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.
Roy wrote to me that very little happened or was reported in the September, 1966 T F & N, but noted that there were two nice pictures of two young men running sub four minute miles. One was the second high school miler to break four minutes, Tim Danielson from San Diego's Chula Vista HS and the other was Ricardo Romo, a recent University of Texas graduate. Both men's pictures appear in the issue. As most of you already know, both men's paths took very different turns in life.
Ricardo Romo
Tim Danielson and Ralph Gamez
Danielson would go on to BYU but return a year later and finish his college career at San Diego State. He would become an engineer and live a quite below the radar life working in the aerospace industry. An introverted individual, whose life in later years would take a horrible turn when he would be charged with killing his ex-wife and then unsuccessfully attempting to kill himself. He was defended on the plea that he was suffering from depression and one of the side effects of his medication was possible erratic behavior and suicidal tendencies. The jury didn't buy it, and now he will probably spend the rest of his life in the California penal system.
On the brighter side, Ricardo Romo's life was well underway with All American status, the mile record at the U. of Texas which would last 42 years, a running career on the rise, although he would be injured by 1968 and see his dreams of Olympic achievement go by the wayside. However Ricardo had a plan. He was already beginning graduate work in Los Angeles and would complete a PhD. in History, write a hugely successful book on Latino history, and begin an upward climb in the academic world culminating in the presidency of the University of Texas at San Antonio. He recently announced his retirement, but I'm sure this will not be the last of Ricardo's public service. For more about Ricardo's remarkable life you can find an incredible piece on Wikipedia, but a year or so ago I asked Ricardo about his own thoughts on his early life. He sent me a copy of a short memoir of his early days which I have already put on this blog , but it is certainly worth repeating:
Seeing these two accounts of very different lives, one wonders how this can happen, how one individual can turn out so well and another turn out so badly. It is certainly one of life's mysteries. We are often told as children that achievement in sport will enhance our success in life, in our careers, that it will open doors, but sometimes that is woefully not so. There are so many other factors that will influence us on the way, and probably the one that is least recognizable or controllable is our mental health. How we see relationships and who we partner with leads me to suspect that pure blind luck is also a significant factor. If we are born into a good family, we are incredibly lucky. But we still have to make difficult choices along the way, and when bad choices are made to recognize them, accept them as error and move on toward something better. Some people overcome growing up in a bad family, but many, many never do. For anyone to run a sub four minute mile requires a tremendous drive and at least a modicum of intelligence and self control. But that ability to be challenged and to succeed must constantly be renewed as we go through life. A sudden unexpected tragedy or illness or the illness of a partner can change everything. I truly wish the best to both of these men. Even a life in prison is still an opportunity to do better. Life on the outside with a wonderful family and career also presents many challenges. Best to both of you. GB
On the lighter side I thought I would put some of the ads that appeared in the Sept., 1966 issue of TF&N in this post. Many of the mainstays in today's shoe world were already operating in their infancy. Nike had yet to appear, well, they really were there in the persona of Blue Ribbon Sports. Also this ad for 'corners' to put down in gymnasiums was a hoot. I distincly remember that ad from fifty years ago. Did your A.D. ever buy these?
Basketball uniform? Canvas gym shoes? Call Sam in Marketing, we need to have a talk.
We called these 'tank treds'
All of Peter Snell's Secrets for $4
Blue Ribbon Sports, the precursor of Nike
I enjoyed Ricardo Romo's memoir again. You put me in touch with him about my father's ministry in the Mexican Missions in San Antonio. He was very interested and very kind. Bill
George,
Those photos of the shoes really brought back memories:
1959/60 - Going from high school & the red dot wilson rummers to the Adidas three strippers at Mizzou made me feel like I was in a whole new world Such luxury!
This article has just been lifted from Gary Corbitt. For more information on US history of long distance running and links to Road Runners Club of America site go to tedcorbitt.com
The link on that site will take you to RRCA and from there you can find and open all the old copies of Long Distance Log.
The Greatest Ever Ultramarathon on United States Soil
October 18, 1970 – 46 Years Ago
U.S. National 50 Mile Championship
Rocklin, California
Joe Henderson called it “the best race I ever saw.”
The American Record was broken by nearly 23 minutes by Bob Deines
in 5:15.19.2. His margin of victory over Skip Houk was just 3 seconds.
The world record in 1970 was 5:12:40.
The first six runners were under the American Record.
Natalie Cullimore finished 18th in 7:35:57 and became the first female to establish standards of global excellence that caught the eye of other talented women.
Changing of the Guard:
In Ted Corbitt’s 33 U.S. ultramarathons since 1959, he finished in the top 2 places in all but two races.
This race represented a changing of the guard in U.S. ultramarathon history. Corbitt at age 51 finished in sixth place while establishing an age group world record that still stands today.
Ted Corbitt said the following in a letter to John Chodes: “If I had not been aware of the force that the West Coast has become it would have been like walking into a big, big, ambush. I was aware and on one occasion a few weeks ago I figured that I could break the American 50-mile record and finish as high as 10th place. I expected to break the American record even if I had a bad day and my run was not good. As you know I had at least three efforts which were considerably better than the record in longer races. Now the new record is most respectable – but it can be had.”
There were many notable individuals in this race:
Ken Young who helped invent the sport with his pioneering work in record keeping finished 11th.
Prolific racers Paul Reese and Walt Stack finished 19th and 22nd respectively.
Jim McDonagh past national champion and first American to beat Ted Corbitt in an ultra, dropped out at 35 miles.
Tom Derderian Boston Marathon Author/Historian and Greater Boston Track Club Coach ,dropped out at 35 miles.
Bruce Dern the actor, dropped out at 30 miles.
Joe Henderson running pioneer and author, dropped out at 30 miles.
Pete League running pioneer and a first-generation course measurement certifier, dropped out at 15 miles.
Simone Schaller competed in the 1932 and 1936 as a hurdler for the US team, going head to head with her more famous contempary Mildred 'Babe' Didrickson. In the prelims in Los Angeles, Schaller tied Didrickson both setting a World Record in the 80 meter hurdles. However in the finals she could only manage a 4th place while Didrickson won setting a new WR. There is very limited detail about Simone in recent obituaries. One picture surfaces the most, that is this one below of her with the US team leaving for Europe in 1936. She is in the lower right.
Several pictures appear of the finals at Los Angeles, with Evelyne Hall going head to head with the Babe. The first I found is Hall leading over a hurdle on the inside lane , Babe right next to her.
Finals 80m hurdles Evelyne Hall Lane 1, Didrickson Lane 2, Clark Lane 3, Alda Wilson CanadaLane 4, Violet Webb Great Britain Lane 5, Simone Schaller Lane 6 well behind at this hurdle.
Three views of the finish below
Didrickson and Hall breaking tape together in WR 11.7. Marjorie Clark, South Africa is 3rd in 11.9, Betty Taylor, Canada is 4th in 12.0
Looking further, two other photos surface from 1932.
One thing that doesn't add up in these photos is the appearance of Michiko Nakashini next to Didrickson in this heat. This photo has been mentioned in the past showing Nakashini's hurdle as being set too high. The more I look at this picture though, it appears that Nakashini is two lanes over from Didrikson, and no one is seen in the lane next to the Babe. Or is it possible Didrickson is in the lane with the hurdle set too high? The photos make it appear that Didrickson is in lane one which seems evident in the second photo below. But really she is in lane 2 and the runner in lane one run has not yet come up to the camera to get into the photo. In looking at the prelim records on Sport Reference only one preliminary round is listed with only two heats for the 80m hurdles. Nakashini is a DNF in the first round. So I think we can conclude that Didrickson set the WR at 11.8 along with Schaller, while Didrickson went over one hurdle that was too high. One other thing that still leaves me wondering is the absence of Marjorie Clark in the dark uniform in the two pictures below. She supposedly finished 3rd in this race. She may be in the outside lane and hidden by the lane 5 runner.
Same hurdle, slightly different angle
Now that Simone Schaller has passed away, the new story is who is the oldest living Olympian, who is the oldest living Amerian Olympian? I think we can assume that Harrison Dillard now in his nineties is the oldest living gold medallist. When you google the question, past stories come up noting various athletes who have held that honor.
On June 8,
2016 I was privileged to listen in on a conference call organized by Gary
Corbitt, son of the late Ted Corbitt, with several of the runners who ran in
the first of two Olympic Trials Marathons in 1964. The date of the race was May 24, 1964. It was 93 degrees Fahrenheit and humid. The race went off at midday. The winner of that race would automatically
be selected for the US team that would
travel to Tokyo in the Fall. The winner that day was Buddy Edelen in 2 hrs.
24 min. For the losers, a second chance
would be theirs for the remaining two places in a race on the West Coast at
Culver City, CA.
The participants in the phone call
were Abe Assa, Jim Green, Hal Higdon,
Dick Weis, John Galth, and Gary Corbitt. The following text is written from notes
that I took while listening to the conversation of these men. You may see there is not 100% agreement on what went on that day, especially with regards to water distribution. But then how well do you remember any of your races from 52 years ago? In those days it was not common for race organizers to provide water to marathon runners, and also start times were not necessarily made with much understanding of the effects of heat and dehydration. David Costill's depletion studies were still several years away. I in no way can vouch for 100% accuracy as to
what was said and how it was said in this conversation. There was much more said, and I missed
writing down some stories for example about the very colorful Jim McDonagh, an Irish transplant and iconic figure on the East Coast in those times. Gary
is in the process of putting the actual conversation as recorded on his website tedcorbitt.com . He didn’t think anyone would be upset if I
did this piece without their permission, but if they are, I can be reached for
correction or response to their libel filings at irathermediate@gmail.com.
George Brose
Ted Corbitt in London to Brighton race
Garry Corbitt I saw so many runners
ahead of Dad that day. He passed 5
miles at about 36 minutes and finished
in 3 hours 20 min. 32 sec. He carried a
sponge all the way and walked the last mile.
Wanted to quit at 3 miles.
Working in air conditioning may have hurt him.
Abe Assa It was brutally hot.
Everyone in this phone call DNF’d.
I went down to the river a couple of times (to cool off). ed. This statement may not be accurate, but it's the way I heard it. George, To answer the question, at about 8 miles a stream ran under the road and I went down and gave it up at that point. I can't remember how I got to the start/finish but am sure it wasn't an official vehicle. It would have been a retrace of the route to that point. Probably hitched (no closed off roads in those days). If you want another humorus story of a drop out: in the 67 Boston, I dropped out somewhere around 16. In those days you could get on the subway with your number. On the train into town a woman across from me after eying me suspiciously for a while, points her finger at me and says "You better not get out and run across the finish line. " And, yes I still got out though pretty slow. I especially look forward to runs with my Marblehead buddy Jim Green All the best Abe Went back to the finish and watched Edelen
come in at 2:24. Twenty minutes
later Adolph Gruber then Kelley came in
. Only five runners were under 3
hours. Thirty-seven were under 4
hours. It was the Olympic Trials and
National Championships. Everyone clumped
around the leaders was running to win.
When they saw that wouldn’t happen with the way Edelen was going, they
dropped out and decided to try again at Culver City. Everyone in those days would run Boston
(five weeks earlier) then the trials at Yonkers. If that didn’t work, then Culver City, and
if successful Tokyo. So that would be 4
marathons in a relatively short time frame.
We more or less personally knew all
the East Coast runners, and with ‘Long Distance Log’ we knew all the rest of
the runners in the country- about 1,000.
Everyone was a racer, no joggers.
People who influenced me were my
training partners. Tom McCarthy, I met almost everyday. We didn’t make our training
runs into races. I ran a bit with Jimmy
O’Connell in 1965 after McCarthy went home to Ireland. We met at Aqueduct Loop in Van
Cortlandt Park . We never thought running would grow the way it
has. Amazing how Track and Field has not
grown as a spectator sport. Three meets
in Madison Square Garden each year packed in 18,000 people. Now 5,000 is really something indoors. Boston was 175 runners with a $2.00 entry fee.
Hal Higdon Thinks Boston entry fee was only $1.00. Jock Semple asked him if he thought doubling
the entry fee would be too much.
Hal Higdon
John Galth There was no water on the Yonkers course.
Hal Higdon Lots of water in the first ten miles, not much in the 2nd
half. Buddy was hydrating very
well. Fred Wilt was handing it out to
him. Edelen trained in double sweats thinking it would be hot in Yonkers.
At Culver
City there was only one person handing out water at the water station.
It was in
1968 that David Costill (Ball State University Human Performance Lab) did a hydration study with Amby Burfoot and Higdon.
They ran 20 miles 3 times on a
treadmill. Once without water, once with
water, once with Gatorade.
Some runners
today show up in ice vests. Wonder how
people run with water bottles and ice vests.
At Yonkers Buddy wore a handkerchief tied on his head. Abe and Jim both ran Culver City. Hal ran there but had a bad last five miles.
Jim Green I was a teacher. Trained alone for the most part. It was rare
to see somebody running while I was running.
From 1958-1971 I trained along the Charles River in Boston. It was truly the 'Loneliness of the Long
Distance Runner'. (popular book by Alan Sillitoe, later film with Tom Courtenay, the actor). Probably ran all out
every other day. Ran 6 days a week. Created discipline. Buddy’s race was phenomenal. I had some blistering. Asked a few bystanders if there was a
pharmacy where I could go in and get some Vaseline. In the 1958 Boston Marathon at about 18 miles
I went into a gas station got some axle
grease and finished 11th.
About 1960
or 63 some runners got DQ’d prior to the race (probably failed the pre-race physical check. ed.) They ran anyway and got 6th , 7th
, and 9th.
In 1958 Ted
Corbitt, John Lafferty, and Jim Green were asked by Jock Semple to do a training run with
Franjo Mihalic, Yugoslavia, (Silver medallist at Melbourne in 1956) , from the 10th to 22nd
mile marks. They hit the street and took
off. Near a cemetery, Franjo said in Russian, “This is the end.” Mihalic would win Boston that year.
During races
we never communicated with other runners.
A code of silence existed. My
proudest running accomplishment was 2 hr 23 min in 1960, and Olympic Trials in
Culver City. Badly blistered at 16 miles
going head to head with Joe Tyler sixteen years after racing each other in the
2 miles at Compton. In those
days the college runners didn’t have the mileage to do well on the roads.
John Galth The 12:00 noon start at Yonkers made it a
killer. Culver City started at
8:00AM. Boston in 1961 was light snow at
start of the race. In ’62 a little rain
at the end. Gaps in races were much
bigger ie. margin of victory. Foreigners
often came over a month before Boston to train.
Local guys all had jobs. Dr.
Warren Geil hosted Bikila and Wolde at his home before the race. They ate everthing in the house , finished 4th
and 11th.
Hal Higdon
In 1964 my mindset was to go to Boston to win. Olympic Trials at Yonkers were not on my
horizon due to Edelen coming and only one person going on from there to Tokyo. Buddy was there to beat us up. (ed.
Buddy had been living in England, teaching school, and training for several
years. See link below.) I stayed at the hotel with
Buddy and Fred Wilt who was coaching us both by mail. Buddy less so. Buddy ran very conservatively the first 10
miles. I got out of the pack and dropped
about 50 yards. Then came back up. I
didn’t take any water, although Fred was driving along handing it
out. Buddy took off at 10 miles. I stayed in sight for 4-6 miles running with
Norm Higgins. Higgins took off after
Buddy. Johnny Kelley had ringing in his
ears at 16 miles -slowed – ringing started
again. He got off the course at 17
miles. Higgins ran well until 23
miles. Course went left, Hig went
straight into a wall. Ended up in the
hospital. I thought maybe Buddy went too
hard and took off too soon. Should have
taken it easier and that may have ruined the rest of his career.
Norm Higgins winning first NYC Marathon in 1971. Only 127 runners started and
the race was entirely in Central Park.
Harold Harris, U. of Chicago Track Club, started very, very
conservatively and kept moving up but not passing anyone (ed. Due to dropouts), and finished 4th (in 2hr. 55 min. I went to Mt. Holyoke a year later and
did a Harold Harris, kept moving up place wise but not passing anyone due to
drop outs.
Yonkers was
a very difficult course. Boston was the
last hold out to provide water and did it in 1978 thanks to complaints of
Jerome Drayton (Canada) who won in 1977.
Buddy’s last
mile or so was pretty slow at Yonkers.
Ron Daws was hospitalized after Yonkers.
Canadians all crashed and burned at Yonkers after doing so well in
Boston that year.
Gary Corbitt Was Norm Higgins doing windsprints
before Yonkers? At Culver City, Higgins
was taking a long warmup. This may have
been the Igloi effect.
Dick Weis, Gaelic AC
I remember
the heat of Yonkers. I asked Adolph
Gruber, “Are you going to warm up, Adolph”?
“Nein, Nein, these people are stupid”.
“When will
you warm up”? “The first ten
kilometers”.
Adolph Gruber
He finished second in 2hr.
44 min. That was 44 seconds per mile
slower than Buddy. ( See Adolph Gruber website below.)
There was
nothing out there on how to train until Wilt’s book. If you were on the road, it’s cause you
couldn’t win on the track. I don’t
remember any water on the course..
Weis coached Bob Fitts before he went to Cortland State. (ed.
At Cortland State, Dave Costill was Fitts’
coach. That was before Dave became the
famous exercise physiologist.)
Gaelic AC
lasted about 4-5 years. Buddy liked
Guinness. He got a case of Guinness sent
to Tokyo. US officials confiscated
it then let him have one each evening.
What Should
History Books Say About This Era?
Browning
Ross getting Road Runners Club of America Started.
No official
timers at some races. The leader would
carry the stopwatch and hand it off if someone passed him. The winner would stay at the finish line
calling off times of the next incoming runners.
Jock Semple and John A. Kelley
Buddy Edelen
was the shoulders on which Frank Shorter stood . Yonkers, 1964 he was at his best. Bob
Campbell, Fred Brown, Jock Semple kept the sport alive in the 1950s.
Ted Corbitt and Bob Campbell
At this point I stopped note
taking. I either ran out of ink, wrist ,
or Gary terminated the conversation.
The results of both Marathon Trials
in 1964 were as follows:
Yonkers May 24 Culver
City July26
1.Buddy Edelen 2:24:25.6 1.
Peter McArdle 2:27:01
2.Adolph Gruber (AUT) 2:44:11.4 2.
Billy Mills 2:27:29
3.John A. Kelley 2:44:46.4 3.
Jim Green 2:30:58
4.Harold Harris 2:58:28 4.
Wayne Van Dellen 2:31:39
5.Anthony Sapienza 2:59:03 5. Joe Tyler 2:32:58
6.Abraham Forbes (PUR) 3:01:42 6.
Nick Kitt 2:36:06
Edelen had set a World’s Best in
England at 2:14:28 the year before.
Culver City was won by Pete McArdle with Billy Mills second completing
the US team for Tokyo. Edelen would
finish 6th behind a new WB by Bikila 2:12:11.2 Mills after winning the 10,000 was 14th
and McArdle was 23rd.*
*Data from Richard Hymans “History
of US Olympic Trials – Track and Field”
The website
Sports Reference reports on the Tokyo race as follows:
Athletics at
the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games:
Men's Marathon
Top of Form
Events:
Bottom of Form
Host City: Tokyo, Japan
Venue(s): National Stadium, Shinjuku, Tokyo
Date Started: October 21, 1964
Date Finished: October 21, 1964
Format: 42,195 metres (26 miles, 385 yards) out-and-back.
Defending champion [Abebe Bikila] was back and was
considered the favorite, having lost only one marathon in his career to that
point – the 1963 Boston race. But he had several strong contenders, among them
the American [Buddy Edelen], who in 1963 had broken the world record with
2-14:28 in the Polytechnic race in Britain, and had also won the Košice
marathon in Czechoslovakia in 2-15:09.6. Britain had two top marathoners in
[Basil Heatley] and [Brian Kilby]. Japan was led by [Toru Terasawa], who had
won the 1963 Fukuoka Marathon, and broken the world record early in 1963 at the
Beppu Marathon.
But there was only Bikila. The race began at 1 PM, and was
contested over a very flat straight out-and-back course. Bikila ran in the lead
pack right from the start. By the turnaround point, this time running in shoes,
he was leading by 15 seconds, and from there to the finish, he simply extended
the lead, winning by over four minutes. Heatley finished second, but had been third
entering the stadium. Third went to a native son, not Terasawa, but rather
[Kokichi Tsuburaya]. Brian Kilby finished fourth, and Buddy Edelen, hampered by
a sciatic nerve injury, placed sixth.
Tsuburaya was crushed that he had been passed on the track by
Heatley in front of the Japanese crowd. He vowed to improve and pushed himself
in training, but it resulted in multiple injuries. Finally, in early January
1968, he committed suicide by slashing his carotid artery with a razor blade.
The note he left said simply, “Cannot run anymore.”
