Randy Matson

American athletics competitor

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Born: March 5, 1945
Age in 2026: 81
Zodiac sign: Pisces
Birth year: 1945

About Randy Matson

James Randel "Randy" Matson is an American track and field athlete who mostly competed in the shot put. Matson won a silver medal at the 1964 and a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics. Matson is one of the greatest shot putters in the history of the sport, based predominantly on his one-meter improvement of the world record in 1965. He won the 50-yard dash, the 100-yard dash, the long jump and the high jump and finished sixth in the shot put.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Randy Matson timeline

1964Matson won a silver medal at the 1964 and a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics.
1965Matson is one of the greatest shot putters in the history of the sport, based predominantly on his one-meter improvement of the world record in 1965.

The world when Randy Matson was born

Randy Matson was born in 1945. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1945

#1 song"Sentimental Journey" – Les Brown & Doris Day
Top movieThe Lost Weekend
Best-selling bookAnimal Farm – George Orwell

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentDetroit Tigers win the World Series
Top headlineWorld War II ends after atomic bombs dropped on Japan
Technology milestoneAtomic bomb developed and detonated (Manhattan Project)
Defining fadV-J Day celebrations
Notable inventionMicrowave oven (accidental discovery)
World population2.40 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderFranklin D. Roosevelt / Harry S. Truman
Sports championDetroit Tigers (World Series)
U.S. population139.9M

1945 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Randy Matson's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1945	2026
Gas	$0.21	$3.45/gal
Average home	$5,900	$435,000
Average income	$4,100	$67,500
Minimum wage	$0.40	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$0.30	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.03	$0.73
Population	139.9M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, International Olympic Committee, Olympedia. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.