Vol. 2 No. 56 April , 1962

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APRIL 1962 Records are raised and lowered. John Uelses raises the pole vault world record to 16-0¾ and Dyrol Burleson lowers the American record in the 2 mile to 8:42.5. Burleson and Bowerman possibly taken after the mile run in the Stanford dual meet against Ernie Cunliffe (U of Oregon Library) On March 31 Uelses uses the Easter Relays in Santa Barbara to match his indoor record and become the first over 16' outdoors. A week later, April 7, Burleson, running on his home track in Eugene, uses a 54.7 last lap to take 1.3 seconds off Bill Dellinger's national record. Canadian Vic Reeve set the pace on laps 4-7, towing Burley along until the final explosion. Reeve was rewarded with a PR, exactly ten seconds behind his teammate. Before we get too far into the outdoor season, there is still an indoor meet to be reported. March 24 finds us in Manhattan, Kansas where Kansas and Oklahoma State take last shots at American records. Each hits the bulls eye twice. Kansas, already the 2 mile relay record holder at 7:30.8, overcomes a disappointing 1:54.7 lead off leg by Kirk Hagen, who, ill from the flu, stepped up and took one, okay, gave one for the team. Tonnie Coan and Bill Thorton each run 1:52.2 and Bill Dotson brings it home in 1:50.1 for the new record, 7:29.2. The echoes of “Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay, Jayhawk” have barely stopped resonating in the rafters before the boys are back at it in the distance medley. Again, the record belonged to Kansas, not these Kansans, but those of 1954 who had run 9:51.4. Time to wipe the old guys out of the record books. Bill Stoddart's 48.9 is followed by Thornton's 1:53.4. Ted Riesinger keeps the record a possibility with his 3:02.6. Once again anchor duties fall upon the broad shoulders of Bill Dotson and once again, he does not disappoint. His 4:03.9 produces a final 9:48.8 and the record. If you include the sprint medley, Kansas beats three AR's this evening. The previous record is 3:25.2 set by Colorado. The Jayhawks run 3:24.6 but have the bad timing to do it in a race where Oklahoma State clocks 3:24.0. Charles Strong leads off with 48.6. Gary Krause and Darrell Davis each contributes 22.0 before Bill Stone anchors in 1:51.4. The final race of the evening is the mile relay in which the Grand Street Boys Club hold the 3:14.4 record set in the dark ages of 1953. The first three Cowboys give Strong a 6-7 yard lead on the anchor. Normally that should be enough to hold off the competition, but this time that margin doesn't provide much comfort because the guy in the rear view mirror is Colorado's Ted Woods. Details of the last leg are not provided, only the times. Woods lives up to his world class reputation with a 46.5 split, but Strong's 47.2 is just strong enough to give the boys from Stillwater the win, 3:13.8 to 3:13.9. This issue reports the news by event rather than meet, so we shall as well. 100: Both Harry Jerome and Robert (Don't call me Bob) Hayes have run 9.3, but a 9.4 is more noteworthy because it is run by Forest Beaty of Glendale Hoover HIgh and ties Jesse Owens' high school record. 220: This event is transitioning from straight to curve and at this point there seems to be no set pattern. On the straight Hubie Watson of Arizona State has run 20.4. Among several who have run 20.6, is this kid, Beaty. The top guy on the curve is Oxy's Steve Haas who has run within a tenth of the world record at 20.7. A tick back are Homer Jones of Texas Southern and Watson's ASU teammate, freshman Henry Carr. A Brief Digression on Henry Carr Henry Carr grew up on the streets of Del Ray in southwest Detroit. He went first to Detroit Southwestern High School, then switched to Northwestern. Henry Carr hung around with baseball stars Willie Horton and Alex Johnson. Carr ran track and played football and basketball. He hung with Willie Horton and Alex Johnson who would become major-league baseball stars. But young Henry was a rising track and field star. When Willie Horton hit his first major-league home run into the upper left-center bleachers for the Tigers at Tiger Stadium in September of 1963, Carr was running track on a scholarship at Arizona State. Track and field was an amateur sport back then, and the athletes who participated did it for the love of the sport. He traveled the world, Australia, Africa, Japan, Poland and the Soviet Union. Carr won two gold medals in the 200 meter and 1600-meter relay at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. "We got pressure from the president, the governor, school presidents, family members, "bring back the Gold, don't let us down", Carr said. "Then we had these black organizations that wanted you to boycott the Olympics. I felt it was unfair to put that pressure on us." When he returned from the Olympics he started a series of jobs that included playing pro football, working with inner-city kids, operating a deli, painting and landscaping, working as a janitor, real estate and preaching the gospel door-to-door. He fondly remembers his running mate, Bob Hayes, when they were the world's fastest humans and took their speed into the National Football League. Henry signed to play defensive back with the New York Giants, Hayes signed as a wide receiver with the Dallas Cowboys. Their teams were rivals, and they were rivals. "He never scored a touchdown on me" Carr recalled. In 1997, 33 years after winning two golds in Tokyo, Carr was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame. From The Detroit News: http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=148#ixzz1z5xAJBZL 440: It is a three man show. Ulis Williams, still another great sprinter from Arizona State, has run 46.0 twice. Adolph Plummer of New Mexico also has a 46.0 in a race where he edged Olympic gold medalist Earl Young of Abilene Christian who ran 46.1. No one else has bettered 46.7. 880: It appears that a two mile record may be in Oregon's future. Ted Abram has run 1:50.1 this season....and he would be the slow leg. Teammates Burleson, Sig Ohlemann and Archie San Romani have the 1st, 3rd and 4th fastest times in the country, 1:48.2, 1:49.3 and 1:49.6. Only John Bork's 1:49.3 keeps the Ducks from a trifecta. Mile: As good as the Quacks are at two laps, they may be better at four. Burleson and Harry Tucker of San Jose State have run 4:03.6. San Romani has run 4:03.8. Then comes Bill Dotson at 4:04.3. The third and fourth Oregon guys, Reeve and Keith Forman are listed as 5th and 8th at 4:05.5 and 4:07.3. (U. of Oregon Library)                   Keith Foreman, George Larson, Dyrol Burleson, Vic Reeve 2 Mile: Not to belabor a point, but Oregon is pretty damn good. The top two times are those of Burleson and Reeve reported earlier. Forman's 8:56.5 is the fourth best mark behind the 8:55.9 of Oregon State's Dale Story. To recap: the University of Oregon has the 1-3-4 times in the 880, the 1-3-5-8 marks in the mile and the 1-2-4 clockings in the two mile. It appears that someone is doing something right. Wonder if track will catch on in Eugene. 120 Highs: Oregon's Jerry Tarr and Fran Washington of Santa Clara Valley Youth Village have both run 13.7. Don Styron (NE La) is a tick back. 220 Lows: As with the 220, this race is being run on the straight and on the curve, giving us separate categories. Dee Andrews of Long Beach State and Terry Long of Florida State are the straight leaders at 22.6. Fran Fran Washington has a wind-aided 22.2. Jerry Tarr and C.K. Yang lead the turn runners at 23.5. 440 Intermediates: This is virgin ground so far this season. Texas Tech's Bob Swafford leads at 52.6. Broad Jump: Ralph Boston and Anthony Watson have been competing, but they are not the leaders. These guys have 27' and 26' resumes, but the leader is unheralded Bob Ritchie at 25-2¾. The only other 25 foot jumper is Wellesley Clayton of Compton JC and the West Indies. The big boys should take over soon. Triple Jump: Virtually nothing of note here. Winston Cooper of St. Johns leads at 49-10¾. High Jump: As with the broad jump, the top guys are taking their time rounding into shape. Colin Ridgeway an Australian at Lamar Tech has joined the seven foot club (7-0½), but no one else is over 6-11. Pole Vault: Unlike the previously mentioned field events, the vault has seen lively competition and solid marks. Uelses of course is the leader, but in the meet in which Uelses sets the record, Marine lieutenant Dave Tork is second at 15-8¼ and recently has had a near miss at 16-1. Shot Put: The season is starting slowly but should pick up steam when Dallas Long and Gary Gubner meet. Long's 63-4 tops the list, but Gubner, who has thrown only once outdoors, is second at 62-6. Dave Davis' 60-3¾ marks the first time he has thrown 60' in two years. Parry O'Brien is out of retirement, but sits far back in the rankings at 58-7. Javelin: Jan Skikorsky of USC tops the list at 250-5½. Larry Stuart of Santa Ana JC is a close second at 249-4½. Jerry Dyes is a familiar name in this issue. His 248-6 is the fourth best throw this year, but he is also ranked in the broad jump and the trip jump. Check out the day he had under “Late News”. Discus: The big guys are throwing well early in the season. Could this be the year of the 200' throw? Rink Babka leads at 194-0½, but he has to be hearing the footsteps of world record holder Jay Silvester, 193-1½, and two time Olympic champion Al Oerter, 191-0. Surprising Glenn Passey, Utah State's NCAA champion is in the mix with his recent 190-9½ collegiate record. Hammer: How many ways can you say Hal Connolly? The world record holder has thrown 219-0½ this year, over 30 feet beyond the next American. LATE NEWS On April 19 Mt. SAC's Joe Faust takes over the national lead in the high jump when he PR's at 7-1¼. April 21 is a pretty good day for track and field. The Kansas Relays kick off the relay season. Texas Southern will give the big boys trouble in the open meets. The Tigers win all six college division relays topped by a national record of 3:19.8 in the sprint medley. In the university division Missouri lowers the national record in the 2 mile relay to 7:24.2. No details are given. McMurray State's Bill Miller takes the national lead in the long jump with his 25-6, but the real story is ACC's Jerry Dyes who places second at 25-3½. Yes, this is the same guy who is only two feet out of the national lead in the javelin at 248-6. Today he wins that event at only 237-4, but he can be forgiven as, in addition to long jumping, he has been kept busy with the triple jump where he places a close second at 49-11¾, only 3½ inches behind Kent Floerke. That would be 237-4, 25-3½ and 49-11¾ in the same afternoon. After the meet he helps put the hurdles away, drives the team bus home, cleans up the locker room and washes the uniforms. All in a day's work. In a dual meet at UCLA Cal's Gene Johnson becomes the fifth American to clear seven feet. The Cal – UCLA isn't the only dual meet in Los Angeles this day. In fact it is hardly a blip on the radar compared to what is going on at the Coliseum. Oregon has come to town to take on the Trojans of USC, make that the Trojans of USC who haven't lost a dual meet since 1945 - 104 consecutive meets without a loss! (Okay, there was that irritating tie with Michigan State in 1949.) The boys from Eugene leave nothing to chance. Dyrol Burleson, Jerry Tarr and Harry Jerome are double winners and Les Tipton throws 238-4 to upset SC's national leader, Jan Skikorsky as the Ducks roll, 75-56. The columns provide one intriguing tidbit. Colin Ridgeway, Lamar Tech's seven foot jumper, grew up playing Australian rules football. He can kick an American football 70 yards. He might be doubling as Tech's punter if he could get his kick off fast enough.            A little ahead of time but the only picture of a young Forrest Beaty that I could find.            This is his 1964 Cal NCAA Mile Relay team of Beaty, Al Courchesne, Dave Fishback and                                                             Dave Archibald                                                      Forrest Beaty today on the left This photo is listed on the U. of Oregon Library website as Bill Bowerman with an unidentified runner at a 1961 indoor meet.  But we all know better don't we? (U. of Oregon Library) The aforementioned Forrest Beaty is having a hell of a season as a high school senior. He has run 9.4, 20.6 and 47.3, but there are a couple juniors who show a glimmer of promise. Pampa High (TX) has a kid named Matson who is closing in on the junior class records in the shot and discus. He has thrown 62-8 and 186-6. Lemore High in California as a tall skinny kid who has run 47.5. That name would be Smith, as in Tommy Smith. Speaking of underclassmen, Southern California a couple pretty good sophomore broad jumpers. Long Beach Poly's Marvin Motley leads the country at 24-6¼. Seventh on the list at 23-8 is LA Freemont's Willie Crawford. Word is the kid dabbles in baseball as well.