Longino Welch

{{short description|American pole vaulter}}

{{Infobox person

|name = Longino Welch

|image =

|caption =

|birth_date = 12 March 1900

|birth_place = Covington County, Mississippi

|death_date = May 1969

|death_place = Hattiesburg, Mississippi

|other_names =

|known_for = NCAA champion, pole vault (1921)

|occupation =

|nationality =

}}

Houston Longino Welch (12 March 1900 - May 1969) was an American track and field athlete for Georgia Tech.{{Brinkster}} A native of Covington County, Mississippi, he won the pole vault competition at the first NCAA track and field championships in 1921 with a jump of 12 feet.{{cite web|title=Outdoor Track and Field Individual Champions, p. 10 |publisher=NCAA |url=https://www.ncaa.com/loc/2008_m_d1_otf.pdf |accessdate=2009-12-07 |df= }}{{dead link|date=June 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite news|title=Illinois First in Great Meet: Notre Dame Second in National Collegiate Contests|newspaper=Ogden Standard-Examiner|date=1921-06-19}} Welch graduated from Georgia Tech in 1923 with a degree in electrical engineering.{{cite news|author=Jack Copeland|title=Defining Moments - Tracking championships: First NCAA postseason event in 1921 set the standard for the 87 that followed|newspaper=The NCAA News|date=2007-07-17|url=http://ncaa.info/wps/wcm/connect/ncaa/ncaa/ncaa+news/ncaa+news+online/2006/association-wide/focus+-+defining+moments+-+tracking+championships+-+7-17-06+ncaa+news}}{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

After graduating from Georgia Tech, Welch worked with various companies in the 1920s. In 1929, he joined Mississippi Power. He began in the company's Gulfport office before transferring to Hattiesburg in 1935.{{cite news|title=Crack Shots|newspaper=Hattiesburg American|author=Leonard Van Slyke|date=May 2, 1966|page=17|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109802838/longino-welch/|via=Newspapers.com}}

He was inducted into the Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in 1966.{{cite web|title=Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame|publisher=Ramblin' Wreck|url=http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/ot/fame/halloffame.html|accessdate=2009-12-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918200605/http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/ot/fame/halloffame.html|archive-date=2011-09-18|url-status=dead}}

Welch died in 1969 at age 69 at his home in Hattiesburg.{{cite news|title=H. L. Welch, Sr., dies unexpectedly|newspaper=Hattiesburg American|date=May 14, 1969|page=1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109802937/obituary-for-h-l-welch-aged-69/|via=Newspapers.com}}