In football, he used his skills
to coach defensive ends under Tom Nugent from 1953-55. Mike Long's many contributions helped to make the Florida State track and field program and facility among the best in the nation. Obituary for Mike Long. From the Tallahassee Democrat, December 30, 1997, page 23, by Mary Ann Lindley, Democrat staff writer. Florida State track pioneer Mike Long dies. Mike Long, Florida State University's first track and field coach, a member of its Hall of Fame and the man for whom FSU's track complex is named, died Saturday in Glenville, N.C. His death at age 83 following a lengthy battle with cancer. Long was the father of FSU's current track coach Terry Long, who was just 13 when his father began his 23-year coaching legacy here in 1955. Another son, Jim, is an assistant track coach at FSU. Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Roselawn Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Culley's Meadow Wood Funeral Home, 1737 Riggins Road. "He was a very nice person and everybody liked him. He was quite serious about his work, but had a great sense of humor," said former FSU football and golf coach Don Veller, who had visited Long last summer in North Carolina. Long retired from FSU in 1977 and he and his wife of 60 years, Louise, moved to North Carolina in 1988 where he played golf three times a week until May. Long was born in Tunbridge, N.D., but the family soon moved to Laverne, Minn., where they operated a service station and café. As a young man, Long ran track at Macalister College in St. Paul, where he excelled as a pole vaulter. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1937 and was a high school coach in Minnesota until moving to Florida in 1942. He coached high schools in Sarasota and Fort Myers before FSU hired him in 1953 as assistant basketball coach. Until 1955 he also was an assistant football coach under Tom Nugent. From 1966 until 1977, Long made the Seminoles one of the strongest track and field powers in the South. In 1978 he was inducted into the FSU Hall of Fame and the State of Florida Track & Field Hall of Fame. During his tenure, Long amassed an enviable record of 131 wins and 32 losses. His teams were undefeated five times and 14 of his athletes were named All-America. In his last year at FSU, Long's team won the Metro Conference championship. Long is survived by his wife, Louise, and a daughter, Susan Long Brown, of Glenville, N.C.; three sons, Curtiss Long of Bowling Green, Ky., and Terry Long and Jim Long of Tallahassee; and eight grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice C.D.C, P.O. Box 293, Glenville, N.C. 28736.
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| FSU Statistics |
| Track & Field |
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