Earl Young has always been a winner. As a world-renowned sprinter, at age 19, he was the youngest member of the American track and field team that won gold in Rome back in 1960, appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Young’s travels took him to places he could only dream about: Moscow, Stuttgart, London, Saǒ Paulo, and more, where he competed against the world’s top athletes and rubbed shoulders with show business royalty like Elizabeth Taylor.
It was an eye-opener for the Abilene Christian University track star, navigating complex geopolitical scenes swirling around him, including Cold War-era KGB, CIA, and a host of situations he’d never encountered.
Eventually, Young left the track behind for a career, which included victories in oil and gas, mining, finance, and more, while working around the globe.
In his book, “Gold and Grace, The Higher Purpose of an Olympic Champion,” Young chronicles his life in 13 stirring chapters, peppered with rare historical insights and stories that demonstrate his inspirational, faith-driven purpose past athletics.
“I had ambitions beyond foot races in short pants,” he says.
Young moved to Dallas in the fall of 1964; the city was still mired in the aftermath of the JFK assassination.
The book follows his path out of sports and into business, and how Olympic connections helped him jumpstart a career.
He recalls stories of meeting bigger-than-life Texas characters like Billy Sol Estes and working closely with icons, including T. Boone Pickens.
Young’s oldest daughter, Stacey Mayfield, is among his biggest fans. She is the director of the Haas Moto Museum in Addison, a project she co-founded with her life partner, the late Bobby Haas.
“My dad has always been my hero, for as long as I can remember, not for his athletic accomplishments, but for the way he carries himself in this world,” she says.
Young writes candidly in a chapter called “The Race of My Life,” recounting an incident when he was concerned about what might be seasonal allergies, or so he thought.
After a battery of tests, he was referred to an oncologist and eventually underwent a bone marrow biopsy. Young was informed, at age 71, that he had acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive form of blood cancer.
From there, he was advised on medical matters like chemotherapy, DNA, and stem cell transplants, as well as a potentially grim timetable, seriously confronting issues he had never considered before.
Young had been a high-performing athlete, a world champion who rarely even thought about his health, much less his mortality.
But things unraveled quickly.
His arduous treatment began in Dallas. Nothing was a given. In “Gold and Grace,” Young details the painful procedures he endured.
As he entered a world filled with medical trials and uncertainty, Young describes dead ends, frustrations, and discoveries that would eventually lead to recovery.
It didn’t seem real, says Mayfield. “Not this guy, my hero, my dad, the man who always showed up with such strength.”
But Young never lost hope, he says. “As hard as the process was, I never thought I would die … Cancer gave me a purpose that was missing in my previous life.”
According to Young, in the U.S., every three minutes, someone is diagnosed with a form of blood cancer; and every year, about 18,000 people will face an illness in which a bone marrow or blood stem cell treatment offers their best chance for survival.
Such transplant treatments can slow down or even cure over 75 different diseases, including leukemia, lymphoma, and sickle cell anemia.
Young laments the fact that about 70 percent of patients will not have a family member who is an appropriate match.
Thus, the process of registering donors worldwide is the best hope. “Imagine how many lives that would save,” says Young.
In Young’s case, he was the recipient of stem cells from a stranger named Christine Waag, who lived in a small town in Germany. The young woman changed his life. “Christine was the only match out of the 22 million registered donors at the time,” says Young.
DKMS is an international nonprofit dedicated to saving the lives of patients with blood cancers and disorders. Founded in Germany in 1991, it has over 12.5 million registered donors providing blood stem cell donations to those in need.
Waag was identified through her DKMS registration. But little did she know the impact she’d have on a Texan fighting for his life. Her selflessness saved Young’s life, and so far, Young says, 172 others have been rescued through her donations alone.
“Patients and donors are allowed to meet and share information after two years,” and evidence of a successful transplant, says Young.
When the pair met in person, Young recounts the emotion, the hugs and tears, and the formation of a lifelong bond.
Ultimately, he believes AML turned out to be a blessing. “His strength, grace, and faith have guided him through every season of his life,” says Mayfield.
Young’s book details extraordinary challenges and death-defying experiences he endured and salutes a series of inspirational people along the way.
Today, at age 85, he’s Executive Director of Earl Young’s Team, a nonprofit working to defeat blood cancers through awareness and registration, with 40,000 people so far.
“It’s a Preston Road Church of Christ ministry,” says Young. “One of our biggest drives was at Park Cities Baptist, plus SMU, Dallas Baptist Medical City Hospital, UTSW, and others.”
As far as a lasting legacy, Young says, “Nothing is as important to me now as this mission. I feel blessed to serve this higher purpose for the rest of my days on earth.”
“His strength, grace, and faith have guided him through every season of his life.”