Once Upon a Time in the Vest

Thursday, November 30, 2017

V 7 N. 80 Luther Hayes, USC, NCAA TJ Champion 1960-1961 R.I.P.

John Bork informed us today of the passing of Luther Hayes.  John was also an NCAA 880 Champion in 1961 when Luther won his second NCAA title in Franklin Field, Philadelphia.




In memoriam: Luther Hayes, football and track star at USC, 78

He played a key role in the Trojans’ 1958 game against UCLA and was a two-time NCAA triple jump champion




BY USC Athletics



Luther Hayes, who won a pair of NCAA triple jump titles in the early 1960s while at USC and also played a key role in the Trojans’ 1958 football game against UCLA, died on Nov. 23 in Palos Verdes Estates due to natural causes. He was 78.
Hayes came to USC from San Diego’s Lincoln High (he previously had attended San Diego High), where he was on the football, basketball and track teams. He was All-City in football and was the 1957 state long jump champion.
The 6-3, 195-pound Hayes was a two-sport star at USC, lettering in football in 1958-60 and track and field in 1959-61.
Hayes was a two-way end in football at USC. His 74-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 6:50 to play in the 1958 UCLA game (and the Trojans’ ensuing two-point conversion) tied the game at 15-15, which was the final score. He had 14 career receptions at USC, including a team-best nine for 179 yards with two touchdowns in 1959 when he also made 44 tackles on defense to earn All-American honorable mention and All-Conference second team honors. As a sophomore in 1958, he had four catches for 68 yards along with 27 tackles and an interception. An injury slowed him during his 1960 senior campaign.
He was on Trojan track teams that won the conference championship all three of his years and captured the 1961 NCAA team title (USC was the NCAA runner-up in 1960). He won the NCAA triple jump crown in 1960 and 1961, becoming the first man to win a pair of NCAA titles in the event that was then called the hop, step and jump. His 51-2 ¼ leap in 1961 was an NCAA Meet record. He also was second in the 1961 NCAA long jump (then called the broad jump). He was ranked 10th in the world in the triple jump in 1961. He also captured the conference triple jump and long jump crowns in 1960 and 1961, setting a USC record while winning the 1961 triple jump (51-9 ½). It was 27 years before another man won both of those league events in the same year.

Going pro

In 1961, Hayes was selected in the 10th round of the NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and the 27th round of the AFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers. He spent the 1961 season with his hometown Chargers, their first in San Diego, where he had 14 receptions with three touchdowns.
After his playing career, he was a teacher in the Los Angeles City School District and coached at Crenshaw High, California State University, Northridge and Los Angeles City College, where he also was an academic counselor.
Hayes is survived by his wife, Anita, daughters Andrea Jordan and Crystal Hill and son Luther, as well as sisters Mary Jones and LaVerne Perkins and four grandchildren.
A funeral will be held on Dec. 5 at 11 a.m. at Holman United Methodist Church, 3320 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles 90018. Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 4 at Green Hills Mortuary, 27501 S. Western Ave., Rancho Palos Verdes 90275.

Thursday, November 23, 2017

V 7 N. 79 New Mexico Women Win NCAA Cross Country Again


Dr. Richard Ceronie forwarded us his University of New Mexico Cross Country Newsletter describing the recent NCAA women's championship which the Lobos won for the second year in a row under Coach Joe Franklin.   Rich as many of you may know was for many years the head women's coach at Miami of Ohio.  After 'retiring' he went on to UNM to work with the track program, especially to perform one of his specialties of historian/statistician for the track and cross country programs.  He certainly arrived there at a great time in that school's track and cross country history.   Congratulations Lobos.





















Saturday, November 18, 2017

V 7 N. 78 A Track Meet in 1914 in Dayton, Ohio



Phil Scott sent us some microfiche pages from the July 5, 1914 Dayton Journal  newspaper account of the Central A.A.U meet held in Dayton, Ohio on July 4.  A crowd of 12, 000 spectators were entertained by some high level performances from athletes primarily from the state of Illinois including teams from the U. of Illinois, U. of Chicago, and the Illinois Athletic Club.  An Ohio State meet was contested simultaneously offering an Ohio Championship to the winning club.  The results in the newspaper are separated into the two categories.

A flyover by a Wright Flyer was another attraction as well as a fireworks display later in the evening.  In all it was a full day for the 12,000 Daytonians who attended the festivities. 

We're not sure if the races were run on the horse track.  I doubt it, because many of the times were quite good and running on even on a well  groomed horse track would not have been a very good running surface.  Also that track was one half mile in length.  So we are speculating that an infield quarter mile track may have been used.  Also if it were run on the horse track, a survey crew would have to been engaged to do a very accurate measuring of the distances.   Our archeological team will be going out to make preliminary inquires as soon as funding can be arranged.


Central A.A.U and Ohio State Results  July 4, 1914


However Phil also came up with the 1915 A.G. Spalding Athletics Almanac which has the results of many meets all over the world for 1914 including the Dayton meet.

You can scroll through this history by clicking on this link:

Spalding Athletic Almanac 1915  Click here.



Results of the July 4, 1914 Central Association A.A.U meet found in the Spalding Athletics Almanac


This was the summer when Europe  and the world were preparing for war.  Many of these athletes would soon be wearing a military uniform including Henry Binga Dismond seen below. Binga Dismond ran a very good 440 in Dayton 48 and 3/5 seconds.   The Dayton Journal  claimed it was a World Record.  Not quite true, but not far off.   In a few years time he would win another sort of  medal for 'courage under fire' in France, and would return healthy and ready to pursue a career in medicine.  A brief biography is seen below.  In 1914, the Dayton Journal  headlined Dismond's win stating that  a Negro had set a World Record as if that were something to be considered exceptional.  Perhaps it was, because there were very limited opportunities for people of color to compete at the national level.  On this same field for sport, only a few years later the Klan would hold a major rally.

Henry Binga Dismond

Henry Binga Dismond star athlete, medical device inventor, pioneering physician and poet was born on December 27, 1891 in Richmond, Virginia to Dr. Samuel H. Dismond and wife Jessie Cornelia Binga.  Henry attended Richmond public schools, Virginia Union University, and Howard University where he graduated with a B.A. in 1912.
In 1911, at his first Smart Set Athletic Club track meet in Brooklyn, New York Dismond took the point trophy by winning the 220 yards and quarter mile events.  Invited by his cousin, banker Jesse Binga, he enrolled in the medical program at the University of Chicago.  During freshman year, he broke a 19 year Central Amateur Athletic Union record with a 48.3/5 time; and was chosen for the 1916 U. S. Summer Olympics team, to compete in Berlin, Germany.  Despite cancellation of the Summer Olympics, Dismond received a gold medal for matching the American quarter mile record time of 47.2/5 set by national champion Ted Meredith.  Later, after defeating Meredith, he became the western intercollegiate champion and earned his varsity letter.
In 1917, a student of orthopedic medicine at Rush Medical College, Dismond enlisted with the 370th Infantry during World War I.  His was one of three battalions fighting under French authority that were commanded by black officers.  Near war’s end, he received an honorable mention for courageous leadership under heavy gunfire and promotion to First Lieutenant.
By 1919, Dismond returned home to intern with Provident Hospital and there he invented the Radex Steam Infuser, a respiratory treatment device.  Dr. Dismond and wife Geraldyne, whom he married in 1917, moved to New York City in 1924.  There he developed an electrotherapy, physiotherapy, and x-ray medical practice and by 1925 operated the “Dismond Reconstruction Clinic.”  In 1930, he was a physician at Harlem Hospital and later established the “Emergency Industrial Service,” Harlem’s first workmen’s compensation clinic.
In 1941, the Workman’s Compensation Board of the New York County Medical Society designated Dr. Dismond a Physical Therapy Specialist; and he later established the Physical Therapy Department at Harlem’s Sydenham Hospital, the first New York public hospital to serve African Americans.  Dr. Dismond also organized the physician’s board at Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church to administer health education programs, promoting community wellness.
A student of Haitian culture, Dismond created the “Society of the American Friends of Haiti,” to educate Americans about Haitian history, culture, and socio-political and economic issues.  Following the Haitian Massacre, a 1937 political crisis, he organized the shipment of medical supplies to the country and later raised money for the Haitian Orphanage Fund.  In March of 1938, he received the title “Chevalier of the National Order of Honor” by the Haitian government.  In 1943, Dismond wrote a book of poetry entitled, “We Who Would Die and Other Poems including Haitian Vignettes.”  The book included socio-political protest poetry, Haitian Essays, personal anecdotes, romantic prose and other verse about the physician’s life.
Dismond was active in the National Urban League, NAACP, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the Council of Elks, Prince Hall Masons and Knights of Pythias.  Dr. Henry Binga Dismond died in Harlem, New York on November 21, 1956.  He was 64 years old. 

The Spalding Athletics Almanac is filled with information about meets and track associations in a multitude of countries including Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, France, Ireland, Scotland, England, Australia, Hungary, Bohemia, Philippines and esoteric information such as best Hungarian results in Foreign lands.   There were two javelin records, freestyle and held in the middle.  There are records for  a Stone Gathering event, and many different types of hurdle races by distance of race, height and number of hurdles.  There are results of college meets around the country except the Southwest and Southeast US  including the Drake Relays and the Cal-Stanford dual meet.  Interspersed are swimming events, boxing and wrestling.  Cross Country is recognized and results of many meets are listed. A variety of pictures of individuals and teams of which we include several below.  There are shoe ads.  The prices range from $2.50 for indoor running shoes to a full $6.00 for certain track shoes.  A five  dollar pair of Spalding shoes would be $120 in 2017 dollars.  You can also find ads for hammers, hammer cages, polevaulting standards and vaulting poles with a spike in the tip.  This was the time before the vaulting box was introduced to the track world.  A bit of time going through this almanac is a must for any real track fan.


$5 then equals $120 today

Women's Records.  Note the maximum distance is 120 yards.
This is the only page mentioning women's track.


Note the hanky on the bar for a sighting device?  

James E "Ted" Meredith (lower right)


Thought we were joking about the stone gathering event?

Standford athletes

Abel Kiviat, the famous Jewish distance runner


This being a vintage edition of our blog, we've decided to throw in a number of other photos of the age up into the 1920s.  Some of the pictures are remarkable in their quality.


Number 21  E.T. Cook served for many years as the Oakwood, Ohio high school coach.  Also of note in this photo are #8  Amos Alonzo Stagg,  #4 Ralph Rose top row middle not in uniform  shot putter, #20 Mel Sheppard,  #7 Ray Ewry, multiple Gold medallist in standing high jump, and #24  A.C. Gilbert, who invented the Gilbert Chemistry sets and Erector sets that all boys growing up in the 1940s and 50s had access to.

the 1908 olympic pic showed my gym teacher, Ed. Cook (sometimes spelled with an 'e').  a few panels later he is holding a vaulting pole and labeled Cooke.  In Oakwood he was always without the 'e'.  He was the 1908 pv winner, or co-winner, in an unusual final decision.  Glad you finally reported on something that extends far enough back in time to include ME.   Richard Trace


He was competing in the Running Broad Jump in the London Olympics and Pole Vaulting at the same time and got no slack from the officials while going between events.  May have cost him a medal in the RBJ.


Ed Cook(e) again with vaulting pole in hand.  Mel Sheppard upper left and J.P. Sullivan upper right.



No problem selling tickets at the first modern Olympics in Athens

George Goulding

A grade school meet in Washington D.C. circa 1924.  White shirt and neck tie no hindrance.

High School Competion Washington D.C. 1924

Mel Sheppard

Wounded veterans race 1918

Newark NJ. 1922 US womens team prior to leaving for France to compete in the International Women's championships.
This gathering of women was in direct competition with the Olympics as women were second class in the athletic world.  The IOC quickly put an end to that movement.  

Hurdles Coaches needed.  1924









V 14 N. 19 Query on Dave and Don Styron

 Asking any of you who read this blog if you know if Dave and Don Styron who ran at  NE Louisiana and Southern Illinois in the early 1960...