Brian Kivlan 1948-2022
We saw today in Walt Murphy's blog This Day in Track and Field that Brian Kivlan, former Manhattan Jasper, passed away this week.
I really didn't know much if anything about Brian as I was festering in the Peace Corps and then the Army when Brian was hitting his peak. So I must rely on others for this information.
The first is a link to a MileSplitNY article on Brian written by Zachary Shtogren, a first class read:
Walt published this letter from Tom Donahue about Brian:
R.I.P.—Brian Kivlan, an All-American miler at Manhattan College, passed away earlier this month at the age of 74. Tom Donahue, another Jasper All-American, passed along this message to the Manhattan T&F family:
“It is with a great deal of sadness that I share the news of Brian Kivlan's death.
Brian passed away in Jacksonville Florida, at the age of 74, in the loving care of his daughter Kerri and close family members.
Please remember Brian and his family in your daily prayers during their time of sorrow.
Brian is still our college record holder in the mile at 3:57.4 and in 2017 his mile performance was voted the 4th greatest moment in our college's 110 year Track & Field history.
You might be wondering why I, of all people, am sharing the news about Brian since I am not one of his classmates and live 1,000 miles away in Jacksonville Florida?
Brian lived on NYC's westside. Although he was two years my senior, we kept in touch, especially in our later years. Brian was always
concerned that a hurricane would hit Jacksonville and Pat and I and our family would suffer. This became a constant source of amusement between us because a tropical disturbance in Florida is as frequent as a traffic jam in midtown New York.
Last year, Brian's daughter Kerri and her family were transferred to Jacksonville. The prospect of Brian visiting Jacksonville for the first time ever to see Kerri and his granddaughter was very real...and Pat and I could piggyback on his family trip and entertain him!
However, life is not a straight line.
Brian flew to Jacksonville on March 24th but not all was right. Brian had cut his leg and it had not healed properly. When he arrived, Kerri saw the infection and brought him into the emergency room. It was bad enough that Brian was admitted. One thing led to another and Brian was transferred to the ICU. I visited him frequently, stayed in constant contact with Kerri and thought he was improving. But it was not to be. Brian never recovered and he is now with the Lord.
I realize and fully understand that I am a 72 year old man emailing a group of primarily older men about a sad subject...but think of the opportunity Brian gave us.
When you get a chance to engage with a person from your youth, do it and you will be better for it.
When you get a chance to bring comfort and cheer to another person, do it and you will be better for it.
When you get a chance to do something positive, especially when no one is looking, do it and you will be better for it.
May our teammate and friend Brian Kivlan rest in peace...”
Tom Donahue
Kivlan’s Career highlights
All-American at Manhattan College—3rd in the 1500 at the 1968 NCAA Championships behind Villanova’s Dave
Patrick and Oregon’s Dave Wilborn (see photo).
Also finished 3rd at the 1968 U.S. Championships and was a semi-finalist at the 1968 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Finished 2nd to Dave Patrick(3:56.8) in a memorable mile at the 1968 IC4A Championships at Philadelphia’s Franklin
Field. Ran a personal best of 3:57.4 as the first 5 finishers all broke 4-minutes, a first for an all-collegiate race.
(3.Jerry Richey-Pittsburgh/3:58.6, 4.Frank Murphy-Villanova/3:58.6, 5.Jack Fath-Fordham/3:59.5)
PBs-3:40.3(’68), 3:57.4(’68);
Former track coach at the Trinity School in NY City. One of the athletes he coached for a short time in soccer at
Trinity was John McEnroe, who credits Kivlan with politely suggesting that he might have more success in another
Sport--Tennis!
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