JULY 1960 part 1
As this issue covers three major meets, the NCAA, the AAU and the Olympic Trials, in order to give proper coverage without this entry rambling on, we will cover the first two in this portion and save the Olympic Trials for part 2.
June 17 and 18 finds us in Berkeley for the NCAA meet. Kansas surprises USC 50-37 to take the title on the strength of a Charlie Tidwell double, 10.2 and 20.8 (curve), Cliff Cushman's 50.8 victory in the 400H and a javelin win by Bill Alley at 268-9. The latter is not surprising as just last week the Kansas star set the WR with a throw of 283-8, breaking Al Cantello's 282-3½. SC strikes out on the track. All their points come in field events.
Click several times on this photo to enlarge and move on to two other photos
The best races come at one and two laps. Heats and semis in the 400 are run Friday to pare the field down to eight finalists. Ted Woods, “a 19 year old Negro sophomore at Colorado” (yes, after a year of enlightenment, Cordner Nelson is back to outing Negroes) demolishes an excellent field with a stunning 45.7. Vic Hall's 46.1 is only good for second.
The 800 is even better. Heats of 13 with three qualifying for finals are run on Friday. These start from the chute, break for the pole and go three turns. Ernie Cunliffe, Bob Tague and George Kerr are heat winners. The final portends the future: “An odd situation in the final saw the runners negotiate half a lap in lanes with staggered starts.” Wonder if that will catch on?
To the surprise of no one who has been following this history, Ernie Cunliffe takes the lead at the break for the pole. George Kerr is taking no chances. He is right on Ernie's butt. Cunliffe goes through the 400 in a blazing 51.7, followed by Kerr, Jerry Siebert and Oregon's Sig Ohlemann who is “looking bewildered”. Down the backstretch the three leaders open significant ground on the field. But here comes Jim Slack of Yale closing up to make it a four man race on the curve. “Then Kerr shot by Cunliffe, followed by Siebert. Kerr pulled steadily away from Cunliffe, but black-haired Siebert, elbows flying and head cocked, remained three yards back all the way to the tape. Stack closed a little on Cunliffe.” Only three men have run faster than Kerr's 1:46.4. Siebert's 1:46.9 is only a tenth off the previous collegiate record. Cunliffe finishes in 1:47.6 and Stack is 1:48.4. A measure of the quality of competition is that 1:50.1 earns last place.
Dyrol Burleson wins the 1500 by over three seconds in 3:44.2 in a race that had significant pushing and shoving. After the race he threatens Kansas' Bill Dotson with “a punch in the nose”.
Other highlights include a 61-9 shot put victory by Dallas Long and a 7-0 HJ win by John Thomas. Missouri's Dick Cochran takes the discus by 12 feet with a 188-3½ throw and John Lawler of Boston U sets the collegiate record in the hammer at 209-2. Luther Hays of SC is 12th in the broad jump, two feet behind winner Ralph Boston (25-5½), but rebounds to take the HSJ with a meet record 50-11½. Rafer Johnson's little brother, Jimmy, on his way to the NFL Hall of Fame, stops by long enough to win the 110HH in 14.0. Another pretty good NFL player, Bernie Casey of Bowling Green, is fourth in 14.3.
J.D. Martin of Oklahoma vaults 14-9 for the win. Apparently there is no placing by misses and attempts as seven tie for second at 14-6, another nine tie for ninth at 14-0 and four more tie for 18th at 13-6.
That we are still in the stone age of NCAA competition is made clear by the fact that there are no relays.
Now a week has passed. It is June 24-25 and we are in beautiful downtown Bakersfield for the AAU meet. Whereas many athletes have qualified for the Olympic Trials by placing in the service championship or the NCAA meet, this is the ticket to ride for those not in the service or college. Mess up here and you are watching from the stands for next week's trials. Many of those who had previously qualified chose to skip this meet in preparation for the trials.
John Thomas demonstrates his readiness for the trials, jumping 7-2 for a world record. Ira Davis and Kent Floerke stage a spirited dual in the HSJ. Davis' American record of 53-4¼ takes it, but Floerke is right there at 52-10¼.
Ray Norton catches Paul Winder in the 100 (10.5), then proves his superiority at twice the distance, clocking 20.8 to leave Les Carney two yards back.
There won't be a 10,000 in the Olympic Trials. It is contested right here, right now. Only the first American will have the spot on the team as no one else is close or will be close to the qualifying standard. Aussie Al Lawrence and Canadian Doug Kyle run 1-2, but the happiest finisher is Max Truex in third whose 30:16.3 gives him a six second margin over Pete McArdle. The race was supposed to start at 10:10. No mention is made of why it didn't get off until 11:58 pm. Bakersfield once again proves why it is the armpit of the nation, allowing runners to bask in the comfort of an 80 degree evening.
The 400 is arduous both from the perspective of competition and scheduling. Heats and semis are run on Friday. Technically that is not correct. For whatever reason, the semis don't come off until 12:40 Saturday morning. Fifteen year old Don Webster violates curfew when he qualifies for the final with a 46.7. Deloss Dodds has the fastest semi time of 46.3.
The serious competition in the final comes from the outside lanes. Working inward from lane nine it is Otis Davis, Webster, Earl Young and Dave Mills. Young holds the lead halfway through, but in the curve here comes Davis. He powers past Young and into the lead. Young hangs on, but begins to fade in the straight where Mills and Willie Williams go by. Davis opens distance to the tape, clocking a meet record 45.8. Mills, Williams and Young run 46.2, 46.3 and 46.4. The rest of the field don't have to hang their heads. Dodds, Bill Knocke, Webster and Keith Thomassen all run 46.8.
The 800 is missing those who qualified in the NCAA meet, but, after heats and semis on Friday, Saturday's final provides some excitement. Favorite Tom Murphy takes the field out in 52.8 with NAIA champ Ted Nelson in close attendance. Murphy leads through 600, but Jim Cerveny, taking advantage of second opportunity to qualify for the trials after not making the final in last week's NCAA meet, is moving up. Cerveny's kick corresponds with the bear jumping on Murphy's back. The Oxy ace pulls away in the straight for a 1:48.4 win. Wichita's Lew Merriman nips Murphy at the tape, 1:48.7 for both. Nelson is fourth at 1:49.1. Art Evans and Jim Dupree are 5th and 6th to punch their tickets for next week.
The 5000 is a formality for Bill Dellinger and Jim Beatty. With half a lap to go Dellinger pulls even with Beatty and they chat their way to a tie in 14:26.4. Actually Dellinger is given the win by the first place judge who put the officious in official.
The javelin is a dual between former world record holder Al Cantello and new record holder Bill Alley. “Intermittent breezes” restrict the distances, but Cantello takes advantage of a rare calm moment to seal the victory with a heave of 271-9. Alley throws 259-2½. They will meet again next week at Stanford. Former WR holder Bud Held, troubled by a bad back, is 11th and fails to qualify for the trials.
There are four 26 foot jumpers in the broad jump but a strong headwind curtails distances. Dutchman Henk Visser is the only competitor to go 25 feet at 25-2. The surprise here is the third place finish of Oklahoma freshman Anthony Watson who becomes a legitimate contender for the Olympic team with a 24-9 effort.
The Lee Calhoun – Hayes Jones hurdle show doesn't disappoint. Jones is out early, but by the fifth hurdle Calhoun is reeling him in. They hit the tape together with Jones getting the win in 13.6 for both. Willie May is third in 13.9.
The pole vault field suffers from scratches by JD Martin and Don Bragg who have already qualified for the trials. Six vaulters clear 15-0¾ with Aubrey Dooley winning on fewer misses. Wait a minute, lets go back a week to the NCAA pole vault that had multiple ties. The NCAA doesn't use the misses rule, but the AAU does. Go figure. Remember those erstwhile fans who stayed for the 400 semi last night at 12:40? Bet they were the same ones watching Bob Gutowski take the last vault of this competition at 12:51 Monday morning.
Lazlo Tabori leads the 1500 with a lap to go. He throws down a 56.8 final go around, good, but not good enough, as Jim Grelle has a 55.3 in the tank and wins in a meet record 3:42.7.
The discus is never in doubt. Olympic champ Al Oerter dominates with four throws over 190' and a best of 193-9½ to leave Missouri's Dick Cochran's PR of 188-10 four feet behind. Although throwing well, Cochran says his back has gone out on him. We will have to wait a week to see how this plays out in the OTs. Rink Babka is third at 185-5.
The steeplechase provides a closer finish than the 100. Deacon Jones follows Phil Coleman over the final water jump and passes him on the last hurdle, but Coleman isn't done. He rallies to take a photo finish in 8:55.6.
The 10,000 is not the only settled spot set on the Olympic team. Two weeks earlier Rafer Johnson takes Vasily Kuznyetsov's WR in the decathlon by an astounding 326 points, recording 8683 in the OTs in Eugene His UCLA training partner, China's CK Yang, joins in the record breaking fun, scoring 8426 to top the Russian's best by 69 points. Phil Mulkey makes the team with a PR of 7852. Hometown youngster Dave Edstrom, though injured, hangs up 7350 to become the third member of the team.
The editors throw a bone to the US women. Their national competition is given a paragraph in the Late News column. Seems the US women might have a chance in the sprints. Wilma Rudolph has broken the WR in the 200 on a turn, clocking 22.9 to drop Betty Cuthbert's 23.2 from the books. Rose Lovelace of Cleveland breaks the AR in the 400 with a 58.3. She enjoys this distinction for a day before Irene Robinson's 57.1 takes it away. The 800 AR also falls. Pat Daniels (later better known as Pat Connolly) runs 2:17.5.
The next entry will be devoted to the Olympic Trials at Stanford in a week. See you there.
Beginning our 14th year and 1,200+ postings. A blog for athletes and fans of 20th century Track and Field culled from articles in sports journals of the day, original articles, book reviews, and commentaries from readers who lived and ran and coached in that era. We're equivalent to an Amer. Legion post of Track and Field but without cheap beer. You may contact us directly at irathermediate@gmail.com or write a comment below. George Brose, Courtenay, BC ed.
Once Upon a Time in the Vest
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Vol. 1 No. 83 June , 1960
JUNE 1960
It’s the Jim Beatty show. There are two major meets and he is the star of both. On May 28 he tangles with American record holder Dyrol Burleson in the mile. Beatty combines with SCVYV teammate Lazlo Tabori to set a pace designed to take the sting out of Burleson’s kick. Tabori leads through 57.7 and 1:58.0 splits before Beatty takes over on the backstretch. By the start of the last lap Tabori has taken the lead again in 2:59.7 with Beatty in close attendance and the Oregon sophomore 8 yards back.
` Burleson makes his move on the backstretch, going by Tabori easily and moving up right behind Beatty. He follows Beatty around the curve, apparently ready for a big move on the final straight. Unfortunately for Burleson, it is Beatty who pulls away, opening ground all the way to a 3:58.0 finish and a new American record, erasing Burleson’s 3:58.6. Burleson finishes in 3:59.2 with Tabori at 4:00.0. Bill Dellinger, 4:02.7, and Bob Seaman, 4:04.3, run well, but are never in it.
As good as Beatty is, perhaps Don Styron had an intrinsically better mark. After finishing second to Lee Calhoun in the highs, 13.8 to 13.9, the NE Louisiana flyer destroys a strong field in the 220 lows with a 22.1 clocking, just .2 off his world record.
The 880 has the crowd on its feet. Mike Peake takes the field out in 52.5. Jim Grelle isn’t buying. He is 15 yards back and still only 7th at the 660. At this point he comes alive and moves through the field. It is too little, too late. Oklahoma State sophomore Bill Stone holds on for a 1:49.6 victory with Grelle and Jack Wilcox only inches back at 1:49.7.
How would the 880 have gone if George Kerr were in it you may be asking? We’ll never know because the NCAA champ is running the quarter…and running it well. Otis Davis, Mike Larabee and Vic Hall all run 46.3, but that only earns them a close view of Kerr’s backside as he finishes in 46.1.
The 100 sees the big meet debut of Oregon freshman Harry Jerome and an excellent one it is. He explodes out of the blocks to take the lead and though Ray Norton closes, the issue is never in doubt. They both clock 9.4. Doug Smith of Oxy is third at 9.5.
The six relays are split among three teams. San Jose State wins tight races at one and two laps. The Spartans, led off by Bobby Poynter and anchored by Willie Williams, clock 40.1 to hold off NELaTC and Baylor, both at 40.3 in the 440. The same group wins the 880 over Baylor with both timed in 1:23.7.
Occidental’s middle distance strength is on display in the two mile relay and the distance medley as they win easily in 7:34.8 and 10:00.7.
Abilene Christian didn’t come to California to lose. They beat East Texas and the Striders in the sprint medley in 3:20.2 and, though the Styrons give it their best with Dave leading off in 46.9 and Don anchoring in 46.0, ACC edges Northeast Louisiana in the mile relay with both teams running 3:10.0.
The Occidental freshmen have their walk in the sun with national frosh records of 7:37.5 and 3:ll.2. Dave Moon is the stud in the 2MR, anchoring in 1:50.7. Dave Brown, Steve Haas and Dixon Farmer all run low 47’s in the MR.
Six days later, June 3, and we are 330 miles south in Compton for the Friday evening Compton Invitational. Yep, it is the Jim Beatty show once again. Once again he and SCVYV teammate Lazlo Tabori have teamed up in an attempt to break an American record, this time at 5000 meters. They take turns leading. The mile passes in 4:24.9, the two mile in 8:58.3. “Still the pace did not slacken and the cheers of the crowd followed them around each lap. They ran laps of 69.8, 68.3, 67.7, and 63.9 for a 13:28.0, dead-heating for an American record. The Beatty turned on his final drive and gradually pulled away from the ex-Hungarian. His last lap, running hard for only half of it, was in 59.2” for the new record, 13:51.7. Tabori finishes in 13:53.2, while the next finisher is on the backstretch.
Herb Elliott runs only to win the mile, but the rest of the field wish they could do as well. He comes home in 57.0 for another monotonous (for him) sub four minute mile, in this case 3:59.2. Jim Grelle, still “not at my peak”, is in close attendance at 4:00.1 with the comebacking Bob Seaman, who says, “I’m hungry”, in third in 4:01.4.
The Styron twins provide major bang for their per diem. Dave runs 10.3 to take the 100 and just misses Adolph Plummer by a tenth in the 220. I don’t know if there was an “Athlete of the Meet” award, but my vote would have gone to Don. His 14.0 earns him a third in the highs behind Lee Calhoun’s 13.5 and Hayes Jones’ 13.9, but the best is yet to come. He beats Dickie Howard “with a great kick off the last hurdle in the 400 meter “mediums” in 51.5. Just to make the evening complete, he destroys Jones in the lows 22.2 to 23.0. Cordner Nelson pronounces it the “greatest hurdle triple in history”.
The shot put is a battle of the walking wounded. Dallas Long withdraws. No explanation is given. Parry O’Brien, plagued by hemorrhaging sinusitis, wins at 62-8¼. Bill Nieder, “still suffering from his hamstring pull, a result of reinjuring his old football knee”, takes an impressive standing put of 62-5½, but can’t take a traditional throw. Third at 59-11 3/4 is Dave Davis. It is explained that he is “weak from four days of milk and donuts”. Remember this is the guy who “disappeared” last month.
The on again, off again Deacon Jones is on in the steeplechase. He follows Phil Coleman until the last curve where he opens up in the last 120 for a 15 yard win in 8:49.7.
Hal Connolly is traditionally the most dominating performer on the circuit. Tonight is no exception. He throws the hammer 224-8 1/2 to win by more than 30 feet.
Mike Larabee comes from behind in the stretch to catch Earl Young and Otis Davis in the 440. The odd thing here is that whereas we have 46.9 as the winning time, the others are given times for 400 meters as Cordner Nelson writes that time at yards was “erratic”. So we have Larabee at 46.9 (46.6m) with Young at 46.7m and Davis 46.9m.
Rafer Johnson appears to be rounding into Olympic shape. He wins the javelin in a PR of 251-9 and finds a moment to run on the Striders’ 880 relay time, splitting 20.7.
California takes the measure of USC and Abilene Christian in the mile relay. Jerry Siebert’s 46.5 third leg gets Jack Yerman off first in the anchor. Yerman runs 46.5 to hold off SC’s Angie Coia’s 46.2 and Earl Young’s 45.9. Cal 3:09.2, SC 3:09.8, ACC 3:10.0. Oh, remember that frosh record of 3:11.2 Oxy set last week? Well, it lasted six days. The SC frosh run 3:11.0 for fourth. The Oxy kids got a good look at the new record holders as they ran 3:11.7 in fifth.
On May 28 the AAWU meet is held in Seattle. Those initials stand for The Athletic Association of Western Universities. Still not clear? That would be SC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal and Washington. SC wins the team title. The best race is the 880 where Cal’s Siebert catches Stanford’s Ernie Cunliffe at the tape, both clocking 1:49.0, a PR for Siebert.
Under the heading of “Late News” we find that on June 10 Charlie Tidwell tied the WR at 100 meters in Houston’s Meet of Champions. His Kansas teammate, Bill Alley, extended his collegiate javelin record to 273-10. George Kerr won the 880 in 1:48.5 and Lee Calhoun continues to look unbeatable in the 120HH, winning in 13.5.
In meet held the next day in New York, Tom Murphy and Al Oerter proclaim their readiness for the Olympics. Murphy runs negative splits (54.4-53.8) for 1:48.2, the second fastest 880 in the US this year behind Ernie Cunliffe’s 1:47.3. Oerter throws the discus 192-5.
Track and Field News, a subscription is still only $3 a year or pick up a copy at your local newsstand for a quarter.
It’s the Jim Beatty show. There are two major meets and he is the star of both. On May 28 he tangles with American record holder Dyrol Burleson in the mile. Beatty combines with SCVYV teammate Lazlo Tabori to set a pace designed to take the sting out of Burleson’s kick. Tabori leads through 57.7 and 1:58.0 splits before Beatty takes over on the backstretch. By the start of the last lap Tabori has taken the lead again in 2:59.7 with Beatty in close attendance and the Oregon sophomore 8 yards back.
` Burleson makes his move on the backstretch, going by Tabori easily and moving up right behind Beatty. He follows Beatty around the curve, apparently ready for a big move on the final straight. Unfortunately for Burleson, it is Beatty who pulls away, opening ground all the way to a 3:58.0 finish and a new American record, erasing Burleson’s 3:58.6. Burleson finishes in 3:59.2 with Tabori at 4:00.0. Bill Dellinger, 4:02.7, and Bob Seaman, 4:04.3, run well, but are never in it.
As good as Beatty is, perhaps Don Styron had an intrinsically better mark. After finishing second to Lee Calhoun in the highs, 13.8 to 13.9, the NE Louisiana flyer destroys a strong field in the 220 lows with a 22.1 clocking, just .2 off his world record.
The 880 has the crowd on its feet. Mike Peake takes the field out in 52.5. Jim Grelle isn’t buying. He is 15 yards back and still only 7th at the 660. At this point he comes alive and moves through the field. It is too little, too late. Oklahoma State sophomore Bill Stone holds on for a 1:49.6 victory with Grelle and Jack Wilcox only inches back at 1:49.7.
How would the 880 have gone if George Kerr were in it you may be asking? We’ll never know because the NCAA champ is running the quarter…and running it well. Otis Davis, Mike Larabee and Vic Hall all run 46.3, but that only earns them a close view of Kerr’s backside as he finishes in 46.1.
The 100 sees the big meet debut of Oregon freshman Harry Jerome and an excellent one it is. He explodes out of the blocks to take the lead and though Ray Norton closes, the issue is never in doubt. They both clock 9.4. Doug Smith of Oxy is third at 9.5.
The six relays are split among three teams. San Jose State wins tight races at one and two laps. The Spartans, led off by Bobby Poynter and anchored by Willie Williams, clock 40.1 to hold off NELaTC and Baylor, both at 40.3 in the 440. The same group wins the 880 over Baylor with both timed in 1:23.7.
Occidental’s middle distance strength is on display in the two mile relay and the distance medley as they win easily in 7:34.8 and 10:00.7.
Abilene Christian didn’t come to California to lose. They beat East Texas and the Striders in the sprint medley in 3:20.2 and, though the Styrons give it their best with Dave leading off in 46.9 and Don anchoring in 46.0, ACC edges Northeast Louisiana in the mile relay with both teams running 3:10.0.
The Occidental freshmen have their walk in the sun with national frosh records of 7:37.5 and 3:ll.2. Dave Moon is the stud in the 2MR, anchoring in 1:50.7. Dave Brown, Steve Haas and Dixon Farmer all run low 47’s in the MR.
Six days later, June 3, and we are 330 miles south in Compton for the Friday evening Compton Invitational. Yep, it is the Jim Beatty show once again. Once again he and SCVYV teammate Lazlo Tabori have teamed up in an attempt to break an American record, this time at 5000 meters. They take turns leading. The mile passes in 4:24.9, the two mile in 8:58.3. “Still the pace did not slacken and the cheers of the crowd followed them around each lap. They ran laps of 69.8, 68.3, 67.7, and 63.9 for a 13:28.0, dead-heating for an American record. The Beatty turned on his final drive and gradually pulled away from the ex-Hungarian. His last lap, running hard for only half of it, was in 59.2” for the new record, 13:51.7. Tabori finishes in 13:53.2, while the next finisher is on the backstretch.
Herb Elliott runs only to win the mile, but the rest of the field wish they could do as well. He comes home in 57.0 for another monotonous (for him) sub four minute mile, in this case 3:59.2. Jim Grelle, still “not at my peak”, is in close attendance at 4:00.1 with the comebacking Bob Seaman, who says, “I’m hungry”, in third in 4:01.4.
The Styron twins provide major bang for their per diem. Dave runs 10.3 to take the 100 and just misses Adolph Plummer by a tenth in the 220. I don’t know if there was an “Athlete of the Meet” award, but my vote would have gone to Don. His 14.0 earns him a third in the highs behind Lee Calhoun’s 13.5 and Hayes Jones’ 13.9, but the best is yet to come. He beats Dickie Howard “with a great kick off the last hurdle in the 400 meter “mediums” in 51.5. Just to make the evening complete, he destroys Jones in the lows 22.2 to 23.0. Cordner Nelson pronounces it the “greatest hurdle triple in history”.
The shot put is a battle of the walking wounded. Dallas Long withdraws. No explanation is given. Parry O’Brien, plagued by hemorrhaging sinusitis, wins at 62-8¼. Bill Nieder, “still suffering from his hamstring pull, a result of reinjuring his old football knee”, takes an impressive standing put of 62-5½, but can’t take a traditional throw. Third at 59-11 3/4 is Dave Davis. It is explained that he is “weak from four days of milk and donuts”. Remember this is the guy who “disappeared” last month.
The on again, off again Deacon Jones is on in the steeplechase. He follows Phil Coleman until the last curve where he opens up in the last 120 for a 15 yard win in 8:49.7.
Hal Connolly is traditionally the most dominating performer on the circuit. Tonight is no exception. He throws the hammer 224-8 1/2 to win by more than 30 feet.
Mike Larabee comes from behind in the stretch to catch Earl Young and Otis Davis in the 440. The odd thing here is that whereas we have 46.9 as the winning time, the others are given times for 400 meters as Cordner Nelson writes that time at yards was “erratic”. So we have Larabee at 46.9 (46.6m) with Young at 46.7m and Davis 46.9m.
Rafer Johnson appears to be rounding into Olympic shape. He wins the javelin in a PR of 251-9 and finds a moment to run on the Striders’ 880 relay time, splitting 20.7.
California takes the measure of USC and Abilene Christian in the mile relay. Jerry Siebert’s 46.5 third leg gets Jack Yerman off first in the anchor. Yerman runs 46.5 to hold off SC’s Angie Coia’s 46.2 and Earl Young’s 45.9. Cal 3:09.2, SC 3:09.8, ACC 3:10.0. Oh, remember that frosh record of 3:11.2 Oxy set last week? Well, it lasted six days. The SC frosh run 3:11.0 for fourth. The Oxy kids got a good look at the new record holders as they ran 3:11.7 in fifth.
On May 28 the AAWU meet is held in Seattle. Those initials stand for The Athletic Association of Western Universities. Still not clear? That would be SC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal and Washington. SC wins the team title. The best race is the 880 where Cal’s Siebert catches Stanford’s Ernie Cunliffe at the tape, both clocking 1:49.0, a PR for Siebert.
Under the heading of “Late News” we find that on June 10 Charlie Tidwell tied the WR at 100 meters in Houston’s Meet of Champions. His Kansas teammate, Bill Alley, extended his collegiate javelin record to 273-10. George Kerr won the 880 in 1:48.5 and Lee Calhoun continues to look unbeatable in the 120HH, winning in 13.5.
In meet held the next day in New York, Tom Murphy and Al Oerter proclaim their readiness for the Olympics. Murphy runs negative splits (54.4-53.8) for 1:48.2, the second fastest 880 in the US this year behind Ernie Cunliffe’s 1:47.3. Oerter throws the discus 192-5.
Track and Field News, a subscription is still only $3 a year or pick up a copy at your local newsstand for a quarter.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Vol. 1 No. 82 May, 1960
MAY 1960
The front page headline heralds George Kerr’s big day at the Big Ten championship in East Lansing. The NCAA 880 champion clocks the quickest 440 time in the US, 46.1, to run away from Willie Atterberry’s 46.9, and Dave Mills’ 47.2. Forty minutes later he dominates the 880 with an easy 1:51.6. He isn’t done yet. His 46.9 split in a driving rain brings the baton home first in the mile relay and Illinois rides his performance to an upset victory over indoor champion Michigan, 61.5 to 45. When you consider that he ran heats in both races, the great Jamaican earned his scholarship this day.
Speaking of reversals of the indoor meets, Kansas makes up for its loss to Oklahoma in February, crushing the Big Eight with 150 points in wet, chilly conditions in Ames, Iowa. Okie State, 73, and Oklahoma, 68, take second and third. Though the weather affected marks, two meet records are set. J.D. Martin vaults 15-4 to top Aubrey Dooley’s 15-0½. K-State’s Rex Stucker sets the other with a blazing 22.5 220LH time, breaking the mark of 23.0 he set in the prelims. He is also the high hurdle winner at 14.2. Charlie Tidwell of Kansas, the conference record holder in the lows on the curve at 22.7, is concentrating on the sprints this Olympic year. He wins both on this day and runs on first and second place relay teams to top scorers at 24½. Colorado’s Teddy Woods edges Cliff Cushman by a tenth in 47.7. Nebraska’s Joe Mullins turns the tables on Kansas’ indoor 880 champ, Bob Tague, also by a tenth in 1:52.7.
The West Coast Relays sees the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village take on Stanford with the prospect of a world record in the distance medley. Besse (no first name given) of Stanford opens up three yards in the quarter with a 47.5. Former Colorado runner, Mike Peake, gets it back and then some in the 880 with a 1:51.5 to Rich Klier’s 1:52.2. The 1320 is a wash with Jim Beatty and Norm Lloyd both running 2:56.0. Now it is crunch time with Lazlo Tabori and Ernie Cunliffe on the anchor.
“Cunliffe grabbed the lead on the pass and ran 56.3, 61.3 (1:57.6) and 63.2 (3:00.8). Tabori’s legs ‘twinkled’” (I am not making this up. That is the word.) “along behind Cunliffe’s heels, and when everyone expected him to fade, he flashed past on the backstretch and sped to a 58.2 last lap to finish in 3:59.5.” The 9:34.9 clocking is the fastest ever run. Even though Cunliffe “jogged in”, the Indians’ 9.40.5 also bettered the record of the So. Cal Striders (which was never mentioned).
The Coliseum Relays are run on a soft, unstable grass track which, combined with notable absences, diminish results. The big excitement is a Herb Elliot sighting. The Aussie mile record holder isn’t in top shape yet, but he manages a 55.9 last go around to record a 3:45.4 1500 and leave Lazlo Tabori a second back. In the 400 Jack Yerman is overtaken at the tape by Mike Larabee as both run 46.7. The situation is reversed in the mile relay where Yerman comes from behind to edge Earl Young and Abilene Christian with a 46.1 leg, giving Cal a 3:10.9 victory. Stanford, anchored by Ernie Cunliffe’s 1:49.0, takes the 2 mile relay in 7:29.6 holding off Occidental by five yards.
It may be easy to get The Three Tenors together, but The Four Putters? Not so much. The anticipated match up of the Dallas Long, Bill Nieder, Parry O’Brien and Dave Davis in the shot does not come about. O’Brien is ill and Nieder is injured. Davis has “quit school and disappeared”. Long says, “My shoulder never hurt once. I guess it is healed”. He wins at 63-5¼. Jay Silvester passes up the discus and throws 60-0¼ to become the newest member of the 60 foot club.
An all-comers meet in San Jose produces two American distance records. Max Truex lowers his own 5000 mark by .6 to 14:03.6. Later, make that very much later – nearly midnight - Bud Edelen, running in front of 100 spectators, becomes the first American to break 30 minutes for the 10,000, clocking 29:58.9.
Vern Wolfe at North Phoenix High produced national record holders in the pole vault (Jim Brewer), the shot put (Dallas Long) and the discus (Karl Johnstone) in successive years. The college accomplishments of the first two are well recorded, but it was felt that Johnstone was too small to make the adjustment to the college discus. Not to worry. Johnstone, a freshman at Arizona, recently obliterated the freshman record of 171-6 with a throw of 179-0½. The previous record holder was some guy named Oerter. Incidentally, Wolfe is now the freshman coach at San Jose State.
Clifford Severn still holds down his traditional 3/8 of the back page spot selling his Adidas, but the competition is coming on. Half of page 7 is devoted to an Adidas ad with retailers in New York and Lansing, Michigan. Adidas and Germany have competition from right here in the good old US of A. Spot-Bilt’s new Contour-Fit provides “the first true fit in a track shoe (with all-kangaroo uppers)” and it is “recommended by Bill Bowerman, University of Oregon Track Coach.”
The front page headline heralds George Kerr’s big day at the Big Ten championship in East Lansing. The NCAA 880 champion clocks the quickest 440 time in the US, 46.1, to run away from Willie Atterberry’s 46.9, and Dave Mills’ 47.2. Forty minutes later he dominates the 880 with an easy 1:51.6. He isn’t done yet. His 46.9 split in a driving rain brings the baton home first in the mile relay and Illinois rides his performance to an upset victory over indoor champion Michigan, 61.5 to 45. When you consider that he ran heats in both races, the great Jamaican earned his scholarship this day.
Speaking of reversals of the indoor meets, Kansas makes up for its loss to Oklahoma in February, crushing the Big Eight with 150 points in wet, chilly conditions in Ames, Iowa. Okie State, 73, and Oklahoma, 68, take second and third. Though the weather affected marks, two meet records are set. J.D. Martin vaults 15-4 to top Aubrey Dooley’s 15-0½. K-State’s Rex Stucker sets the other with a blazing 22.5 220LH time, breaking the mark of 23.0 he set in the prelims. He is also the high hurdle winner at 14.2. Charlie Tidwell of Kansas, the conference record holder in the lows on the curve at 22.7, is concentrating on the sprints this Olympic year. He wins both on this day and runs on first and second place relay teams to top scorers at 24½. Colorado’s Teddy Woods edges Cliff Cushman by a tenth in 47.7. Nebraska’s Joe Mullins turns the tables on Kansas’ indoor 880 champ, Bob Tague, also by a tenth in 1:52.7.
The West Coast Relays sees the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village take on Stanford with the prospect of a world record in the distance medley. Besse (no first name given) of Stanford opens up three yards in the quarter with a 47.5. Former Colorado runner, Mike Peake, gets it back and then some in the 880 with a 1:51.5 to Rich Klier’s 1:52.2. The 1320 is a wash with Jim Beatty and Norm Lloyd both running 2:56.0. Now it is crunch time with Lazlo Tabori and Ernie Cunliffe on the anchor.
“Cunliffe grabbed the lead on the pass and ran 56.3, 61.3 (1:57.6) and 63.2 (3:00.8). Tabori’s legs ‘twinkled’” (I am not making this up. That is the word.) “along behind Cunliffe’s heels, and when everyone expected him to fade, he flashed past on the backstretch and sped to a 58.2 last lap to finish in 3:59.5.” The 9:34.9 clocking is the fastest ever run. Even though Cunliffe “jogged in”, the Indians’ 9.40.5 also bettered the record of the So. Cal Striders (which was never mentioned).
The Coliseum Relays are run on a soft, unstable grass track which, combined with notable absences, diminish results. The big excitement is a Herb Elliot sighting. The Aussie mile record holder isn’t in top shape yet, but he manages a 55.9 last go around to record a 3:45.4 1500 and leave Lazlo Tabori a second back. In the 400 Jack Yerman is overtaken at the tape by Mike Larabee as both run 46.7. The situation is reversed in the mile relay where Yerman comes from behind to edge Earl Young and Abilene Christian with a 46.1 leg, giving Cal a 3:10.9 victory. Stanford, anchored by Ernie Cunliffe’s 1:49.0, takes the 2 mile relay in 7:29.6 holding off Occidental by five yards.
It may be easy to get The Three Tenors together, but The Four Putters? Not so much. The anticipated match up of the Dallas Long, Bill Nieder, Parry O’Brien and Dave Davis in the shot does not come about. O’Brien is ill and Nieder is injured. Davis has “quit school and disappeared”. Long says, “My shoulder never hurt once. I guess it is healed”. He wins at 63-5¼. Jay Silvester passes up the discus and throws 60-0¼ to become the newest member of the 60 foot club.
An all-comers meet in San Jose produces two American distance records. Max Truex lowers his own 5000 mark by .6 to 14:03.6. Later, make that very much later – nearly midnight - Bud Edelen, running in front of 100 spectators, becomes the first American to break 30 minutes for the 10,000, clocking 29:58.9.
Vern Wolfe at North Phoenix High produced national record holders in the pole vault (Jim Brewer), the shot put (Dallas Long) and the discus (Karl Johnstone) in successive years. The college accomplishments of the first two are well recorded, but it was felt that Johnstone was too small to make the adjustment to the college discus. Not to worry. Johnstone, a freshman at Arizona, recently obliterated the freshman record of 171-6 with a throw of 179-0½. The previous record holder was some guy named Oerter. Incidentally, Wolfe is now the freshman coach at San Jose State.
Clifford Severn still holds down his traditional 3/8 of the back page spot selling his Adidas, but the competition is coming on. Half of page 7 is devoted to an Adidas ad with retailers in New York and Lansing, Michigan. Adidas and Germany have competition from right here in the good old US of A. Spot-Bilt’s new Contour-Fit provides “the first true fit in a track shoe (with all-kangaroo uppers)” and it is “recommended by Bill Bowerman, University of Oregon Track Coach.”
Friday, December 9, 2011
Vol. 1 No. 81 Ernie Cunliffe adds color to April, 1960
Once again, Ernie puts us trackside at a big race. Does anybody have an address for Dyrol Burleson, that we might get his comments?
"Ernie on the Angell Field Track , Just Back from Rome Olympics"
(From Ernie)
To: georgebrose@yahoo.com George I seem to remember a 61 lst lap a 2:01 and the 3:00 but unfortunately the results as listed are correct. Other recollections: the track was heavy ( it was Oregon after all) and just as we sat down to be introduced as is the custom in Eugene, Dyrol broke his
shoe laces or his shoe on his Bowerman custom made shoes. (no Adidas with the 3 stripes so I guess Cliff hadn't made it up to Oregon to compete with the Bowerman Tigers, later the new Nike line) I figured aha I have this in the bag as he is nervous. I had prepared well for this particular race and had told Coach Jordan after the Pan Am Games in Chicago, that I could beat Dyrol with a fast pace and run his kickout since I of course had no kick. Early in the week I had a final test workout and dipped under 2:54, again with a running start, and just for good luck, dipped under 1:16 in a 660, also with a running start. I was ready!
But in spite of my intentions of a quick pace, ie maybe 58/59s for a couple of laps it all went downhill with the 61 or maybe Roy's 62. Still it was encouraging to come home with a sub 3:00 last 3 laps. After Bowden and Dyrol I became the #3 US miler, just ahead of Wes Santee's 4:00.5. I figured sub 4 was just around the corner at the next meet or two, but I rarely ran the mile again as I concentrated on the 800. I did not improve in the mile but did run a 3:42.1 and some 3:43s 1500 meters but since I finished so slow you can't really add the "normal" 17 seconds to a 1500 meter time and claim a sub 4 mile. Obviously one of my biggest disappointments in track and sort of qualifies as a failure on my part. One last bit about the Eugene Mile. Just at the head of the straight where the 100s start there is a hot dog stand and I can honestly say that of all the things I remember about the race other than being beaten was the odor from that snack bar as we passed it 4 times. Coach Jordan got a real kick out of that statement.
On to the last 880 mentioned by Roy. At Fresno, Coaches Flint Haner and Jordan had cooked up a special surprise for me as I guess Jordan had told Flint that a big race was coming. I had been doing my usual 1:16/1:17 660s and a couple of sub 2:55 1320s for strength. I had tied the Stanford record the year before with a 1:49.2 set by Norman Lloyd in 1958. Lloyd (since deceased so I can elaborate) and I never hit it off well as he was older, English, married and nothing similar to myself. He had cut me off in the Pac 10 880 final at Berkeley coming off the last turn and I almost came to a halt. I realized this was European running style but it killed my momentum and I always held a grudge. This I should point out was not my usual behavior or normal attitude.
Anyway, the 880 was set up to run on 3 turns with the long straight. Lloyd of course was in the race and I took off flying. For once in a race I was relaxed and held my form right through the tape. The 1:47.3 yards was #3 all time in the world behind the World Record of Tom Courtney 1:46.8 and Don Bowden's 1:47.2 It also was a tie with some Aussie named Herb who was primarily a miler. The official 800 meter time was 1:46.6 which was #9 on the World List behind alot of talent led by my "buddy" from 1959 Roger Moens with a 1:45.7 World Record. I was on cloud nine and attributed alot of the result by the fact that my sister, my parents and my niece and nephew were at the meet and of courseLloyd was running against me that day. An almost 2 second improvement was so encouraging that Jordan and I started planning for the bigger breakthrough.
But as most of you know, just as in the mile, I never improved but consistently ran alot of 1:47 + meter races, a few 1:48 880s and had one
high 1:47 880 and one 1:46.9 meter in Europe but never got closer to the Courtneys or Moens of the world.
But Roy will "save" my reputation a little in future issues as I still had a few good efforts ahead of me as well as some disappointments, but those that defeated me sure got some fast times!
(From Roy Mason)
Wonderful stuff. This is the sort of thing that otherwise would have died with Ernie Cunliffe. I love the fact that history is being fleshed out. Dyrol Burleson broke his shoelace? Bet that wasn't covered anywhere else.
"Ernie on the Angell Field Track , Just Back from Rome Olympics"
(From Ernie)
To: georgebrose@yahoo.com George I seem to remember a 61 lst lap a 2:01 and the 3:00 but unfortunately the results as listed are correct. Other recollections: the track was heavy ( it was Oregon after all) and just as we sat down to be introduced as is the custom in Eugene, Dyrol broke his
shoe laces or his shoe on his Bowerman custom made shoes. (no Adidas with the 3 stripes so I guess Cliff hadn't made it up to Oregon to compete with the Bowerman Tigers, later the new Nike line) I figured aha I have this in the bag as he is nervous. I had prepared well for this particular race and had told Coach Jordan after the Pan Am Games in Chicago, that I could beat Dyrol with a fast pace and run his kickout since I of course had no kick. Early in the week I had a final test workout and dipped under 2:54, again with a running start, and just for good luck, dipped under 1:16 in a 660, also with a running start. I was ready!
But in spite of my intentions of a quick pace, ie maybe 58/59s for a couple of laps it all went downhill with the 61 or maybe Roy's 62. Still it was encouraging to come home with a sub 3:00 last 3 laps. After Bowden and Dyrol I became the #3 US miler, just ahead of Wes Santee's 4:00.5. I figured sub 4 was just around the corner at the next meet or two, but I rarely ran the mile again as I concentrated on the 800. I did not improve in the mile but did run a 3:42.1 and some 3:43s 1500 meters but since I finished so slow you can't really add the "normal" 17 seconds to a 1500 meter time and claim a sub 4 mile. Obviously one of my biggest disappointments in track and sort of qualifies as a failure on my part. One last bit about the Eugene Mile. Just at the head of the straight where the 100s start there is a hot dog stand and I can honestly say that of all the things I remember about the race other than being beaten was the odor from that snack bar as we passed it 4 times. Coach Jordan got a real kick out of that statement.
On to the last 880 mentioned by Roy. At Fresno, Coaches Flint Haner and Jordan had cooked up a special surprise for me as I guess Jordan had told Flint that a big race was coming. I had been doing my usual 1:16/1:17 660s and a couple of sub 2:55 1320s for strength. I had tied the Stanford record the year before with a 1:49.2 set by Norman Lloyd in 1958. Lloyd (since deceased so I can elaborate) and I never hit it off well as he was older, English, married and nothing similar to myself. He had cut me off in the Pac 10 880 final at Berkeley coming off the last turn and I almost came to a halt. I realized this was European running style but it killed my momentum and I always held a grudge. This I should point out was not my usual behavior or normal attitude.
Anyway, the 880 was set up to run on 3 turns with the long straight. Lloyd of course was in the race and I took off flying. For once in a race I was relaxed and held my form right through the tape. The 1:47.3 yards was #3 all time in the world behind the World Record of Tom Courtney 1:46.8 and Don Bowden's 1:47.2 It also was a tie with some Aussie named Herb who was primarily a miler. The official 800 meter time was 1:46.6 which was #9 on the World List behind alot of talent led by my "buddy" from 1959 Roger Moens with a 1:45.7 World Record. I was on cloud nine and attributed alot of the result by the fact that my sister, my parents and my niece and nephew were at the meet and of courseLloyd was running against me that day. An almost 2 second improvement was so encouraging that Jordan and I started planning for the bigger breakthrough.
But as most of you know, just as in the mile, I never improved but consistently ran alot of 1:47 + meter races, a few 1:48 880s and had one
high 1:47 880 and one 1:46.9 meter in Europe but never got closer to the Courtneys or Moens of the world.
But Roy will "save" my reputation a little in future issues as I still had a few good efforts ahead of me as well as some disappointments, but those that defeated me sure got some fast times!
(From Roy Mason)
Wonderful stuff. This is the sort of thing that otherwise would have died with Ernie Cunliffe. I love the fact that history is being fleshed out. Dyrol Burleson broke his shoelace? Bet that wasn't covered anywhere else.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Vol. 1 No. 80 April 1960
April 1960
To: "Goerge Brose"APRIL 1960
Relay meets? You want relay meets? We gottem. Step right up. Penn, Drake, Mt. SAC, Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Marine Corps, Easter, Florida, Southwestern, take your pick.
March 26 finds us in Gainesville for the Florida Relays where the Styron twins take the 100, the highs and help out on 440 and mile relay wins for NE Louisiana. Florida's Henry Wadsworth becomes a member of the 15 foot club by a quarter inch and wins the HJ at 6-4¾ for good measure. Bill Alley makes his seasonal debut, winning the javelin by nearly 40 feet with a 243-7 effort.
It's April 2 and we are in Austin for the Texas Relays. If you remember, last month Bill Nieder had set the world record in the shot at 63-10 only to be passed the following week by Dallas Long's 64-6 and Dave Davis' 63-10½. Big Bill is not dismissed so easily. In a coaching clinic the previous day Nieder opines that he thought he could throw 65'. Now it is time to prove it. On his first attempt he enters the ring “and everything becomes quiet. He then explodes with a 65-7 put. He nearly fouls as the power of the put almost carries him too far forward. He teeters on his right leg in the front of the ring, leaning low to prevent a foul. He then stands up, looks at where the shot landed and jumps into the air with joy.” Obviously Bill never got a bike for Christmas or experienced a wedding ceremony for he says, “This is the happiest day of my life.”
Bill Alley adds eleven feet to last week's effort, winning by 35 feet with a throw of 254-9½. Bobby Morrow takes the 100, but can do no better than third in the 200 behind Colorado's Ted Woods and Jimmy Weaver whom he had bested earlier. Kansas comes up tough in the sprint medley with a team of Cliff Cushman, Paul Williams, Charlie Tidwell and Bob Tague clocking 3:19.8.
The Marine Corps Relays in Quantico, Virginia is held April 16. Hayes Jones throws down a 13.6 in the highs, but not much more detail is known. We are told a complete summary will appear next month.
April 22-23 are cold, wind swept days in Walnut, California, but the Mt SAC Relays have something to offer. The big news on the track is that Lew Stieglitz lowers the US national record in the 10,000 to 30:19.2, breaking Joe Tyler's four year old mark by 12 seconds. Occidental's Bill Peck drops the collegiate record to 30:38.1 in third.
While the wind effected action on the track, it proved no hindrance in the throwing events. In fact it might have been an aid in the discus. Twenty year old Jim Wade of USC improves 13 feet, winning with a collegiate record of 190-6½. Something less would have been insufficient as the big boys are on his heels. Rink Babka and Jay Silvester throw 188-10 and 188-8½. As a measure of the quality of the day's competition, Bob Humphreys' throws187-4½ for fourth. That would be fourth both in this meet and the world this year.
Olympic champ Harold Connolly slings the hammer 225-0½, only 3½ inches short of his world record, winning by 26 feet.
Whether it is the weather or Nieder's amazing throw of three weeks ago, the shot putters have to take a back seat to the rest of the throwers. Dave Davis goes 62-8 to leave Parry O'Brien (61-7¼) and Dallas Long (61-2¾) in the dust.
The wind is blowing as well in Lawrence, Kansas on April 23, hindering good marks. J.D. Martin wins the PV in unusual circumstances. Not only does he not clear 15', he doesn't clear 14' (sort of). He goes over that height by a good measure three times only to have the wind blow the bar off. The officials meet and decide that he had cleared the height and that the wind was the culprit. That resolved, he goes on to win at 14-11½.
To measure how far Bill Nieder has come, his 63-10¼ is a disappointment and yet is noted as “betters recognized world record”. Second place is ten feet behind.
Probably an indicator of the inclemency of the weather is the fact that that same Kansas sprint medley team that ran a fine 3:19.8 three weeks ago wins today in 3:25.0.
The Easter Relays in Santa Barbara are highlighted by the efforts of Dutch UCSB broad jumper Hank Visser. Visser leaps 26-2 to beat Olympic champion Greg Bell who manages 25-5¾ in his seasonal debut to overshadow the match up of shot putters Nieder and Davis. No records this time, but the pecking order holds as Nieder wins 63-1¼ to 62-2¾, marks that would have been headliners last year, but are just ho-hum this season.
Apparently the Mt. SAC discus competition was held Friday because here we are 120 miles north and Rink Babka and Jay Silvester are back at it. The marks are good and the places are the same with Babka winning 189-10¾ to 187-6.
As if there weren't enough relay meets to go around this day, Columbus hosts the Ohio Relays. Hayes Jones runs a wind aided 13.6 after hitting hurdles 2, 3 and 7. Glenn Davis runs his first 440H in ten months, edging Willie Atterberry by a tenth in 51.8. Glenn has his work cut out for him if he is to defend Olympic title for a week ago in the South African Championships Gert Porgieter ran 49.3 at yards to break his own WR .
Although not a relay meet, the Stanford-Oregon dual meet held this day in Eugene deserves some mention. Ernie Cunliffe and Dyrol Burleson tangle in the mile. As would be expected, Cunliffe does the heavy lifting. After a slow first lap of 62.0, Ernie C picks up the pace and leads through splits of 2:02. and 3:00.8 with Burleson sitting in. On the final curve the Oregon Duck sweeps by the courageous pacemaker to erase Don Bowden's American record by a tenth in 3:58.6. The Stanford senior has to settle for a PR of 4:00.4 and Burleson's thanks. Oddly, Burleson gets only a share of the school record as Aussie Jim Bailey has been there, done that.
Now it is April 30 and we are at the Drake Relays. All eyes are on the shot put ring as Bill Nieder and Parry O'Brien are tangling for the first time this season. Oh, and the ubiquitous Dave Davis is here as well. The pecking order is not seriously disturbed. Nieder isn't close to his performance in Austin, but he has more than enough to hold off O'Brien 63-11½ to 63-1¾. Davis is a distant third at 61-9. Glenn Davis is getting better. He outruns Eddie Southern in the open quarter 47.4 to 47.9. Ralph Boston takes the broad jump at 24-9¼. The most exciting race of the day is the sprint medley with Kansas' Bob Tague outkicking Illinois' George Kerr as the Jayhawks edge the Illini 3:22.1 to 3:22.3. We are promised full results in the following issue.
The Penn Relays are held the same day. John Thomas and Ray Norton cover themselves with glory. Thomas, already the indoor WR holder at 7-2½, takes the outdoor record away from Russian Yuriy Styepanov with a leap of 7-1½. Norton, now with the SCVYV, establishes himself as the man to beat in Rome, leaving Dave Sime, Bobby Morrow and Bill Woodhouse in his wake in a 10.5 100, then equaling the 200 WR around a curve in 20.6 to break the tape three yards ahead of Sime. Ed Collymore and Morrow are third and fourth. Again, if you want the full summary, you have to wait until the next issue.
The west coast wasn't sitting idle on the last day of April. Stanford, Occidental and USC tangle in a double dual meet in Los Angeles. Stanford's Ernie Cunliffe is having the month of his life. Forty minutes after easing through a 4:12.3 mile, he clocks a sizzling 1:47.8 880. This would be the fastest time in the world this year were it not for the fact that he ran 1:47.3 in a meet with Fresno State four weeks earlier, a mark that is not reported, only listed in the US Report of top times.
Remember the 57-4 shot putter from 1950, Otis Chandler? He just got a pretty good job, that of publisher of the Los Angeles Times. Just shows what grit, determination and hard work can do when your family owns the paper.
To: "Goerge Brose"
Relay meets? You want relay meets? We gottem. Step right up. Penn, Drake, Mt. SAC, Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Marine Corps, Easter, Florida, Southwestern, take your pick.
March 26 finds us in Gainesville for the Florida Relays where the Styron twins take the 100, the highs and help out on 440 and mile relay wins for NE Louisiana. Florida's Henry Wadsworth becomes a member of the 15 foot club by a quarter inch and wins the HJ at 6-4¾ for good measure. Bill Alley makes his seasonal debut, winning the javelin by nearly 40 feet with a 243-7 effort.
It's April 2 and we are in Austin for the Texas Relays. If you remember, last month Bill Nieder had set the world record in the shot at 63-10 only to be passed the following week by Dallas Long's 64-6 and Dave Davis' 63-10½. Big Bill is not dismissed so easily. In a coaching clinic the previous day Nieder opines that he thought he could throw 65'. Now it is time to prove it. On his first attempt he enters the ring “and everything becomes quiet. He then explodes with a 65-7 put. He nearly fouls as the power of the put almost carries him too far forward. He teeters on his right leg in the front of the ring, leaning low to prevent a foul. He then stands up, looks at where the shot landed and jumps into the air with joy.” Obviously Bill never got a bike for Christmas or experienced a wedding ceremony for he says, “This is the happiest day of my life.”
Bill Alley adds eleven feet to last week's effort, winning by 35 feet with a throw of 254-9½. Bobby Morrow takes the 100, but can do no better than third in the 200 behind Colorado's Ted Woods and Jimmy Weaver whom he had bested earlier. Kansas comes up tough in the sprint medley with a team of Cliff Cushman, Paul Williams, Charlie Tidwell and Bob Tague clocking 3:19.8.
The Marine Corps Relays in Quantico, Virginia is held April 16. Hayes Jones throws down a 13.6 in the highs, but not much more detail is known. We are told a complete summary will appear next month.
April 22-23 are cold, wind swept days in Walnut, California, but the Mt SAC Relays have something to offer. The big news on the track is that Lew Stieglitz lowers the US national record in the 10,000 to 30:19.2, breaking Joe Tyler's four year old mark by 12 seconds. Occidental's Bill Peck drops the collegiate record to 30:38.1 in third.
While the wind effected action on the track, it proved no hindrance in the throwing events. In fact it might have been an aid in the discus. Twenty year old Jim Wade of USC improves 13 feet, winning with a collegiate record of 190-6½. Something less would have been insufficient as the big boys are on his heels. Rink Babka and Jay Silvester throw 188-10 and 188-8½. As a measure of the quality of the day's competition, Bob Humphreys' throws187-4½ for fourth. That would be fourth both in this meet and the world this year.
Olympic champ Harold Connolly slings the hammer 225-0½, only 3½ inches short of his world record, winning by 26 feet.
Whether it is the weather or Nieder's amazing throw of three weeks ago, the shot putters have to take a back seat to the rest of the throwers. Dave Davis goes 62-8 to leave Parry O'Brien (61-7¼) and Dallas Long (61-2¾) in the dust.
The wind is blowing as well in Lawrence, Kansas on April 23, hindering good marks. J.D. Martin wins the PV in unusual circumstances. Not only does he not clear 15', he doesn't clear 14' (sort of). He goes over that height by a good measure three times only to have the wind blow the bar off. The officials meet and decide that he had cleared the height and that the wind was the culprit. That resolved, he goes on to win at 14-11½.
To measure how far Bill Nieder has come, his 63-10¼ is a disappointment and yet is noted as “betters recognized world record”. Second place is ten feet behind.
Probably an indicator of the inclemency of the weather is the fact that that same Kansas sprint medley team that ran a fine 3:19.8 three weeks ago wins today in 3:25.0.
The Easter Relays in Santa Barbara are highlighted by the efforts of Dutch UCSB broad jumper Hank Visser. Visser leaps 26-2 to beat Olympic champion Greg Bell who manages 25-5¾ in his seasonal debut to overshadow the match up of shot putters Nieder and Davis. No records this time, but the pecking order holds as Nieder wins 63-1¼ to 62-2¾, marks that would have been headliners last year, but are just ho-hum this season.
Apparently the Mt. SAC discus competition was held Friday because here we are 120 miles north and Rink Babka and Jay Silvester are back at it. The marks are good and the places are the same with Babka winning 189-10¾ to 187-6.
As if there weren't enough relay meets to go around this day, Columbus hosts the Ohio Relays. Hayes Jones runs a wind aided 13.6 after hitting hurdles 2, 3 and 7. Glenn Davis runs his first 440H in ten months, edging Willie Atterberry by a tenth in 51.8. Glenn has his work cut out for him if he is to defend Olympic title for a week ago in the South African Championships Gert Porgieter ran 49.3 at yards to break his own WR .
Although not a relay meet, the Stanford-Oregon dual meet held this day in Eugene deserves some mention. Ernie Cunliffe and Dyrol Burleson tangle in the mile. As would be expected, Cunliffe does the heavy lifting. After a slow first lap of 62.0, Ernie C picks up the pace and leads through splits of 2:02. and 3:00.8 with Burleson sitting in. On the final curve the Oregon Duck sweeps by the courageous pacemaker to erase Don Bowden's American record by a tenth in 3:58.6. The Stanford senior has to settle for a PR of 4:00.4 and Burleson's thanks. Oddly, Burleson gets only a share of the school record as Aussie Jim Bailey has been there, done that.
Now it is April 30 and we are at the Drake Relays. All eyes are on the shot put ring as Bill Nieder and Parry O'Brien are tangling for the first time this season. Oh, and the ubiquitous Dave Davis is here as well. The pecking order is not seriously disturbed. Nieder isn't close to his performance in Austin, but he has more than enough to hold off O'Brien 63-11½ to 63-1¾. Davis is a distant third at 61-9. Glenn Davis is getting better. He outruns Eddie Southern in the open quarter 47.4 to 47.9. Ralph Boston takes the broad jump at 24-9¼. The most exciting race of the day is the sprint medley with Kansas' Bob Tague outkicking Illinois' George Kerr as the Jayhawks edge the Illini 3:22.1 to 3:22.3. We are promised full results in the following issue.
The Penn Relays are held the same day. John Thomas and Ray Norton cover themselves with glory. Thomas, already the indoor WR holder at 7-2½, takes the outdoor record away from Russian Yuriy Styepanov with a leap of 7-1½. Norton, now with the SCVYV, establishes himself as the man to beat in Rome, leaving Dave Sime, Bobby Morrow and Bill Woodhouse in his wake in a 10.5 100, then equaling the 200 WR around a curve in 20.6 to break the tape three yards ahead of Sime. Ed Collymore and Morrow are third and fourth. Again, if you want the full summary, you have to wait until the next issue.
The west coast wasn't sitting idle on the last day of April. Stanford, Occidental and USC tangle in a double dual meet in Los Angeles. Stanford's Ernie Cunliffe is having the month of his life. Forty minutes after easing through a 4:12.3 mile, he clocks a sizzling 1:47.8 880. This would be the fastest time in the world this year were it not for the fact that he ran 1:47.3 in a meet with Fresno State four weeks earlier, a mark that is not reported, only listed in the US Report of top times.
Remember the 57-4 shot putter from 1950, Otis Chandler? He just got a pretty good job, that of publisher of the Los Angeles Times. Just shows what grit, determination and hard work can do when your family owns the paper.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Vol. 1 No. 79 March, 1960
MARCH 1960
A conundrum to test your problem solving skills. To wit: An athlete sets a world record. Two weeks later he still is the record holder only now three competitors have passed him and indeed have left him in the dust. Your homework for tomorrow is to have a logical explanation for how this seemingly incongruous situation has come about. Be prepared for class discussion.
Our protagonist is one Parry O'Brien, the two time Olympic shot put champion, the world record holder in both the indoor and outdoor shot, the man who has dominated the event like no other since Ralph Rose 50 years ago. As we pick up our story it is March 5 and O'Brien's co-holder of the WR, 19 year old Dallas Long, has just bettered the 63-2 record they share by five inches. But it doesn't count because it was his seventh throw of the day. Still, the message has been sent.
March 12 sees O'Brien break his indoor WR (62-1¾) at the Milwaukee Journal Games with a throw of 62-5, leaving his most significant competitor, Dave Davis, nearly two and a half feet behind. On the West Coast, Long throws 61-4 in a dual meet.
The next week the track world is shocked by Bill Nieder. Competing in the Stanford Invitational, Big Bill drops it 63-10 from the toe board. And he isn't alone; Dave Davis has raised his PR to 62-8. Long is in the West Texas Relays where he throws 61-8¾. He and Davis (have shot, will travel) will tangle next week in the USC – So Cal Striders meet.
And what a match up it is. Long explodes 64-6½. This jaw dropping effort is needed because Davis is close behind at 63-10½. Nieder's WR has lasted a week.
At the end of the day the all time list reads:
Long 64-6½
Davis 63-10½
Nieder 63-10
O'Brien 63-2
In two weeks Parry O'Brien has gone from world record holder to a distant fourth. Can the Air Force lieutenant find another gear or will the young guys pull away? He will begin his outdoor season next month. Stay tuned.........Oh, and as for that class assignment, O'Brien is still the world record holder indoors.
Speaking of world records, John Thomas just upped his half an inch, jumping 7-2½ in the Chicago Daily News Relays.
Stanford's Ernie Cunliffe has busied himself racing longer than his usual 880. On March 5 the Stanford Winter Championships sees him split 58-2:00-3:03 en route to a solo 4:04.4 mile. Two weeks later in the Stanford Invitational his 2:55.7 1320 relay leg is the highlight of the track activity. “The Stanford co-captain hit 55.7, 1:56.6 and finished strongly, unlike his usual dying half mile windup, in 2:55.7. Only Brian Hewson (2:55.2) has run faster and the best on record by an American is Jim Grelle's 2:57.7.” No results for the Stanford team are given. Eight days later the then politically correct Indians take a shot at the American record for the four mile relay in a dual meet with the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village (identified as SCVYV from now on). Although their time of 16:57.8 misses by 5.2 seconds, it isn't Ernie's fault. His 4:02.4 anchor is the second fastest mile of the year.
Aside from the aforementioned world records, the most amazing performance of the month is that of San Jose State sophomore, Vance Barnes. Not even on the team three days earlier, Barnes, a basketball player with a high jump best of 6-4, is pressed into service at the Stanford Relays when the Spartans third string jumper is injured. Six feet four inches is achieved easily enough and so are 6-6 and 6-8 on his first efforts. Six feet nine inches doesn't come until his second try as does 6-10. When he finally misses it is at 6-11, a foot over his head. We'll have to see what the future holds for this young man.
On March 12 Bobby Morrow makes his 1960 debut in Southwest Recreation meet in Fort Worth, winning special races in 9.5 and 21.3, but real stars are the Styron twins.
Running in the college division, Dave takes the 100 and 220 while Don wins the highs and lows. They both run on the winnng 440 and mile relay teams. Don also runs a heat in the 440 before being relieved of duty for the final when the team championship is assured. His 22.4 time in the lows is the fastest in the world this year and his seventh race of the day.
A week later Morrow's comeback hits a bump in the road when he is defeated twice by Jimmy Weaver who runs 10.5 and 21.0. No time is given for the Olympic champ. Eddie Southern is third and fourth.
After a low key year, Herb Elliot is preparing for the Olympics. On March 5 he runs 1:50.1 and 4:02.1, but nine days later the best he can do is a 1:53.5 sixth place behind some guy from New Zeland named Snell who runs 1:51.3. Five days later Elliot clocks 1:52.1.
Another Australian is setting records in the US. On March 2 in Houston Al Lawrence runs 10K in 29:36.4 to meet the Olympic qualifying standard and set the American record. Wait a minute, he isn't an American. Apparently citizenship isn't required to set an AR. All that is needed is that you set the record on US soil. The record he broke was 30:11.4 set in 1932 by Poland's Janusz Kusocinski.
As T&F News is located in the Bay Area it is privy to the doings of Cal, Stanford, San Jose State and the SCVYV. This time we have Cal time trials for you. Recently Jerry Siebert and Jack Yerman tangled in a 660 with Yerman winning by inches in 1:18.0 for both. In another workout Siebert ran a 1320 in 3:00.0. Other bits and pieces from columns: Glenn Davis is teaching junior high mechanical drawing in Columbus, Ohio. He is ten pounds overweight, but is working at losing it by the National AAU meet..... A high school junior in Compton, CA has just set the class record 48.0 in the 440. His name is Ulis Williams.....Ron Delany and Don Bowden are training together on the polo field in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Both are recovering from tendon problems and hope to race in April......Ira Murchison has recovered from the illness that saw his weight to drop to under 100 pounds. He is now at his usual 135 and feeling strong.
From the Quotable Quotes column come the following. Glenn Cunningham: “Our races were strictly competitive, to beat the other fellow. But in the workouts sometimes I did run all out. Yes, I bettered four minutes. But I didn't think anything about it. I was just curious to see what I could do,”......J.D. Martin: “Jim Graham, the Oklahoma State vaulter, helped me a lot when I competed against him last year. He's that kind of a guy. At the Drake Relays I was trying 14-6. I'd never cleared it. Graham told me that I wasn't rocking back on my pole at the top of my jump. On my last jump, I rocked and sailed over. Graham knew that if he gave me that tip I might beat him. Of course, I didn't. He was first and I was second.”
J.D. Martin early in his coaching years, about 1968
We'll close with the first non-track related add I can remember. It is for the Desert Star Motor Hotel in Phoenix, AZ. Among its many benefits are air conditioning, phones and TV, a heated swim pool, and private sun decks. A little short on folding money? Not to worry, all this can be paid for with a credit card.
A conundrum to test your problem solving skills. To wit: An athlete sets a world record. Two weeks later he still is the record holder only now three competitors have passed him and indeed have left him in the dust. Your homework for tomorrow is to have a logical explanation for how this seemingly incongruous situation has come about. Be prepared for class discussion.
Our protagonist is one Parry O'Brien, the two time Olympic shot put champion, the world record holder in both the indoor and outdoor shot, the man who has dominated the event like no other since Ralph Rose 50 years ago. As we pick up our story it is March 5 and O'Brien's co-holder of the WR, 19 year old Dallas Long, has just bettered the 63-2 record they share by five inches. But it doesn't count because it was his seventh throw of the day. Still, the message has been sent.
March 12 sees O'Brien break his indoor WR (62-1¾) at the Milwaukee Journal Games with a throw of 62-5, leaving his most significant competitor, Dave Davis, nearly two and a half feet behind. On the West Coast, Long throws 61-4 in a dual meet.
The next week the track world is shocked by Bill Nieder. Competing in the Stanford Invitational, Big Bill drops it 63-10 from the toe board. And he isn't alone; Dave Davis has raised his PR to 62-8. Long is in the West Texas Relays where he throws 61-8¾. He and Davis (have shot, will travel) will tangle next week in the USC – So Cal Striders meet.
And what a match up it is. Long explodes 64-6½. This jaw dropping effort is needed because Davis is close behind at 63-10½. Nieder's WR has lasted a week.
At the end of the day the all time list reads:
Long 64-6½
Davis 63-10½
Nieder 63-10
O'Brien 63-2
In two weeks Parry O'Brien has gone from world record holder to a distant fourth. Can the Air Force lieutenant find another gear or will the young guys pull away? He will begin his outdoor season next month. Stay tuned.........Oh, and as for that class assignment, O'Brien is still the world record holder indoors.
Speaking of world records, John Thomas just upped his half an inch, jumping 7-2½ in the Chicago Daily News Relays.
Stanford's Ernie Cunliffe has busied himself racing longer than his usual 880. On March 5 the Stanford Winter Championships sees him split 58-2:00-3:03 en route to a solo 4:04.4 mile. Two weeks later in the Stanford Invitational his 2:55.7 1320 relay leg is the highlight of the track activity. “The Stanford co-captain hit 55.7, 1:56.6 and finished strongly, unlike his usual dying half mile windup, in 2:55.7. Only Brian Hewson (2:55.2) has run faster and the best on record by an American is Jim Grelle's 2:57.7.” No results for the Stanford team are given. Eight days later the then politically correct Indians take a shot at the American record for the four mile relay in a dual meet with the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village (identified as SCVYV from now on). Although their time of 16:57.8 misses by 5.2 seconds, it isn't Ernie's fault. His 4:02.4 anchor is the second fastest mile of the year.
Aside from the aforementioned world records, the most amazing performance of the month is that of San Jose State sophomore, Vance Barnes. Not even on the team three days earlier, Barnes, a basketball player with a high jump best of 6-4, is pressed into service at the Stanford Relays when the Spartans third string jumper is injured. Six feet four inches is achieved easily enough and so are 6-6 and 6-8 on his first efforts. Six feet nine inches doesn't come until his second try as does 6-10. When he finally misses it is at 6-11, a foot over his head. We'll have to see what the future holds for this young man.
On March 12 Bobby Morrow makes his 1960 debut in Southwest Recreation meet in Fort Worth, winning special races in 9.5 and 21.3, but real stars are the Styron twins.
Running in the college division, Dave takes the 100 and 220 while Don wins the highs and lows. They both run on the winnng 440 and mile relay teams. Don also runs a heat in the 440 before being relieved of duty for the final when the team championship is assured. His 22.4 time in the lows is the fastest in the world this year and his seventh race of the day.
A week later Morrow's comeback hits a bump in the road when he is defeated twice by Jimmy Weaver who runs 10.5 and 21.0. No time is given for the Olympic champ. Eddie Southern is third and fourth.
After a low key year, Herb Elliot is preparing for the Olympics. On March 5 he runs 1:50.1 and 4:02.1, but nine days later the best he can do is a 1:53.5 sixth place behind some guy from New Zeland named Snell who runs 1:51.3. Five days later Elliot clocks 1:52.1.
Another Australian is setting records in the US. On March 2 in Houston Al Lawrence runs 10K in 29:36.4 to meet the Olympic qualifying standard and set the American record. Wait a minute, he isn't an American. Apparently citizenship isn't required to set an AR. All that is needed is that you set the record on US soil. The record he broke was 30:11.4 set in 1932 by Poland's Janusz Kusocinski.
As T&F News is located in the Bay Area it is privy to the doings of Cal, Stanford, San Jose State and the SCVYV. This time we have Cal time trials for you. Recently Jerry Siebert and Jack Yerman tangled in a 660 with Yerman winning by inches in 1:18.0 for both. In another workout Siebert ran a 1320 in 3:00.0. Other bits and pieces from columns: Glenn Davis is teaching junior high mechanical drawing in Columbus, Ohio. He is ten pounds overweight, but is working at losing it by the National AAU meet..... A high school junior in Compton, CA has just set the class record 48.0 in the 440. His name is Ulis Williams.....Ron Delany and Don Bowden are training together on the polo field in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Both are recovering from tendon problems and hope to race in April......Ira Murchison has recovered from the illness that saw his weight to drop to under 100 pounds. He is now at his usual 135 and feeling strong.
From the Quotable Quotes column come the following. Glenn Cunningham: “Our races were strictly competitive, to beat the other fellow. But in the workouts sometimes I did run all out. Yes, I bettered four minutes. But I didn't think anything about it. I was just curious to see what I could do,”......J.D. Martin: “Jim Graham, the Oklahoma State vaulter, helped me a lot when I competed against him last year. He's that kind of a guy. At the Drake Relays I was trying 14-6. I'd never cleared it. Graham told me that I wasn't rocking back on my pole at the top of my jump. On my last jump, I rocked and sailed over. Graham knew that if he gave me that tip I might beat him. Of course, I didn't. He was first and I was second.”
J.D. Martin early in his coaching years, about 1968
We'll close with the first non-track related add I can remember. It is for the Desert Star Motor Hotel in Phoenix, AZ. Among its many benefits are air conditioning, phones and TV, a heated swim pool, and private sun decks. A little short on folding money? Not to worry, all this can be paid for with a credit card.
Vol. 1 No. 78 1936 Berlin Olympics sequences
We're going to go a bit out of sequence here, because I've found some great film footage of the 1936 Olympics on Youtube. Most of this was filmed by Leni Reifenstahl, Hitler and Goebbels' film propagandist. The easiest way to view these is go to Youtube and type in "1936 Olympics, Leni Reifenstahl" and the clips will come up and you can choose from all of them. Otherwise you will have to type in the rather complex html's below.
Last two laps of 1500 meters Great footage of Jack Lovelock of New Zealand winning over Glenn Cunningham.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeXPyJI24tk1936
Jesse Owens semis and finals 100 meters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1XclGwJY8s&feature=endscreen&NR=1
Some of these clips are backed with Pink Floyd music, be prepared.
the 1936 marathon can also be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQY6MfX5420
German naratiion, Wagner instead of Pink Flloyd.
Winner was Kiti Son Japan/Korea, 2hr 29min 19 sec
2nd Ernest Harper Great Br. 2hr 31min 23 sec
3rd Nan Shoryu Japan/Korea 2 hr 31 min 42 sec.
US entries Johnny A Kelly 16th
Tarzan Brown and Billy McMahon DNF
Below is a picture of Ellison Tarzan Brown at Naragansett Indian from Rhode Island.
Last two laps of 1500 meters Great footage of Jack Lovelock of New Zealand winning over Glenn Cunningham.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeXPyJI24tk1936
Jesse Owens semis and finals 100 meters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1XclGwJY8s&feature=endscreen&NR=1
Some of these clips are backed with Pink Floyd music, be prepared.
the 1936 marathon can also be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQY6MfX5420
German naratiion, Wagner instead of Pink Flloyd.
Winner was Kiti Son Japan/Korea, 2hr 29min 19 sec
2nd Ernest Harper Great Br. 2hr 31min 23 sec
3rd Nan Shoryu Japan/Korea 2 hr 31 min 42 sec.
US entries Johnny A Kelly 16th
Tarzan Brown and Billy McMahon DNF
Below is a picture of Ellison Tarzan Brown at Naragansett Indian from Rhode Island.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Vol. 1 No. 77 Footage for Straddle Lovers
Phil Scott, Clayton, OH, one of the most avid (obsessive compulsive?) of track nuts I've ever known has referred us to a youtube sequence coming out of Russia showing a number the great Soviet jumpers of the past. Unless you can understand Russian or recognize these guys, don't expect me to id them. Brumel is the only one I knew, and the only name I could decipher from the audio.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syBIg65IzV8&feature=related
Phil reminded me that 7' 8.5" (2.35m)is the highest ever done with the straddle, Vladmir Yashtshenko at the 1978 European indoor championships. It was not a WR at the time of the jump. The last WR with a straddle was 2.34m also by Yashtshenko. There are plenty of other youtube pieces on the great straddlers as well.
The series starts with HJ, intersperses a few clips of Valery Borzov sprinting , then a bit of gymnastics (note the size of the females). It was a time when "adult" women were still the best in the business. Then it finishes off with some more high jumping.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syBIg65IzV8&feature=related
Phil reminded me that 7' 8.5" (2.35m)is the highest ever done with the straddle, Vladmir Yashtshenko at the 1978 European indoor championships. It was not a WR at the time of the jump. The last WR with a straddle was 2.34m also by Yashtshenko. There are plenty of other youtube pieces on the great straddlers as well.
The series starts with HJ, intersperses a few clips of Valery Borzov sprinting , then a bit of gymnastics (note the size of the females). It was a time when "adult" women were still the best in the business. Then it finishes off with some more high jumping.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Vol. 1 No. 76 Racing Past, a great website
http://www.racingpast.ca/john_contents.php?id=166
I think you middle distance and distance runners will find this website, Racingpast a great resource. Written by British / Canadian journalist John Cobley, it is well researched and based on a lot of the articles he has written over the years. Have a good read. Below is the article on the first Kenyan international runners.
George Brose
The First Kenyan Runners: Chepkwony, Anentia and Maiyoro
from the website Racing Past by John Cobley
Kenyan runners first appeared on the international running scene in the mid-1950s. Since Kenya was at that time a British colony, it is not surprising that these Kenyan runners initially competed in Britain and in the Empire Games. Lazaro Chepkwony was the first, competing in the 1954 AAA Six Miles in London. There were two other trailblazers in the 1950s: Nyandika Maiyoro also appeared in the 1954 AAA Championships, as well as in the 1954 Empire Game and Arere Anentia made his international debut in the 1956 Olympics. Both these runners had longer international careers than Chepkwony’s; Maiyoro competed until 1960, Anentia until 1962. Maiyoro was the most successful, finishing 7th and 6th in consecutive Olympic 5,000 finals . Anentia’s best achievement was a bronze medal in the 1958 Empire Games Six Miles. Between them, these three early Kenyan runners broke over a dozen Kenyan records from 1,500 to Six Miles. They were the warning sign of the tsunami of distance runners to hit the running scene in the next decades; they set the stage for the great Kenyan runner—Kip Keino.
Lazaro Chepkwony followed by Gordon Pirie
The first Kenyan to compete in Europe,
Chepkwony, running in bare feet,
leads Gordon Pirie in this historic
race at the White City.
On July 9, 1954, Chepkwony’s appearance in the AAA Six Miles in London caused quite a stir. It was not that he ran barefoot on the White City cinder track, while his competitors wore spikes some two inches long. It was not even that he was the first Kenyan ever to run in Britain. Rather it was the uninhibited way he raced. At the gun, he rushed into the lead and opened up a large gap. Then he slowed down to let the field catch him. Chepkwony repeated this tactic several times in the first three miles. The British press was critical of the way he kept rushing into the lead. For example, the Guardian correspondent claimed the race was “bedeviled” by the Kenyan’s antics. It was claimed that the runners themselves were upset; however, Gordon Pirie, who was the best known runner in the race, did not mention Chepkwony in his account of the race in his autobiography.
When Chepkwony dropped out after 15 laps, the critical attitude towards Chepkwony hardened: clearly he wasn’t smart enough to pace himself for the full distance. The Times described the race as follows: “The race was enlivened and also robbed of its customary rhythm and stately order by L. Chepkwony, a runner from Kenya who, lap after lap and half-mile after half-mile, persisted in challenging anyone who tries to set up a reasonably comfortable lead. Pirie, K. Norris, Sando, Binnie, all tried to shake him off but failed.” (July 10/54)
Chepkwony ran in London on the way to the Empire Games in Vancouver. There he again ran the Six Miles. In this race he did not attract so much attention, finishing respectably in seventh place with 30:16.2, only a second behind sixth-place finisher Ian Binnie of Scotland. His time beat the Kenyan record by four seconds. He also finished 12th in the Three Miles in 14:27.
Chepkwony made the Kenyan team for the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, but he dropped out of the 10,000 with an injury. After this disappointing experience, he disappeared from the international running scene.
Nyandika Maiyoro
b. 1931
Nyandika Maiyoro, who was listed in the Times as a Veterinary Scout, ran in London the day after Chepkwony’s initial race in Britain, missing by a day the right to be the first Kenyan ever to run in Europe. In bare feet, he ran in the 1954 AAA Three Miles and also shocked the crowd and runners with his tactics. But rather than employ bursts like Chepkwony, Maiyoro roared into the lead and stayed there for over six laps. He went through the mile in 4:23.4, which was 13:07 pace--25 seconds faster than Hagg’s WR. The field knew better than to follow at this pace; after four laps, Binnie led the field 25 yards behind the Kenyan. Gradually the field closed on Maiyoro, passing him on lap 7. The Kenyan, however, showed amazing resilience; while Chataway and Freddie Green fought for victory, Green actually breaking Hagg’s record by 0.2 of a second, Maiyoro held on for third place in 13:54.8, beating such respected runners as Pat Ranger and Ken Wood. Maiyoro’s initial pace may have been “ludicrously fast,” as the Guardian put it, but it was a pace off which Maiyoro could still run a good time and a Kenyan record. The Times correspondent was more complimentary, calling Maiyoro’s run “a great effort.”
Maiyoro in fourth place in the 1958
Empire Games Three Miles.
The most perceptive assessment of Maiyoro’s surprising performance came from Athletics Weekly founder Jimmy Green: “It was the unusual and unexpected form by some of the coloured runners in the distance races which provided much food for thought. Never again shall we nurse the idea that the coloured races are no good at anything beyond a mile. Maiyoro of Kenya, with as near the perfect action as I have seen, would, with the right training and competition, be a match for any runner in the world.” (Quoted in Kenyan Running: Movement Culture, Geography and Global Change, p.6)
Following this fine performance, Maiyoro competed in the Three Miles at the 1954 Empire Games. This time he ran a more conventional race and was rewarded with another PB and Kenyan Record. He stayed in the lead pack all the way, holding third place with two laps to go and then leading at the bell. However, when Chataway made his effort on the back straight, Maiyoro fell back, finishing 4th in 13:43.8. This was 11.0 faster than his London time.
Two years later, Maiyoro qualified for the Olympic 5,000 final in Melbourne, in which he became the first Kenyan to complete an Olympic final. He finished a very creditable seventh in 14:19. This was a good time in view of the loose track, but it was not an improvement on his 1954 Empire Games Three-Miles time.
In 1958 Maiyoro was back in Britain for the Cardiff Empire Games. This time he ran below expectations. After a fine 13:34.8 Three Miles PB in the AAA Championships, which earned him second place, he could manage only 12th at Cardiff, where he was also eliminated in the Mile heats.
Maiyoro's last major competition was in the 1960 Rome Olympics. He again improved his PB placing an impressive sixth in the competitive 5,000 final with 13:52.8 (26.2 seconds faster than his 1956 Olympic time). He finished just one second behind fifth-place finisher Dave Power and eight seconds slower than the bronze medalist Janke.
Over his career, Maiyoro managed to improve steadily. His great quality was his ability to run PBs when it really counted in big races. In some of these meets he showed that he could run with the best distance runners in the world.
Arere Anentia (also Onentia)
b. 1931
Arere Anentia made his debut in the 1956 Olympic Games. He ran in the heats of the 5,000 but was not able to qualify for the final, finishing 6th in 14:37. Two years later he showed great improvement, winning a bronze medal in the Empire Games Six Miles. In this race he ran conservatively, especially in comparison to the earlier examples of Chepkwony and Maiyoro. He stayed in the pack when Stan Eldon tried to break up the field; he followed Dave Power closely when the Australian took the lead soon after the halfway mark. Anentia, together with Hyman and Merriman, stayed with Power through 4 miles (19:05) and 5 miles (24:05). It wasn't until the penultimate lap that Power's strength had effect: first Hyman and then Anentia dropped back. While Power and Merriman fought for the gold medal, Anentia nevertheless showed a lot of strength, hanging on for third, only 3.4 seconds behind the winner: 1. Power 28:47.8; 2. Merriman 28:48.8; 3. Anentia 28:51.2; 4. Hyman 28:58.6.
Anentia, running inside Derek Ibbotson (6),
in the 1962 Empire Games Three Miles.
Anentia continued to show good form in the 1958 British Games Six Miles (third in 29:05.8), and he also ran two good races in Scotland. In 1959 he was again in Europe, clocking a Kenyan record of 30:05.04 in a 10,000 in Helsinki. At four miles there were four runners making the pace: Power, Merriman, Hyman and Anentia. On the penultimate lap, first Hyman and then Anentia dropped back. But as Merriman and Power fought for the gold, Anentia still ran a strong last lap and at the finish was only 3.4 seconds behind the winner Power and 2.4 behind Merriman. His time of 28:51.2 broke Chepkwony’s Kenyan record by 85 seconds. (Teammate Paul Sum was sixth in the race with 30:03.6.)
He had a disappointing race in the 1960 Olympics, finishing 19th in the 10,000 with 30:03. But the next year he improved his Six-Miles time in the AAA Championships with 28:18, breaking his own Kenyan record and finishing fifth. In his final year of competition in 1962, Anentia ran his best ever 10,000 in Helsinki with a Kenyan record of 29:14. But later that year, Anentia could manage only 7th in the Six Miles and 10th in the Three Miles at the Commonwealth Games in Perth. His Three-Miles time was 13:47, and three seconds behind him in 11th place was a young Kip Keino making his international debut.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think you middle distance and distance runners will find this website, Racingpast a great resource. Written by British / Canadian journalist John Cobley, it is well researched and based on a lot of the articles he has written over the years. Have a good read. Below is the article on the first Kenyan international runners.
George Brose
The First Kenyan Runners: Chepkwony, Anentia and Maiyoro
from the website Racing Past by John Cobley
Kenyan runners first appeared on the international running scene in the mid-1950s. Since Kenya was at that time a British colony, it is not surprising that these Kenyan runners initially competed in Britain and in the Empire Games. Lazaro Chepkwony was the first, competing in the 1954 AAA Six Miles in London. There were two other trailblazers in the 1950s: Nyandika Maiyoro also appeared in the 1954 AAA Championships, as well as in the 1954 Empire Game and Arere Anentia made his international debut in the 1956 Olympics. Both these runners had longer international careers than Chepkwony’s; Maiyoro competed until 1960, Anentia until 1962. Maiyoro was the most successful, finishing 7th and 6th in consecutive Olympic 5,000 finals . Anentia’s best achievement was a bronze medal in the 1958 Empire Games Six Miles. Between them, these three early Kenyan runners broke over a dozen Kenyan records from 1,500 to Six Miles. They were the warning sign of the tsunami of distance runners to hit the running scene in the next decades; they set the stage for the great Kenyan runner—Kip Keino.
Lazaro Chepkwony followed by Gordon Pirie
The first Kenyan to compete in Europe,
Chepkwony, running in bare feet,
leads Gordon Pirie in this historic
race at the White City.
On July 9, 1954, Chepkwony’s appearance in the AAA Six Miles in London caused quite a stir. It was not that he ran barefoot on the White City cinder track, while his competitors wore spikes some two inches long. It was not even that he was the first Kenyan ever to run in Britain. Rather it was the uninhibited way he raced. At the gun, he rushed into the lead and opened up a large gap. Then he slowed down to let the field catch him. Chepkwony repeated this tactic several times in the first three miles. The British press was critical of the way he kept rushing into the lead. For example, the Guardian correspondent claimed the race was “bedeviled” by the Kenyan’s antics. It was claimed that the runners themselves were upset; however, Gordon Pirie, who was the best known runner in the race, did not mention Chepkwony in his account of the race in his autobiography.
When Chepkwony dropped out after 15 laps, the critical attitude towards Chepkwony hardened: clearly he wasn’t smart enough to pace himself for the full distance. The Times described the race as follows: “The race was enlivened and also robbed of its customary rhythm and stately order by L. Chepkwony, a runner from Kenya who, lap after lap and half-mile after half-mile, persisted in challenging anyone who tries to set up a reasonably comfortable lead. Pirie, K. Norris, Sando, Binnie, all tried to shake him off but failed.” (July 10/54)
Chepkwony ran in London on the way to the Empire Games in Vancouver. There he again ran the Six Miles. In this race he did not attract so much attention, finishing respectably in seventh place with 30:16.2, only a second behind sixth-place finisher Ian Binnie of Scotland. His time beat the Kenyan record by four seconds. He also finished 12th in the Three Miles in 14:27.
Chepkwony made the Kenyan team for the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, but he dropped out of the 10,000 with an injury. After this disappointing experience, he disappeared from the international running scene.
Nyandika Maiyoro
b. 1931
Nyandika Maiyoro, who was listed in the Times as a Veterinary Scout, ran in London the day after Chepkwony’s initial race in Britain, missing by a day the right to be the first Kenyan ever to run in Europe. In bare feet, he ran in the 1954 AAA Three Miles and also shocked the crowd and runners with his tactics. But rather than employ bursts like Chepkwony, Maiyoro roared into the lead and stayed there for over six laps. He went through the mile in 4:23.4, which was 13:07 pace--25 seconds faster than Hagg’s WR. The field knew better than to follow at this pace; after four laps, Binnie led the field 25 yards behind the Kenyan. Gradually the field closed on Maiyoro, passing him on lap 7. The Kenyan, however, showed amazing resilience; while Chataway and Freddie Green fought for victory, Green actually breaking Hagg’s record by 0.2 of a second, Maiyoro held on for third place in 13:54.8, beating such respected runners as Pat Ranger and Ken Wood. Maiyoro’s initial pace may have been “ludicrously fast,” as the Guardian put it, but it was a pace off which Maiyoro could still run a good time and a Kenyan record. The Times correspondent was more complimentary, calling Maiyoro’s run “a great effort.”
Maiyoro in fourth place in the 1958
Empire Games Three Miles.
The most perceptive assessment of Maiyoro’s surprising performance came from Athletics Weekly founder Jimmy Green: “It was the unusual and unexpected form by some of the coloured runners in the distance races which provided much food for thought. Never again shall we nurse the idea that the coloured races are no good at anything beyond a mile. Maiyoro of Kenya, with as near the perfect action as I have seen, would, with the right training and competition, be a match for any runner in the world.” (Quoted in Kenyan Running: Movement Culture, Geography and Global Change, p.6)
Following this fine performance, Maiyoro competed in the Three Miles at the 1954 Empire Games. This time he ran a more conventional race and was rewarded with another PB and Kenyan Record. He stayed in the lead pack all the way, holding third place with two laps to go and then leading at the bell. However, when Chataway made his effort on the back straight, Maiyoro fell back, finishing 4th in 13:43.8. This was 11.0 faster than his London time.
Two years later, Maiyoro qualified for the Olympic 5,000 final in Melbourne, in which he became the first Kenyan to complete an Olympic final. He finished a very creditable seventh in 14:19. This was a good time in view of the loose track, but it was not an improvement on his 1954 Empire Games Three-Miles time.
In 1958 Maiyoro was back in Britain for the Cardiff Empire Games. This time he ran below expectations. After a fine 13:34.8 Three Miles PB in the AAA Championships, which earned him second place, he could manage only 12th at Cardiff, where he was also eliminated in the Mile heats.
Maiyoro's last major competition was in the 1960 Rome Olympics. He again improved his PB placing an impressive sixth in the competitive 5,000 final with 13:52.8 (26.2 seconds faster than his 1956 Olympic time). He finished just one second behind fifth-place finisher Dave Power and eight seconds slower than the bronze medalist Janke.
Over his career, Maiyoro managed to improve steadily. His great quality was his ability to run PBs when it really counted in big races. In some of these meets he showed that he could run with the best distance runners in the world.
Arere Anentia (also Onentia)
b. 1931
Arere Anentia made his debut in the 1956 Olympic Games. He ran in the heats of the 5,000 but was not able to qualify for the final, finishing 6th in 14:37. Two years later he showed great improvement, winning a bronze medal in the Empire Games Six Miles. In this race he ran conservatively, especially in comparison to the earlier examples of Chepkwony and Maiyoro. He stayed in the pack when Stan Eldon tried to break up the field; he followed Dave Power closely when the Australian took the lead soon after the halfway mark. Anentia, together with Hyman and Merriman, stayed with Power through 4 miles (19:05) and 5 miles (24:05). It wasn't until the penultimate lap that Power's strength had effect: first Hyman and then Anentia dropped back. While Power and Merriman fought for the gold medal, Anentia nevertheless showed a lot of strength, hanging on for third, only 3.4 seconds behind the winner: 1. Power 28:47.8; 2. Merriman 28:48.8; 3. Anentia 28:51.2; 4. Hyman 28:58.6.
Anentia, running inside Derek Ibbotson (6),
in the 1962 Empire Games Three Miles.
Anentia continued to show good form in the 1958 British Games Six Miles (third in 29:05.8), and he also ran two good races in Scotland. In 1959 he was again in Europe, clocking a Kenyan record of 30:05.04 in a 10,000 in Helsinki. At four miles there were four runners making the pace: Power, Merriman, Hyman and Anentia. On the penultimate lap, first Hyman and then Anentia dropped back. But as Merriman and Power fought for the gold, Anentia still ran a strong last lap and at the finish was only 3.4 seconds behind the winner Power and 2.4 behind Merriman. His time of 28:51.2 broke Chepkwony’s Kenyan record by 85 seconds. (Teammate Paul Sum was sixth in the race with 30:03.6.)
He had a disappointing race in the 1960 Olympics, finishing 19th in the 10,000 with 30:03. But the next year he improved his Six-Miles time in the AAA Championships with 28:18, breaking his own Kenyan record and finishing fifth. In his final year of competition in 1962, Anentia ran his best ever 10,000 in Helsinki with a Kenyan record of 29:14. But later that year, Anentia could manage only 7th in the Six Miles and 10th in the Three Miles at the Commonwealth Games in Perth. His Three-Miles time was 13:47, and three seconds behind him in 11th place was a young Kip Keino making his international debut.
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Vol. 1 No. 75 L.A. Indoors 1960 Revisited by Ernie Cunliffe
Figured I should correct the story (See Below) before either Pete or Dennis call me out on it. Obviously it was the 2 mile relay so each
runner would do 5 1/2 laps. Thus the lst runner did do 5.5 laps as did the second runner. The 3rd runner was the one who
ended up a lap short and only ran 4.5 laps while I did the extra lap and ran 6.5 laps. The rest of the story is correct.
I was wondering 1) if Dennis went to the meet and also 2) Did Dixon run in the meet. I think it might have been called the
LA Indoor Invitational but I don't recall the exact name. It was the lst time I had run indoors and I learned a little about
a banked wooden track which would help me alot much later in the 1961 Indoor season but not the following meet LA Times in
February when Michigan got us. But we did run the correct number of laps in that meet.
I have corrected the lst rendition below.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most of you do not know that Stanford set a "world indoor" record for the 2 mile relay in January 1960 at the lst LA indoor meet, not
the LA Times Meet in Feb. 1960.
Here's the rest of the story. This was an 11 lap to the mile track. Each runner thus would (should) run 5 and 1/2 laps. Since this
was the lst ever indoor meet in LA the officials had a hard time keeping track of the laps for each runner. Our lst runner ran the
proper 5.5 laps, the 2nd did the same, but the 3rd runner only did 4.5 laps and handed the baton off to me with a fairly good
lead. I ran 5.5 laps and the time was announced as a world record and I knew something was fishy so I ran another lap to be
sure. Thus the team did run a 2 mile with a hodge podge of distances. I almost didn't take the baton on the last exchange but an
official sort of pushed me out on the track so I grabbed the baton and took off on my 6.5 lap journey. I have no idea what the
other teams did or if they ran the right laps. Stanford was declared the winner. We got our butts kicked in the LA Times meet in
February as Michigan with Ergas Leps kicked by me on the last lap which illustrated that those with indoor experience were alot
better prepared than we were for indoor running. Oh yeah, the officials got it right this time and everyone for Stanford ran the 5.5 laps
correctly, just not fast enough to win.
runner would do 5 1/2 laps. Thus the lst runner did do 5.5 laps as did the second runner. The 3rd runner was the one who
ended up a lap short and only ran 4.5 laps while I did the extra lap and ran 6.5 laps. The rest of the story is correct.
I was wondering 1) if Dennis went to the meet and also 2) Did Dixon run in the meet. I think it might have been called the
LA Indoor Invitational but I don't recall the exact name. It was the lst time I had run indoors and I learned a little about
a banked wooden track which would help me alot much later in the 1961 Indoor season but not the following meet LA Times in
February when Michigan got us. But we did run the correct number of laps in that meet.
I have corrected the lst rendition below.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most of you do not know that Stanford set a "world indoor" record for the 2 mile relay in January 1960 at the lst LA indoor meet, not
the LA Times Meet in Feb. 1960.
Here's the rest of the story. This was an 11 lap to the mile track. Each runner thus would (should) run 5 and 1/2 laps. Since this
was the lst ever indoor meet in LA the officials had a hard time keeping track of the laps for each runner. Our lst runner ran the
proper 5.5 laps, the 2nd did the same, but the 3rd runner only did 4.5 laps and handed the baton off to me with a fairly good
lead. I ran 5.5 laps and the time was announced as a world record and I knew something was fishy so I ran another lap to be
sure. Thus the team did run a 2 mile with a hodge podge of distances. I almost didn't take the baton on the last exchange but an
official sort of pushed me out on the track so I grabbed the baton and took off on my 6.5 lap journey. I have no idea what the
other teams did or if they ran the right laps. Stanford was declared the winner. We got our butts kicked in the LA Times meet in
February as Michigan with Ergas Leps kicked by me on the last lap which illustrated that those with indoor experience were alot
better prepared than we were for indoor running. Oh yeah, the officials got it right this time and everyone for Stanford ran the 5.5 laps
correctly, just not fast enough to win.
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