WICHITA, Kansas, August 8, 2008 -- The Wichita Sports Hall of Fame bursts with memorabilia, but nothing means to President Paul Savage than the case devoted to Jim Bausch.

As Savage points out, “No other athlete in the state of Kansas has been crowned the world's greatest athlete."

That title was bestowed upon Bausch when he claimed gold in the decathlon at the 1932 Olympics.

Savage’s display documents an incredible sports journey woven together by pictures, newspaper clippings and even a Bausch autograph, of which only a couple dozen are known to exist.

Bausch grew up in Garden Plain and attended Wichita’s Cathedral High School.  He spent a year at Wichita University before transferring to the University of Kansas.

Savage says controversy ensued because Wichita people accused KU people of stealing and recruiting Bausch.

At KU, Bausch starred in both track and football and readied himself to shatter Jim Thorpe’s decathlon scoring record just two years later.

“When Bruce Jenner won the decathlon a few years back, he was the toast of the country,” says Savage.  “That was the same situation for Bausch at that time.”

Bausch’s accomplishment is one for the ages, but what makes it more incredible is the fact that he shares it with another Kansas connection.  Buster Charles, who attended Haskell Indian Institute in Lawrence, placed fourth in the same competition.

Says Savage, “two of the top four greatest athletes of all time in the same state in the same city…is truly one of Kansas greatest sporting moments."