Vol. 3 No. 7 Central State University Cross Country 1960-62

A few months ago we wrote about the 1962 NCAA cross country results and the other national meets of that year, and a name popped out to me in the placings.   That name was +Les Hegedus, who place 7th in the Division I meet representing Central State University of Ohio.   Les,  an American of Hungarian origin ran for a traditionally African American university.   It seemed there was a good story in this, and I sought out Les through the internet to ask him about his running history and maybe more.
                                               (Click on Image to see in a larger format)

Les is modest in talking about his exploits from those days.  He did mention that he might have done better in the NCAA University ( Division I)  race, but it was his third hard race in 9 days.  He first won the US Track and Field Federation 10,000 meters National meet  in Columbus, OH beating the formidable University of Houston runners+ John Macy, +Al Lawrence, Geoff Walker, and Pat Clohhessy.  Then on the way to the College Division race (which he won) the van broke down,  and then they got hopelessly lost near Wheaton, IL and barely made it to the meet on time.   A few days later he ran the University or Division  I meet and got 7th place.   

Above, Les Hegedus winning a cross country meet at Central State

The first time I had seen Les run was in 1958 at the Ohio AAU cross country championships in Dayton, Ohio, my home town.  I was a high school sophomore and had been getting ready to play basketball, but my  coach John Ross decided to have me run one last meet, and I was third in the HS race.   The HS race was followed by an Open 4 mile race that was contested by several colleges including Bowling Green and Central State and the University of Kentucky, led by a runner with a unique name, +Press Whelan.  Also entered was the Cleveland Magyar Club. The Magyars were made up of a bunch of guys of varying ages and mismatched uniforms and all speaking Hungarian to each other.   It must be remembered that in November of 1958, this was just two years after the Hungarian revolution in which thousands of refugees had fled their country after the Russians had come with their army to quell a popular uprising against the Communist government of Hungary.  We assumed the Magyar Club was a contingent of those refugees.  Being quite naive to the sport and looking for tips, I remember approaching those guys and asking them what it would take to run well like they had done that day.  In their limited English, they replied "Practice, practice, practice".  Les Hegedus, a tall blond young man ran well that day and finished 4th in the Open race.  A year later he was wearing a Central State uniform.

Central State was in the NCAA in those days competing in what was then called the  'College Division'.
The big universities competed in the 'University Division'.   Today if you look in NCAA records, those College division teams  are  referred to as Division II or Division III,  the current nomenclature.  'College Division' schools were allowed to grant athletic scholarships.   Since then the nonscholarship Division III has been added.    The NCAA record book on cross country shows that Les was a 4 time All-American in cross country , so 'College Division' freshmen in those days were allowed to run varsity, unlike their 'University Division' counterparts.  Central State it is noted also is the first College Division team to win and repeat as NCAA cross country champions, doing that in 1960 and 1962.  Among the other All-Americans in those days was were Central State teammates +Josh Ruga and +Choice Phillips.  In 1962 William Moore and +Teddy Seymour also joined Les in the All-American listings for Central State.   Moore would be an All-American in 63 and 64 as well.   In that time other runners of note winning the same honors were ++Jim Dupree of Southern Illinois and Ed Winrow of Buffalo State.

I had never met Les Hegedus after that 1958 cross country meet, but I did hear numerous stories about his great running history at Central State.   As the history of those times is what this blog is concerned about, I decided to find Les Hegedus and talk to him about those days.  Central State has had an up and down history of fat years and lean years in track and field.  At one time +Josh Culbreath, the great intermediate hurdler was coaching there, and more recently Josh's son  Jahan Culbreath was the coach.  Jahan was recently named the athletic director at Central State.  +Martin McGrady once ran for Central State and was unbeatable at 500-600 yards on the indoor circuits.  He was known as 'The Chairman of the Boards'.  +Clifton Mayfield, a very good long jumper was also a student at Central State.  Their women's program  produced a number of Olympians out of Jamaica in the 1990's.

Les proved easy to find.   He lives in Westlake, Ohio.   He is a retired music teacher in Cleveland parochial schools, and an  absolutely wonderful person to talk to,  so gracious and humble about his running credentials.

The first thing I wanted to know about Les was how he got to the US from Hungary after the 1956 revolution.  He corrected me on that one.   He said that his grandparents had come to the US in the early 20th century and settled in western Pennsylvania where his grandfather worked in the coal mines.  His mother was born in the US,  but when she was 16 years old, the family decided to return to Hungary.   Les was born in Hungary in 1937 and lived there through WWII.  Because his mother was a US citizen they were able to emigrate back to the US in 1949,  well before the 1956 revolution.  His father was not able to come with them immediately, but eventually did reunite with the family in Cleveland.  So Les arrived here as a twelve year old not speaking English and set about going to school with American kids, learning the language, and working to support his family.   He had worked in a gas station, a potato chip factory and several stores.  But in those days his passion was playing the accordion.  On his thirteenth birthday , he and his mother were walking past a music store, and she asked him what instrument he might want to learn.  Amongst all those shiny instruments he  chose the accordion. Les confided that maybe he had an ancestor who was a muscian, because in Hungarian his name 'Hegedus" means 'Violinist".   With all his work and learning the accordion,  he never ran track or cross country while attending West Tech HS in Cleveland where he graduated in 1956.   It is only after he graduated and  was working, that he met some of the Hungarian runners in the Cleveland area and joined their club.  One of the members of the club was +Julius Penzes, who had run the 6th fastest time in the world at 10,000 meters back in 1953.   Julius did a lot of the coaching then and still ran, but no longer at the international level he had registered in '53.   I've since learned that Penzes had been coached to some extent by +Mihaly Igloi when they were both still in Hungary.  Penzes is still alive and living in Oregon which is another story I intend to pursue at a later date.

Julius Penzes and Istvan Rozavolgyi  1959

                                                                   The 1962 national champions

+Dave Youngblade was a graduate student at Central State and had been assigned the coaching duties by Country Lewis, the long time A.D. at CSU.   Youngblade all but offered Hegedus a scholarship on the spot at the AAU meet in Dayton that November.  According to Les,  he had never considered going to college.  He was already two years out of high school and working several jobs.  But his parents encouraged him to continue his education.   So Les took his accordion to Central State and became a music major and a distance runner.

In an interview with Dave Youngblade who lives now in Saginaw, Michigan recalled that he had been attending Central State and coached two years as an undergraduate.  When he got his degree, he was offered $5,000 to go to Indiana University as an assistant.  When Central State heard that, they offered him $4,000 to stay.  His last year of coaching was the 1966-67 season after which he moved to Michigan and worked in the field of public education.    The track teams were very strong then, and on one occasion they beat Bowling Green State U.  113-14 in 1962.   As mentioned earlier ,  freshmen were eligible to run in the College Division.   When CSU showed up to run at Ohio University in the  OU Relays,  a venerable Big Ten coach, whose school will not be named, but are sometimes referred to as that school up north by Ohioans, went up to the meet director and told him that if CSU ran any freshmen in the relays, the Big Ten team was going home.  CSU agree not to run their freshmen and still beat the Big Ten team.  To this day Dave Youngblade still roots for the team up north to lose.    Dave also  firmly believes that segregation made CSU stronger, because few if any scholarships were being offered to African American athletes by the big schools in the late fifties,  therefore the traditionally black colleges and universities were getting the pick of the best black athletes.

Among Les' memorable races recounted to me by another of our readers, at the Ohio AAU track and field championships in 1962 or 63,  Les and Andy Schramm of Miami of Ohio went head to head in a 3 mile race with Les edging Schram at the tape.  Fifteen yards behind them was Billy Mills running for the Quantico Marines.

Les continued to run road races into his mid forties and had a 4:29 mile and 31:29 10,000 meters when he was 44 years old.   He taught music at St. Dominic's School in Shaker Heights, OH and St. Cyril's  in Lakewood.  He has retired from teaching   He is 75 years old at the time of this writing and stays active doing hill walking in the parks near where he lives and plays music regularly in a band.

       Teaching 2002

Vol. 3 No. 6 Track and Field Sports Cards

While looking for a photo of an obscure Norwegian javelin thrower, +Sverre Strandi, I stumbled across the following link that deals in track and field trading cards that date from the present back to the 1880's.

http://www.oddlyquirky.com/trackandfield/cards/cdMtoO.html#c43

I did not know such things existed, but even the title  "Oddly Quirky"  summarizes the character of such cards and their collectors.   I am including a few samples to whet your appetite and perhaps you will go to this site.  These cards were distributed much like baseball cards in the U.K. , Australia, Germany, Holland, and some of the Nordic countries as well as here in the U.S.  Companies that produced them were often cigarette and tobacco, baking goods, candies,  etc.  Many of the pictures of some of the more famous athletes are ones I've never before seen in sports books and exhibits.  I include a few below and will put some on subsequent postings along with our regular comments.  Some of these cards are reprints from much older collections, some are instructional, almost what  you would find in a Boy Scout Manual if you were working on your Broad Jump merit badge.   Do any of our readers collect these?

Charly Paddock   American 300 meter world recordholder in 33.2     Produced in Germany, by Abdulla Rekord Cigarettes



American card circa 1990.  Where did you go to get these things? I think I ran against George on this track in Tuscon in 1963.  

Of course you recognize ++Ron Clarke on this Spanish? card.  If you are a track freak you would know the second runner. It also mentions Clarke carried the olympic flame in 1956 in Melbourne.

Verrry British production

You could get this for 2 deutsch marks paid through your post office bank account.

Bravour Cigarettes will stunt your growth.

         Eddie Tolan double gold medalist at Los Angeles and looking chique in those white shoes and U. of  Michigan vest.  This company is also touting their album and that you can get 10, 25, or 50 cards in teh Mratti Privat brand of cigarette.

German cigarette brand called Bulgaria, probably close to Turkish tobacco.  +Nurmi referred to as the Iron Finn (eiserne Finne)

German 100 meter Champ  +Erich Borchmeiner  and one of Hitler's secret 100 meter dudes.

Peter Koelln-haferflocken is....a brand of Oatmeal "only in the blue pack"



Rosa Grosse saw little hope in becoming a cheerleader and so turned to playing the game.



+Georg Lammers 1928 German Olympic sprinter brought to you by Three Bells egg noodles and macaroni

           All you need to know about the history of the German 4x400 prior to WWI brought to you by the friendly folks at Erdal-Kwak  shoe and floorwax. 

                           You too can learn to appreciate the long jump thanks to Erdal Kwak



Finish of the Germany women's 800 meter championship in 1927.  The flower of German Youth
A new world record of 2:23.7 by Fraulein Batschauer of the Phoenix club in Karlsruhe.  Second was Fraulein Spangenberg of Sport Club Apolda in 2:26.3



Need we say more?

             

Vol. 3 No. 5 Debbie Heald and Mary Cain - March 17,1972 to January 26, 2013

+Debbie Heald defeating the Russians March 17, 1972

Mary Cain, Penn Relays 2012

January 27, 2013
The second oldest high school record on the books fell yesterday.  +Mary Cain, Bronxville , NY,  took down +Debbie Heald's girls' indoor mile record from 4:38.5  to 4:32.78 at the New Balance Games in New York.

My co-blogger Roy Mason was Debbie's coach back in 1972.  Their story is well described in a recent issue of Runner's World  (Dec., 2012)  by Steve Friedman.   Mary's story is becoming well known, now.   She is  coached by Alberto Salazar after leaving her high school program this Fall.  The  question now  is "How much better will she run?" The other great question is, " Why has it taken so long for this record to be broken?"  Everyone seemed to feel it would happen this year with the times Mary was putting up in the last few seasons.  She is indeed a remarkable young woman and athlete, and now there will be enormous expectations on her shoulders.  She seems a very pleasant , calm and reserved teenager.  I hope that the adults around her will be able to guide her toward achieving her potential without removing  all the other aspects that growing up in our culture require us to learn to be grounded and happy adults.  Mary has already achieved a lot of things that Debbie never had a chance of experiencing.   Debbie's career was hampered by injury and illness that made her life an American tragedy.  But having several nurturing adults along the way did save her life, though it has not been a life unchallenged by fear,  pain and rejection.   It must be remembered that when she set her high school record,  it was also the world record for the mile.  It was against the world record holder, and in a meet of maximum importance in the cold war era against a powerful Soviet team.  She was alone at that meet, 3000 miles from home, no coach with her, running   in a pair of worn out shoes held together with duct tape.    No shoe company thought she was good enough to merit a new pair of shoes.  After all she had only qualified as the second best American to be at that meet.

Vol. 3 No. 4 January, 1963, as Promised

January 1963

Alert readers may remember that 1963 had gone missing. How can January 1963 suddenly show up? Good question. The person responsible is Leif Bugge in Denmark, a faithful follower of the sport. Lief scanned and emailed his copy. Thank you, Lief. We owe you one. And now....(drum roll).....January 1963.

York Volunteers

The Canadians are coming! The Canadians are coming! 
At least +Bruce Kidd and +Bill Crothers have come to New Orleans, Boston and Los Angeles and they are kicking butt. Six races and the University of Toronto duo haven't been seriously challenged.

Bruce Kidd

Bill Crothers and Harry Jerome

On Dec. 31 in the Sugar Bowl meet Kidd erases Greg Rice's 22 year old three mile meet record by 25 seconds, racing to an unpressed 13:37.9. Crothers demonstrates his versatility by taking on +Tom O'Hara in the mile. After 3:08.6 at the bell, they run together before Crothers' 46.2 400 speed gives him the edge at the finish in 4:06.4 with O'Hara two tenths back.

Two weeks later, January 12, and a little closer to home, the Canucks show they can dominate indoors as well. In the Massachusetts Knights of Columbus meet, held in the Boston Garden, the 19 year old Kidd leaves the field far behind in running the third fastest indoor two mile, 8:43.2. The only superior clockings belong to Olympic champion +Murray Halberg and Kidd himself. Crothers is hardly challenged at 1000 yards as he breezes to a nearly two second victory over a comebacking Ernie Cunliffe in 2:08.6.

Interview with Bill Crothers can be seen at the site below.

http://www.conacher-rosenfeld.ca/videos/bill_crothers-eng.html

Next up is the LA Invitational held in the Sports Arena Jan 19. It may be a different coast, but the results are virtually identical. Kidd runs 8:43.8 to better Charlie Clark's 8:51.5. Crothers trots the 1000 in 2:08.9 once again at the expense of Ernie Cunliffe who runs 2:11.5.

Ernie C. is not the only international class runner making a comeback. +Eddie Southern takes the 500 in 59.3 with Olympic champ +Otis Davis third in 59.9.

The shot sees Parry being Parry. O'Brien wins at 61-1 with long time rivals +Jay Silvester and +Dave Davis trailing at 60-2 and 58-6½. +Ralph Boston complains about the runway, but the Olympic champ wins at 25-7½, 16 inches ahead of +Darrell Horn.

T&FN makes an initial effort at gender equality, including women's results in the story on the LA meet by reporting Marilyn White's 6.9 win in the 60 over +Wilma Rudolph (7.1) among others.

Pennti Nikula

The fiberglass pole is creating a rush on the world record. On January 19, outdoor WR holder +Pentti Nikula vaults 16-1¾ to add the indoor record to his resume. Doesn't last long. In the January 25 Maple Leaf Games in Toronto, +Dave Tork overshadows Bruce Kidd's 13:34.6 three mile (second fastest ever) by taking the record with a 16-2½ leap.

His reign lasts only until the next night, when, in Portland at the Oregon Invitational, 
+C.K. Yang grabs the record with a vault of 16-3¼. Yang, considered a good vaulter for a decathlete, has an affinity for the fiberglass pole. In a year he has gone from just another guy in the open vault to the world record holder. There may be more of this in his future as he has a close miss at 16-5. Crothers and Kidd are not the only Canadians having a bang up winter. In this meet +Dave Steen upsets Parry O'Brien by three inches with a PR of 61-5½.

Remember that four mile relay between New Zealand and the University of Oregon last month? We'll they are at it again. On January 5 the same eight guys line up and produce the same result. +Vic Reeve, who fell the last time, keeps his feet and finishes the lead off leg only a couple yards behind +Bill Ballie. +Archie San Romani Jr. opens up couple yards on Murray Halberg. Now it is +Dyrol Burleson's job to open up enough cushion on John Davies to give +Keith Forman a chance against +Peter Snell on the anchor leg. Doesn't happen, not even close. Burleson opens with a 64.0 and then slows to a 2:12.3 half. Surely something has to happen now. Nope, a 65.8 puts him at 3:18.3. Foreman has to be grinding his teeth. Sure enough Burley cranks out a 53.7 final go around, for a 4:11.8, but it is too little, too late. Davies is good for a 54.6 and 4:12.1. Given only a five yard advantage against the finest miler the world has ever seen, Forman shows what he is made of, going out in 58.4 then splitting 2:01.8 and 3:04.3. One has to admire his courage, but there can be only one outcome. Forman runs 58.4, but Snell pounces. His 57.7 last lap, outstanding for anyone else, but pedestrian for the Olympic champion, produces a 4:01.5 and a Kiwi victory 16:29.2 to 16:29.8. Wonder if Forman spoke to Burleson the rest of the tour.

Ralph Boston at Rome

Reading the columns, we learn that Ralph Boston is working as a research technician at a Los Angeles hospital, but still has found time to hit 26-9 twice in practice......   +Don Bowden, the US's first four minute miler, is now an assistant coach at the +Santa Clara Valley Youth Village.…

Dave Tork

...Dave Tork, when not vaulting, does public relations work for the state of West Virginia, employment which the AAU is investigating as violating amateur regulations......Speaking of that august group, the AAU has followed the lead of the NCAA in eliminating the 200/220 low hurdles as a championship event......

Who is the best discus thrower – shot putter as judged by the Portuguese Tables? In a list on page 21 we find that to be Parry O'Brien whose 63-5 and 193-2 are worth 1960 points, edging Jay Silvester's 61-5½ and 199-7½ by a point. Surprisingly, Bob Humphries (58-8 & 203-5) is third at 1942.

Peter Snell and Arthur Lydiard

Six pages are devoted to the 1962 world list, interesting reading, but reporting, not so much. Still, let's give it a crack. Not surprisingly, our sprinters and hurdlers dominate the lists, but they don't stand alone. The US has 12 of the top 15 pole vaulters and our broad jumpers have the number 2-3-4-5-6 marks. Peter Snell reigns supreme in the 800, but Americans have the next four best marks. How dominate is Snell? His 1:44.3 world record is two full seconds ahead of the next best mark by +Jerry Siebert. Following Siebert in the next 1.9 seconds there are 23 guys. Yes, in 1962 dominance is spelled P-e-t-e-r-S-n-e-l-l.

As good as the US is in some events, there is work to be done in others. The triple jump, hammer and javelin come readily to mind. Bill Sharpe is the only American to rank in the top 25 in the European dominated triple jump, barely making it at number 25. Our javelin throwers rank 14^thand 23^rd. +Hal Connolly's WR 231-10 is an enigma. He and Al Hall, ninth at 219-3, are the only Americans in the top 25. Yes, there is room for improvement in these events.

Carmel River Inn

If you are planning on attending next month's Golden Gate Invitational, you could stay at the Cabana Motor Hotel of Palo Alto, only thirty minutes away so says a full page ad. Alas for those of us living in the 21^st century, the Cabana is no more. However the prudent +Carmel River Inn which popped for a more economical quarter page ad is still going strong and looks like a great spot for a romantic weekend. Check it out on the internet.

It was clearly not all work and no play for Percy

Had the “Got Milk” ad existed in 1963, it is unlikely that one would have seen +Percy Cerrutty's smiling face with a milk mustache. Says the iconic Australian coach, “Milk has a psychologically terrible effect on males and should be banned early in life. Addiction to milk makes a boy mother-drawn. Deep parts of his consciousness retain a link with his mother. Once he has the taste for milk he will never develop properly as an individual. We are approaching something like a matriarchal society.

The Queen circa 1955

 The fact that the Commonwealth can accept a queen as its head is evidence of this.” This may also explain Percy's failure to be knighted.

Editor's note       

Our lead writer on this blog, Roy Mason,  to whom all libel, defamation and anti-trust suits should be addressed, will shortly be undergoing total knee replacement surgery.  We wish him well and hope that he will be able to continue his output for "Once Upon a Time in the Vest" as he goes through the post-op and rehabilitation process.  If there are some delays in output from Roy's end of the continent, please be understanding.  I have a few projects on the sideboard that I will try to revive while Roy is recovering.  George Brose

Mol. 3 No. 3 John Thomas, RIP January 16, 2013

BROCKTON  Massachusetts
Brockton Enterprise January 16, 2013 —

John Thomas, a legendary figure in track and field and two-time Olympic medal winner, died Tuesday at Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital. He was 71.
Thomas won a bronze medal in the high jump in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome and a silver at the 1964 games in Tokyo. He was the first man to clear 7 feet indoors and made 13 world-record jumps.
He was also a trustee at Brockton Public Library and a volunteer at the library and the YMCA.
He was athletic director at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury where he was known as “JT.”
Thomas was a 17-year old freshman at Boston University when he became the first athlete to break the 7-foot barrier indoors on Jan. 31, 1959, at the Millrose Games in New York. He eventually eclipsed the world indoor record with a leap of 7 feet 1 ¼ inches at the 1959 National AAU Championships.
He broke the world outdoor record three times in 1960, including a career-best jump of 7 feet, 3 ½ inches.
Thomas was the NCAA high jump champion in each of his four years at Boston University and captured seven national AAU titles. In his career, he cleared seven feet 191 times and lost only eight competitions.
“John meant a lot to me and to BU,” the school’s director of track and field and cross country Robyne Johnson said in a statement. “In the eight years I’ve been here, I found him to be a sincere and nice man. He was a tremendous athlete and he meant a lot to both track and field and to the BU community. He will be missed and we have heavy hearts at the Track and Tennis Center. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
Thomas graduated from Boston University in 1963 and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1968. He was inducted into the USA Track & Field Hall of Fame in 1985 and also named to the Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame.

Read more: http://www.enterprisenews.com/topstories/x1671800829/John-Thomas-two-time-Olympian-and-Hall-of-Fame-high-jumper-from-Brockton-dies#ixzz2IFznhEoV

Thanks to Pete Brown for bringing this to our attention

Vol. 3 No. 2 1963 Issues will be presented

In our previous posting, we noted that there may not be coverage of 1963 Track and Field due to our lack of access to the issues of Track and Field News magazine copies for that year.   Readers have come through with offers of loans of the missing year.  For that we offer thanks and a promise to continue coverage of the sport in a good chronological manner.   Thanks to Leif Bugge and Pete Brown.

Vol. 3 No. 1 Welcome to 1963

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The last entry was from the December 1962 issue of T&FNews. One would think that the next would be January 1963. One would be logical, but wrong. A little history is necessary here.

Back in the day when your hard working reporter was but a pup, the subscription to Track and Field News came in regularly. Each issue was prized and saved. Over the years the collection grew. Marriage and four children followed, competitive running stopped and coaching began, but the issues continued to be saved religiously. No issue was discarded. No issue was marked, torn or folded. They were lovingly placed in a cardboard box which became two cardboard boxes, then three and finally a couple large Rubbermaid containers. They weren't cataloged, but they were there.

Then, maybe 15 years ago, the historical significance of the collection drove me to pull the container from the shed, bring it into the house and catalog the issues chronologically with manilla folders for each year. There they sat, an unread history of our sport.

Remember the baseball cards you collected and stored in shoe boxes under your bed? When you got older you looked at them less until one day you looked at them no more. But it was still comforting to know that your George Kell card was right there between the Johnny Lipon card and the Al Kaline card. The T&FN collection was like that. I never looked at the issues, but it was nice to know they were there. Give them away? Are you insane? They were like George's books that were left at the girlfriend's apartment in a Seinfeld episode. He wanted them back. Jerry questioned why since he had already read them. “Because they are my books!” That is how I felt about the magazines. They were going to the grave with me. Upon my demise my kids would either throw them out or sell them two for a nickle from a card table in the front yard.

Retirement came and with it free time. One day in a burst of altruism, I opened the container and pulled out the oldest issue. Warmed by the glow of Parry O”Brien and Emil Zatopek, I scribbled a summary and sent it to the only person I knew would care: long time friend, now co-blogger and master researcher, George Brose. His enthusiasm prompted the sending of another synopsis. With this George was off and running and the blog was born.

Told you that to tell you this. There is no January 1963. Indeed there is no 1963. I have 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, etc, but no 1963. I didn't unsubscribe for the year. Logically it has to be somewhere. The shed was explored. Then each folder was opened to see if somehow 1963 had escaped and was hiding in 1969 or 1970. Cabinets, shelves, drawers and boxes were carefully examined. No 1963. Finally I was reduced to considering unlikely-but-I-have-looked-everywhere-else locations: the freezer,  the toilet tank, the woodpile, the box that contains wrapping paper from Christmases past. Found a lot of stuff I hadn't seen in years, but no 1963.

I have two ex-wives; evil, vindictive women who preyed upon my good nature and naivete. Could it be that one of them purloined that particular folder in the hopes that it would cause me anguish years down the road? While both have shown the meanness of spirit capable of such an act, it is unlikely. Neither possesses a passive-aggressive nature, preferring instead the full frontal attack of alimony and home seizure. No, undoubtedly that folder still exists...... somewhere......somewhere unbeknownst to me.

I have dreaded the time when I would have to share this with you, our faithful readers. Back in 1959 I thought surely I would find it. The uneasiness I felt in 1960 and 1961 grew to desperation as the months flew by in 1962. This is my dog ate my homework moment. I do not have 1963. It is unlikely to ever be reported upon.

So there it is. As far as this blog is concerned, there is no 1963, a harsh reality if this was one of your glory years, but in the ensuing half century I am sure you have learned the lesson that time teaches all, life is not fair.

Coming up soon: January 1964.

Editor's note

If someone could rescue Roy from his anguish it would be much appreciated.  Is there a soul out there willing to put out a  'loaner' to Roy?   Just one year  1963 of Track and Field News will keep this blog intact, otherwise we may find ourselves reading synopses of Ladies Home Journal or Readers' Digest.   Contact me via email if you have a set you would be willing to share and be assured of getting sent back to you.   georgebrose@yahoo.com