Bob Hayes

The American sportsman Bob Hayes, who has died of kidney failure aged 59, was a record-breaker on both the athletics track and the football gridiron, the only man to win both an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring. He was was also a trailblazer, setting new standards for sprinters while helping to usher in the modern passing game to the US National Football League.

Sometimes, he simply seemed impossible to beat. His 100-metres victory at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics equalled the world record of 10 seconds. But it came on a wet cinder track, in the inside lane chewed up by the start of a men's walking event. Boxer Joe Frazier had accidentally misplaced one of Hayes's spikes, so he ran with one borrowed shoe, and won by more than two metres.

In the 4x100 metres relay, he was even more impressive. Running the anchor, he took the baton in fifth place, three metres behind the leader; 30 metres later, he had taken the lead, and went on to win, going away by three metres. His split was hand-clocked at 8.6 seconds.

In his day, Hayes defied the concept of the prototypical sprinter. Powerfully built, he was so pigeon-toed that he often spiked himself while running. His starts were not the fastest, but his acceleration to full power was amazing. His use of finishing strength has marked many who followed, including Britain's Linford Christie and Dwain Chambers.

Though football purists scoffed, Hayes was selected for the Dallas Cowboys in 1964, even though he was a sprinter playing at a traditionally black college, Florida A&M, better known for its marching band. But Dallas was developing a scouting system which insisted that measurable attributes, like speed, were more valuable than techniques, which could be coached.

They also realised that Hayes was a football player who sprinted, happier running in pads than shorts. His coach, the legendary Jake Gaither, told them: "Bob can do anything he sets his mind to do. Just make sure you tell him what you want."

His impact on the NFL was immediate. In his first two seasons, he caught 110 passes for 25 touchdowns, averaging 22 yards per catch. New York Giants signed the Olympic 200-metre champion Henry Carr to cover him, perhaps not realising that Hayes had beaten Carr in the 200-metre trials. Neither Carr - nor anyone else - could cover Hayes man to man, so teams developed the zone coverages so commonplace today.

Hayes's later production never matched those first seasons, but his presence still stretched defences, opening room underneath for other receivers. One of them was Pete Gent, whose novel, North Dallas 40, detailed the off-field temptations which had their effect on Hayes.

The strict discipline that Gaither imposed on Hayes had seen him through a period of probation for a small-time robbery at college, but, in Dallas, Hayes was on his own. Still, he played nine seasons, and his 71 touchdowns and 20-yard average remain gaudy statistics, as are his numbers as a kick returner. In his wake, sprinters like Willie Gault, Ron Brown and Renaldo Nehemiah joined the NFL.

But Hayes found his way into the drug world. In 1979, he sold cocaine and speed to an undercover policeman, and spent 10 months in jail. His release coincided with his eligibility for pro football's hall of fame, but the voters ignored him. He battled his drug and alcohol problems for a decade, going through three rehab programmes, before moving back to Jacksonville, Florida, to live with his parents, and finally earn his degree in elementary education from Florida A&M at the age of 51.

Last year, in a moving ceremony, Hayes was finally inaugurated into the Dallas Cowboy "ring of fame". His Bob Hayes invitational track meet annually attracts more than 25,000 high school athletes; he disobeyed doctor's orders to leave hospital and congratulate the winners personally. But although he was elected to the US track & field hall of fame, he remains overlooked by pro football.

He is survived by a son and four daughters.

· Robert Hayes, athlete and American footballer, born December 20 1942; died September 18 2002