V10 N. 29 Jim Bailey First Sub 4 Mile on US Soil. R.I.P.

James John Bailey (21 July 1929 – 31 March 2020) was an Australian middle-distance runner. He reached semifinals of the 800 metres event at the 1956 Summer Olympics.^[1] While running for the University of Oregon under Bill Bowerman, he was the 1955 NCAA Champion in the mile. He would become the first of a string of sub-4 minute milers under Bowerman.^[3]

Bailey (left) overtakes Landy on the last turn of their 1956 mile race

Landy and Bailey at the finish of their 1956 mile race

Biography[edit]

Bailey was born in Sydney and grew up in the central-west NSW town of Parkes, New South Wales where his father was a health and buildings inspector with Parkes Municipal Council. After a decade in the country, the family moved to Hurstville, New South Wales which allowed Bailey to pursue his running by joining the local St George Athletics Club.^[4]

On 6 May 1956, Bailey was part of a mile race at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The race was a promotional effort to drum up interest in the 1956 Olympics to be held in Australia. His compatriot John Landy was going to make an attempt to become the first person to break the 4 minute mile on American soil. As the NCAA Champion, he joined other top level participants including Bill Dellinger, Jerome Walters, Lon Spurrier and Ron Delany. The lesser known Delany, who would win the Olympic 1500 later that year ran a fast first lap, separating from the field. Landy caught up with Delany a straightaway (100 yards) short of the halfway point in the race, with much of the field still in contact. As Delany continued to lead the pack, Landy broke away off the front, putting more than 10 yards on the field on the backstretch. As others fell off the pace, Bailey moved up with Delany with a lap to go. By this point Landy had a 15 yard lead. Landy accelerated for his final lap, occasionally looking back to see the size of his lead. Bailey too accelerated for his last lap. Down the final backstretch, he was sprinting much faster than Landy, catching him with about 200 yards to go. Landy did not give up, keeping Bailey to his outside the entire turn. Bailey held the advantage coming off the turn and maintained it to the finish, winning by two steps. Landy succeeded in breaking the 4 minute mile, but the first to do it on American soil was Bailey, a tick of a second earlier, running 3:58.6, a 6 second personal record.^[5]

Bailey was ranked #3 miler in the world in 1956.^[6] After retiring from competitions he played professional rugby in Australia. He then returned to the United States and lived in the Pacific Northwest for the rest of his life, working as a sportswear promoter in Kirkland, Washington, and then a real estate agent in Bellingham, Washington.^[1]

 You can see “James Bailey- the Forgotten Four-Minute Miler” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYSKRnQCDlU. 

James was an active member of Church of the Assumption in Bellingham, where he recently donated $100,000 to the Assumption Catholic School Foundation. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Church of the Assumption at a later date. Memorials in James’ name may be made to the Assumption Catholic School Foundation, 2116 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225

I see that Jim Bailey has passed on.. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bailey_(athlete)  

Steve Smith, sent us the following about Jim:

I remember several years ago in Eugene. Bailey was telling a group of us that when he beat

John Landy it about ruined is life.. He was the fisrt person to run a sub-4 on U.S. soil.......

Having been unsuccessful to make the Olympic team for the Helsinki Olympics in 1952, Bailey accepted a scholarship to study geology at University of Oregon. He quickly established himself on their athletics team at collegiate track & field meetings. In preparations for the Melbourne Olympic Games, Bailey took part in a special event in Los Angeles with John Landy. The aim was the promote the Melbourne Games and to have Landy break the four minute mile on US soil. While Landy was the favourite, Bailey surprised everyone – himself included – when he defeated Landy in a time of 3:58.6. This was the first time that the four minute barrier had been broken on US soil. When Bailey returned to Australia he was asked on his chances at the Melbourne Olympics. Bailey replied that he thought he could beat John Landy again. The mood of the public turned against him. In an interview 50 years to the day since his amazing achievement, Bailey explains the treatment he received and why it occurred:

Bailey won in 3 minutes, 58.6 seconds. He gained international fame when all he wanted was to get an invitation to the Australian Olympic trials later that year.

Bailey admits now that he didn’t handle the victory well.

Upon returning to Australia, he announced he was in better shape than he had been when he beat Landy, and he’d beat him by an even wider margin the next time they met.

“They would have excused me if I had been more apologetic about beating Landy and not said the things I did,” he said. “Landy was so popular, the way swimmer Ian Thorpe is now. I got death threats for what I’d done, and I was booed at the trials.”

Bailey, a former pro rugby player, was cast as the roughneck from Sydney. Landy, the former record holder, was cast as the gentleman from Melbourne. Bailey admits the characterizations were closer to the truth than not.

Bailey made the Australian Olympic team in both the 800 and 1,500 meters, but didn’t get out of the semifinals in the 800 and never ran the 1,500.

“I wasn’t right, mentally or physically,” he said.

To this day, Bailey says failing in the Olympics, in front of his countrymen, left more of an impression on his life than beating Landy and running the first sub-4 in America.

“I was completely overwhelmed by what happened in Melbourne and never recovered from it,” he said.

"After retiring from competitions he played professional rugby in Australia".  And is tied with Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger for the biggest thighs ever observed on a functioning athlete, such as Arnold wasn't.  He was more muscular than Peter Snell.   Thanks for this, George!  Richard Mach