Gold Medal Plaza
Gold Medal Plaza is the center point of the historic 12 Points neighborhood. This triangular park is located at the intersections of Lafayette Avenue, Maple Avenue, and 13th Street and honors three local athletes and their Olympic achievements.
Within the plaza one will find three large plaques, each dedicated to an Olympic Gold Medal winner. Each of these athletes grew up in the 12 Points neighborhood and graduated from Garfield High School.
The three Purple Eagles honored are Greg Bell, Clyde Lovellette, and Terry Dischinger. Both Bell and Lovellette graduated in 1948 while Dischinger followed a decade later, graduating in 1958.
Lovellette won his gold medal as a member of the United States Olympic basketball team in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. He was an Indiana All-Star high school basketball player then a three-time All-American at the University of Kansas. There he led the nation in scoring as the Jayhawks won the national championship in 1952. Lovellette also played for three National Basketball Association championship teams. He was the first player to have won NCAA, Olympic and NBA championships.
Bell’s gold medal came in track and field. In the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia,
Bell won gold in the long jump. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1950 after moving to Chicago. While serving in the military he became the European armed forces long jump champion in 1950. Bell was encouraged to attend Indiana University after his service and was undefeated in his event as a collegian. His IU long jump record (26’ 7”) stood for 35 years.
Dischinger was a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic basketball team winning gold in Rome, Italy. He was a multi-sport athlete while at Garfield competing in football, track as well as basketball. He was also a member of the 1955 Babe Ruth League World Series champion baseball team. Dischinger went on to success in the Big Ten at Purdue. As a 19-year-old sophomore he was invited to try out for the Olympic team and was that team’s best defensive player.
