It’s in France now, but the Olympic torch came through North Texas - twice

The Olympic flame is currently making its way through France ahead of its arrival to the Olympic Opening Ceremony on July 26. The tradition of lighting the Olympic flame, a prominent symbol of the Olympic Games, was derived from ancient Greek ceremonies with the origins of the Olympics when the flame would continuously burn throughout the Games.

In modern-day Olympics Games, the Olympic flame is lit in Olympia, Greece a few months before the start of the Olympics. The torch-lighting ceremony sparks the beginning of the Olympic torch relay, which was first introduced in 1936 before the Summer Olympics in Berlin. The Olympic flame has previously made its way through North Texas twice, once in 1984 and again in 1996.

1984 Summer Olympics torch relay

Prior to the start of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the Olympic torch relay took place from May 8 to July 28. The eastward route included Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, and Dallas, and covered just over 9,300 miles across the United States and involved about 3,600 torchbearers. The torch ultimately traveled through 41 major cities and about 1,000 smaller communities, making the torch accessible to about half of the U.S. population.

Originally, the torch route had the flame passing only through Dallas on its way to Lubbock, but Fort Worth city officials and volunteers helped convince relay organizers to alter the route to include Fort Worth as the city had raised nearly $1 million for the training of Olympic athletes.

The 1984 torch relay was the first to be funded primarily through corporate sponsorships, as the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee is not supported by federal funding. This was also the first instance of torchbearers being selected based on a $3,000 donation (equivalent to about $9,000 today) raised through the Youth Legacy Kilometer program. The funds raised by torchbearers totaled nearly $11 million nationwide and were donated to selected local charities — primarily the YMCA, Special Olympics, Boys Club of America, and Girls Club of America.

Former Olympic champions Rafer Johnson and Bob Hayes carried the torch through Dallas on June 13. Johnson, a civil rights icon, was the first African American to serve as the U.S. flag bearer at the 1960 Summer Olympics and the first African American to light the Olympic cauldron to conclude the 1984 Olympic torch relay in Los Angeles. Johnson would also serve as the first runner of the 1996 Summer Olympics torch relay.

Hayes, a former wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys and gold medalist in the 100-meter dash and 4x100 meter relay at the 1974 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, remains the only person to ever win both an Olympic gold medal and Super Bowl championship ring.

On June 14, the torch made its way through Arlington and Fort Worth. Local torchbearers included a diverse subset of the community that included teachers, cancer survivors, elementary schoolchildren, and business executives.

Nancy Anderson, a physical education teacher at Wimbish Elementary in Arlington, raised money for months to secure her spot in the relay. Oscar Molina, North Side High School student and Fort Worth Boys Club 1983 Boy of the Year, was sponsored by former Olympian and fellow Fort Worth Boys Club Member Darrow Hooper.

For University of Texas at Arlington Junior Kevin Procaccino, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in high school, carrying the torch symbolized his fight for life. Procaccino, in remission since August 1983, was majoring in architecture and had plans to try out for UTA’s football team. He carried the flame up the steps to Arlington’s City Hall, and after passing off the torch, he was presented with a key to the city from Arlington Mayor Harold Patterson.

Star-Telegram writer Tim Blackwell best described the energy brought to the area in his column published on June 17, 1984: “Young and old proudly waved American flags; some eyes were glazed with tears, others looked on like a baby fixing his first sights on a new world ... A buzz of hope and anticipation hovered over the street as the Olympic caravan drew nearer.”

1996 Summer Olympics torch relay

Twelve years later, in 1996, the United States hosted its fourth Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, and these Games marked the centennial of the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. In total, the torch was carried by 12,467 bearers that year, many of whom were nominated as “community heroes” by local United Way organizations.

On its 84-day, 15,000-mile journey from Los Angeles to Atlanta, the Olympic torch passed eastward through Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, and Dallas on May 20. Texas Gov. George W. Bush proclaimed May 19-22 as “1996 Olympic Torch Relay Days” and remarked that the relay is a “symbol of human unity, strength and endurance, touching the lives of millions of people throughout the world.”

Local torchbearers taking the torch through Fort Worth included Amy Baxter, Ms. Wheelchair America; and Richard Zavala, Fort Worth Parks and Community Services director, now the Fort Worth Parks & Recreation Department, where he currently serves in the same role. In Arlington, the torch was carried by Edna Pemberton, who was recognized by Rep. Jasmine Crockett in 2023 for decades of community activism in Dallas; Paulie Ayala, North American Boxing Federation bantamweight champion; Joe Jackson, wheelchair athlete and award-winner in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games; Jimmy Weaver, former North Texas State College track star who missed qualifying for the 1960 Olympics by less than a second in 100-meter dash; and Allan Saxe, local philanthropist and longtime University of Texas at Arlington political science professor.

Saxe wrote a regular column for the Arlington Citizen-Journal, and in his column published on May 21, 1996, he detailed his training regimen to prepare for the Olympic torch run. He initially began his training by walking every morning with his small dog. “But my upper body strength is lacking,” Saxe wrote, “so I needed some strength conditioning ... The best way to accomplish that, I believed, would be to go to my favorite ice cream parlor. There I would order my usual double frozen yogurt cone. I would then race outside, holding the cone high over my left shoulder ... Later I decided to hold my 10-pound dog while walking.”

Saxe’s training paid off as he jogged with the torch down Division Street in Arlington without a hitch.

Organizers have yet to solidify a torch route for the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympic Games, but North Texans can only hope for another glimpse of that glimmering Olympic flame.

Sara Pezzoni works toward promoting greater access to Fort Worth Star-Telegram archival collection materials as a staff member of the Special Collections department at the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries.