Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Harold Vincent "Hal" Connolly (August 1, 1931 August 18, 2010) was an American athlete and hammer thrower from Somerville, Massachusetts. He won a gold medal in the hammer throw at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. During the course of his career, Connolly became the first American to throw more than 200 feet. He set his first of six world records just prior to the 1956 Olympics, and held the world record for nearly 10 years.