Award as the nation's top young athlete. He was also the first recipient of the ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year that year. Personal life Beatty married his wife, Paulette in 1976. Beatty served in the North Carolina General Assembly as a State Representative as a member of the Democratic Party, representing North Carolina's 36th district, in Mecklenburg County. He worked on voting rights legislation and expanding medicare, being a close friend and ally of both Governor Jim Hunt, and Terry Sanford, before running for the United States Congress in 1972, eventually losing in the general election to future Republican Governor of N.C. James G. Martin. In his later years, Beatty flirted with a run for lieutenant-governor and a return to the general assembly, before dropping out, citing personal reasons. Beatty and his wife, Paulette reside in their Charlotte, North Carolina home, where Beatty remains an active member of the community, endorsing politicians like U.S. Senate Candidate Jeff Jackson and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper for statewide offices. Beatty was inducted into the USA National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1990, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1963, and the Greater Charlotte Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. References External links 1934 births Living people American male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1963 Pan American Games Track and field athletes from New York City James E. Sullivan Award recipients Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games