Friday, January 27, 2023

V 13 N. 13 61st Anniversary of Peter Snell's WR at Cook's Gardens in Whanganui, New Zealand

Peter Snell setting world record Jan. 28, 1962 at Whanganui, New Zealand

January 28 is the anniversary of Peter Snell's World Record Mile run in New Zealand. It may already be January 28 down under right now, so we'll put this up on the 27th here in western Canada.

Ernie Cunliffe who was in that race was contacted recently to by Russell Sears about tomorrow's celebrations.

"Back in 1993 I invited you and your wife back to Whanganui to celebrate Peter’s One Mile world record and also the last mile on grass at Cooks Gardens.

I hope this email finds you and I hope you are in good health.

I am trying to contact you as in January 2022 we were awarded a World Athletics Heritage Plaque for “Cooks Gardens-The Home of the Mile”.

This plague is being unveiled on Saturday 28^th January at our annual track meeting the “Cooks Classic”. I wish to confirm that you are still alive as to my knowledge you and Alex Shaw are now the only surviving athletes from that great race that put Cooks Gardens on the world stage.

I have attached for your information a list of our sub four minutes milers. It is a growing list and I can confirm that we went ahead with the redevelopment of the track and I have attached a photo which shows the ground as it is today.

Would very much live to hear from you and hope this email address I had from back in 1993 still works.

Russell Sears

Sports Heritage Trust / Cooks Gardens"

The start of the race on Jan. 28, 1962
L-R Allan Shaw, Albie Thomas, Peter Snell, Bruce Tulloh, Murray Halberg, Ernie Cunliffe, and Barry Cossar

Cook's Gardens Today

The re-enactment 31 years later in 1963

Ernie gave me this account of the race. He was really a half miler, and this race wasn't his cup of tea.

I asked him about the size of the track as well. Was it a five lap track or something slightly longer?

His reply:

"The old grass track was roughly 4 and a half laps to the mile (386 yards) . I don't think there was any car or motorcycle venue around the track itself although I think maybe bicycles could race outside the running track. When we went back in 1993 for the reunion the new track was 400 meters and there was a velodrome outside the running track although I am not certain as to what the distance was outside the track.

Russell I am sure would answer any questions you might have except for : Why did Cunliffe run so slowly that day? Answer: He had not trained for mile, but only 880. I was never a factor in the race and stayed in 4^th or 5^th place the whole way, and in fact I kind of slowed down to watch the finish when I was in the middle of the last curve since the crowd was so pumped up. I only picked up the pace the last straight to be sure I was ahead of Alex who was a recent high school grad and I defeated him by a small margin. I ran about 4:15 and Halberg in 4^th was a 4:07 I believe while the pacer Barry Cossar was last in 4:25 or 4:26 and had been briefed that he had to finish the race or Snell's time would not have been recognized. Everyone knew that Snell would break 4 minutes, but the question was by how much. Tulloh really made the race as he jumped Snell at the end of 3 laps (not sure of the distance since we started on the half lap side of the track) and made Peter speed up to get around Tulloh who kept a steady pace to also break 4 way down near the bottom of the 71 mile list. Gosh a 10 k distance guy breaks 4 minutes in the mile way back in 1962".

Here is the list of the 71 time men who have broken 4:00 at Cook's Gardens in order of best to last.

1 Nick Willis 3m52.75s Wellington February 11 2006 (Track Record)

2 Craig Mottram 3m53.14s Australia February 11 2006

3 Jurgen May 3m 53.8s East Germany December 11 1965 (World Record)*

4 Peter Snell 3m 54.4s Auckland January 27 1962 (World Record)

5 John Walker 3m 54.65s Auckland February 26 1983

6 Kipchoge Keino 3m 54.9s Kenya December 11 1965

7 Ray Flynn 3m 54.9s Ireland February 13 1985

8 John Walker 3m 54.9s Auckland February 13 1985

9 Sam Tanner 3m54.97s Tauranga January 30 2021

10 Pat Scammell 3m 55.2s Australia February 13 1985

11 Rod Dixon 3m 55.5s Nelson January 9 1974

12 Nick Willis3m55.56s Lower Hutt January 19 2016

13 John Walker 3m 55.8s Auckland January 9 1974

14 Nick Willis 3m55.98s Wellington January 20 2014

15 Hamish Christensen 3m56.13s Hastings January 16 1999

16 Bryan Berryhill 3m56.52s USA January 16 1999

17 Eric Speakman 3m56.66s Napier January 30 2021

18 Hamish Carson 3m56.72s Wellington January 19 2016

19 Tony Rogers 3m 57.19s Huntly February 26 1983

20 Eric Speakman 3m57.30s Napier January 19 2016

21 Rorey Hunter 3m57.45s Australia March 2 2019

22 John Walker 3m 57.6s Auckland January 14 1976

23 Adrian Blincoe 3m57.65s Auckland February 16 2008

24 Peter Snell 3m 57.7s Auckland February 1 1964

25 Peter O'Donoghue 3m 57.7s Auckland March 24 1984

26 Tony Rogers 3m 57.7s Huntly February 13 1985

27 Michael Hillardt 3m 57.8s Australia March 24 1984

28Dick Quax 3m 58.0s Auckland January 9 1974

29 Hamish Christensen 3m58.06s Hastings January 18 1997

30 Nick Willis 3m58.09s Wellington January 22 2013

31 Phil Clode 3m58.13s CMA January 22 2000

32 David Campbell 3m58.19s Ireland February 16 2008

33 Peter O'Donoghue 3m 58.2s Whangarei February 2 1982

34 Darryl Frecker 3m58.2s USA January 27 1993

35 Alistair Stevenson 3m58.38s Australia January 22 2000

36 Sam Tanner 3m58.41s Tauranga March 2 2019 (NZ U19/20 Record)

37 Mo Farah 3m58.45s England February 11 2006

38 Will Leer 3m58.49s USA January 27 2012

39 Tom Smith 3m 58.5s USA February 2 1982

40 Paul Van De Grift 3m58.5s USA January 27 1993

41 Dick Quax 3m 58.6s Auckland January 14 1976

42 Brian Theriot 3m 58.6s USA February 13 1985

43 Hamish Christensen 3m58.68s Hastings January 15 1998

44 Peter O’Donoghue 3m58.7s Australia January 27 1993

45 Hamish Christensen 3m58.73 Hastings January 20 2001

46 Andrew Baddeley 3m58.81s England March 17 2007

47 Nick Willis 3m58.81s Wellington January 27 2012

48 Phil Clode 3m58.83s Auckland January 18 1997

49 Julian Oakley 3m58.88s Tauranga January 30 2022

50 Stephen Willis 3m 59.04s Wellington January 22 2000

51 Paul Hamblyn 3m59.05s Auckland February 11 2006

52 Hamish Carson 3m59.11s Christchurch January 27 2012

53 George Beamish 3m59.13s Whanganui January 30 2021

54 Bill Baillie 3m 59.2s Auckland February 1 1964

55 Harold Hudak 3m 59.2s West Germany February 2 1982

56 Chris Bowden 3m59.23s Australia January 15 1998

57 Simon Maunder 3m59.28s Auckland January 22 2000

58 Bruce Tulloh 3m 59.3s England January 27 1962

59 Bryan Berryhill 3m59.35s USA January 22 2000

60 Simon Maunder 3m59.49 Auckland January 20 2001

61 Kerry Rodger 3m 59.5sAuckland February 13 1985

62 Phil Clode 3m59.5s Auckland January 27 1993

63 Lee Emmanuel 3m59.69s England January 27 2012

64 Peter Renner 3m 59.7s Christchurch February 13 1985

65 Oli Chignell 3m59.77s Dunedin January 30 2021

66 Tony Rogers 3m 59.8s

Huntly March 24 1984

67 Matthew Taylor 3m59.80s Auckland January 30 2022

68 Malcolm Hicks 59.87s Christchurch January 27 2012

69 Gareth Hyett 3m59.80s Wellington February 11 2006

70 Gareth Hyett 3m59.90s Wellington March 17 2007

71 Aunese Curreen 3m59.91s Samoa February 16 2008

* Bettered current world record of Peter Snell of 3m54.1

Michael Jazy (France) had World Record Pending at this date of 3m53.6s, which was later ratified by the IAAF

Russell Sears

Grass Track

As at 30 January, 2022

"Cooks Gardens: The Home of the Mile"

All Weather Surface

Dear George:

I was part of that race (880) in Christchurch, NZ as part of a USA group of American athletes that also included Ernie Cunliffe, Jim Dupree, and decathlete, Dave Edstrom.

The Christchurch 800m/880yd. Race, A world record for Snell but, my worst performance of the tour. I posted a 1:48.5 and a 1:49.2 (880’s) during the tour…. Good performances that were dwarfed by Peter Snell’s 880 and mile world records! All of these races were on grass tracks!

(It’s okay to forward this e-mail)

PS: my all time best was a 1:48.3-880

In winning the 1961 NCAA championships 6 months earlier at

Franklin Field, Philadelphia!

John Bork

V 13 N. 12 English Runner Declines Opportunity to Compete in World XC Under 20's Due to Climate Crisis

Jan 27, 2023

Innes Fitzgerald image from The Daily Mail

Innes Fitzgerald, a 16-year old English cross country runner has declined to travel to Australia to compete in the World Under 20's Cross Country Championships because of her belief that air travel is one of the chief contributors to climate change.

Her story appeared in today's The Guardian by Kevin Rawlinson. Here is the link: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/26/runner-gb-australia-climate-innes-fitzgerald-cross-country

Initially I was struck by the thought that "How could anyone pass up a free trip like that to compete with the best in the world/". Also realizing how much time and energy had been put into being eligible for such an opportunity, it would be very difficult to set aside. I could not imagine myself as a sixteen-year-old rejecting such an opportunity. But knowing my four granddaughters as I do, I think I can more easily understand. Their generation is much more attuned to climate threats and they know that they are the ones who will be spending the rest of their lives dealing with the problem. Growing up, our problems were the Cold War, finding a decent pair of running shoes, buying beer with a fake draft card, and deciding where to attend college. Rachel Carson's The Silent Spring was not high on my list of books to be read.

You and I know that plane to Australia will still fly, still pollute, still put CO2 into the air, but when more and more folks start standing with Innes the airlines will have to squeeze a few more seats into each plane that does fly so that their profits do not diminish. And eventually there may be fewer planes in the air because folks will curtail needless travel.

So today I will stand with and applaud Innes and her generation for what they believe. George Brose

Dear George:

When you post this article and your congratulations to Innes, please add mine.

Plus my apologies on behalf of our generation for leaving these young women and men with the problems we have.

Take care,

Tom Coyne

Mike Waters

2:17 PM (23 minutes ago)

to me

Well good for her. Has this gotten national attention? It's good to see a young person with this belief Mike

Friday, January 20, 2023

V 13 N. 11 Forty Years Ago Bill Stewart Set a World Record for Masters Mile January 22, 1983

Jan. 20, 2023

Bill Stewart, Ann Arbor, MI

This past week Ned Price brought to my attention that this Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023 will be the fortieth anniversary of Bill Stewart, Ann Arbor, MI breaking of the World Record for the Masters Mile at 4 minutes 11 seconds. The previous record holder was Jim McDonald of New Zealand at 4:18.5. Since then of course the record has been lowered considerably and is now held by Bernard Legat at 3:54.91 set on February 14, 2015 at the Millrose Games. I must confess I really didn't know anything about Bill Stewart, but Ned sent me a copy of the March 1983 "National Masters News" and the story is there.

Stewart Betters World Mile Mark

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, January 22. Ann Arbor's Bill Stewart today staked a claim as potentially one of the top veteran middle-distance runners in history.

In one of the most impressive performances by a masters runner in recent years, Stewart became the fastest over-age-40 miler in the world by recording a sizzling 4:11.0 in the Michigan Relays.

The time betters by seven seconds the listed world over-40 mile record set by New Zealand's Jim McDonald in 1977. It betters Ray Hatton's 7-year old U.S. mark of 4:24.0 by an astonishing 13 seconds.

Stewart who turned 40 on January 6, was pleased, but said, "I ran a tentative race," he said. " feel I can do a 4:05."The health education teacher was unofficially timed in 3:53 at the 1500 meter point. The world 1500 mark is 3:52 held by France's Michel Bernard since 1972. Ernie Billups holds the U.S. mark of 3:59.5.

Stewart's secret. "I've been doing some hiking in Peru." he said. "Then for the past 22 weeks, I put in about 115 miles per week, working out mostly with the University of Michigan people."

Ken Stone on Masterstrack.com had a short interview with Stewart when his 4:11 was broken twenty years later and a short discussion on what is a legal track. Here it is:

The masters mile record that never was

On March 3, 1938, Glenn Cunningham of Kansas ran a mile indoors at Dartmouth. His time of 4:04.4 would have lowered the day’s outdoor world record by two seconds. The 4:04 was an indoor best, of course. But not one for the record books. It came on a dreaded “oversized track” – illegal for record purposes. Last Saturday, Tony Young of Washington state ran a mile indoors in Seattle. His time of 4:08.6 crushed the previous American masters indoor record by more than two seconds. His performance will be consigned to the asterisk trash heap as well. It was on an oversized track – 307 meters to the lap.

Separate lists for oversized-track marks have been maintained for decades. But maybe it’s time to chuck this statistical inequity. Just for yucks, I perused the “oversized” mile marks listed in Ed Gordon’s annual TAFWA All-Time World Indoor List booklet (blue pages for men, pink for women.) In the 2003 edition, the five fastest mile performers on an oversized track are Sydney Maree (3:53.79), Steve Scott (3:54.20), Don Paige (3:54.22), Ray Flynn (3:54.77) and John Walker (3:55.3). But check out their best miles indoors on standard (200m or less) tracks: Maree 3:52.40, Scott 3:51.8, Paige 3:58.3, Flynn 3:51.20 and Walker 3:52.8.
Notice anything? Yeah, me too. Except for Paige, these studs ran faster on standard tracks with tight turns, usually banked. The average improvement going from oversized to standard size of the four cited: 2.5 seconds. Could it be that oversized tracks put milers at a disadvantage?
OK, I’ll grant that this is a bogus comparison. Not enough data points. It also doesn’t take into account the more competitive fields these guys faced on the shorter tracks. But hey – maybe in the case of the mile, those banked whipsaw turns are an unfair advantage. Not so much for quarter-milers and 600-meter racers, but likely for milers and longer.
But who cares what stat freaks think? Ask any masters miler who’s the best ever indoors, and the honest answer is Tony Young.
In fact, I asked the guy who lost the record.
Twenty years ago yesterday, masters miler Bill Stewart entered an open race indoors at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and took third behind Earl Jones. Bill clocked 4:11 – now the listed American masters record. I e-mailed Bill a couple days after Young’s race, and he replied immediately:
“I had not heard. If you are in contact with Tony, send my congratulations. I am happy someone finally ran faster. Re the track size — it should not matter, but it probably will attract some attention and create some discussion. I think the IAAF does not recognize times run on oversized tracks. But hey — 4:08 is 4:08!!”
Back when he was 40, Stewart noted, he thought he would run a faster mile outdoors, but “I got caught up running on the roads. Set American records at 15K and 25K but managed to run 3:52 -53 several times for the 1500.”
His sub-4:10 mile never came. These marks aren’t chopped liver. More like rare caviar.
Stewart continued: “Right now (at age 60), if I could run 5 minutes for the mile I would be pretty happy. Staying fit is easier than staying fast.”
And what say the new (non)record claimant?
Young wrote me: “Yes, it is a bummer about the track dimensions. But whatever the rules are, then so be it. The UW track felt amazingly quick as I was doing some strides. Or maybe it was because it was the first time I have worn spikes for a while?”
He thinks he’ll go faster outdoors, of course – shooting for a sub-4:05 (as he told me in my masterstrack.com interview). He says he plans to run an 800/1000 on February 1 (again on the illegal UW track) and probably a 3000-meter tune-up on Feb. 15 for a masters 3000 exhibition at the USATF indoor open nationals in Boston.
“(Then) maybe another mile if there is one — if not, then come late April somewhere (outdoor on an oversized, downhill track!),” he writes from Redmond, Washington.
History has a way of playing tricks on athletes’ plans, though. It would be beyond sad if Tony were unable to lower his outdoor masters best of 4:09.61 from last June. It would be sadder still if record-keeping authorities continued to ignore true bests.
On March 12, 1938, Cunnigham set a “legal” world indoor mile record of 4:07.4 (lowering his previous world record by a second). But nobody would touch the “illegal” record of 4:04 for another 16 years. (And it was another Kansan, Wes Santee, who ducked under 4:04 indoors, going 4:03.8.)
How many years will it be before another American masters runner beats 4:08.6 on a “legal” track?

Ned Price tells me that Bill, now 80, is currently recovering from a hip replacement.

In looking for material on this piece I found the following "Sports Illustrated" article by the late Kenny Moore covering a Masters Mile race in Eugene, OR involving a number of the great runners of the 1960's after they had turned 40. The pack included Jim Ryun, Gerry Lindgren, Kenny Moore, Tracy Smith, and also Bill Stewart the subject of this piece. Here is the link. I was fascinated by this article and am sure you will be as well. Kenny Moore was an incredible storyteller. George Brose

Nostalgia By The Mile by Kenny Moore "Sports Illustrated" June 22, 1987

I think those faster times on smaller banked tracks reflected the field of runners together with the noise of the crowd. This small size sample of 5 does not mean anything. If you look at the other marks on larger tracks, it is easy to go with the larger tracks. Many do not equal their indoor times in outdoor races due to the weather and by that time the injuries. Bill Schnier

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

V 13 N. 10 Bob Hersh R.I.P.

Bob Hersh

Bob Hersh, longtime persona of the US track and field world, passed away this morning, January 18, 2022 at the age of 84. He was involved in the sport in so many ways from being a founder/organizer of the USA Mobil Indoor Grand Prix events in the 1980s, a Board of Directors member of USATF, as well as General Counsel, Rules Chair, and Records Chair and English language Track announcer at so many events including the 1984, 1988, 2004, and 2008 Olympics, the World Championships and Penn Relays.

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

V 13 N. 9 The Florida Track Club 50th Reunion

This is what we have so far on the 50th anniversary Florida Track Club Reunion in Gainesville, last weekend.

Thanks to Bruce Kritzler for sending this to us. Hope these links work for you. George

Frank Shorter, Dave Reinhart, Marty Liquori, Jack Bacheler, Dick Endriss, Jerry Slaven (youngstown), Ken Misner

Where have all the young men gone?
We're glad you're still here, gentlemen. OUTV

Frank Shorter interview on Gainesville TV https://www.wcjb.com/2023/01/13/exclusive-steve-russell-interviews-olympian-frank-shorter/

Brief TV announcement of the 50th FTC reunion: https://www.wcjb.com/2023/01/13/three-olympians-celebrate-florida-track-club-50th-anniversary/

V 13 N. 8 An American Sprinter Who Boycotted Hitler - Herman Neugass

Ned Price sent us the link to this article on Herman Neugass appearing in the March 9, 2022 Tulane Hulabaloo by Mark Keplinger and Hannah Levitan.

As you may recall there was much hemming and hawing prior to the 1936 Olympics as to whether the US should boycott the Games in light of the antisemitic proclamations and laws being used to deny human rights to the Jews, Roma, Developmentally Challenged, and Gays of Germany. In fact the 175 Law outlawing homosexuality remained on the books until 1994 long after the Nazis were gone. The Nazis tried to clean up their act temporarily to keep the Games from being boycotted. There was a serious movement to do so in the US. Avery Brundage the chairman of the US Olympic committee was instrumental in deciding that the Americans would participate. One of the things that swayed Brundage was the Asian art collection that he was gifted by the Nazis. Of course the art had been confiscated from Jewish owners. And after the Games were over, Brundage's construction company was awarded the contract to build the new German embassy in Washington, DC. Influence peddling aside, the American team participated and in so doing came under pressure not to use two Jewish sprinters Marty Glickman and Sammy Stoller on the heavily favored men's 4x100 relay. Instead the Americans subbed in Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe their top two guys who would normally have been spectators as was the protocol in those days.

Before this came to pass however one Jewish runner decided to boycott the Games on his own. That was Herman Neugass, a sprinter from Tulane University who had a definite shot at making the US team. I did a limited bit of research on the subject and found the clippings posted below of the previous year's NCAA 100 yard dash in which Neugass finished either 4th, but the picture of the finish of the race shows Neugass a stride off Jesse Owens' shoulder, and in the 220 he's given third although the photo at that angle he looks fourth. Interesting to how US journalists were quick to let you know when an individual was a Negro. Note the headline. George Brose

From the Tulane Hulabaloo March 9, 2022

Tulane sprinter protested Nazis by boycotting 1936 Berlin Olympics

Mark Keplinger and Hannah Levitan
March 9, 2022

Almost 90 years ago, former Tulane University student, track star and Jewish American Herman Neugass declined his invitation to the U.S. Olympic trials for the 1936 Berlin Summer games out of loyalty to his faith and values.

Born in Magnolia, Mississippi in 1915, Neugass moved to New Orleans as a child where he attended the Isidore Newman School and later, Tulane. He began his college career in tennis, but quickly shifted his attention to track, where his athletic ability began to shine.

Primarily a short distance sprinter, Neugass excelled in both the 100-yard and 220-yard dashes. His blazing speeds earned him the nicknames “Human Bullet” and “Green Wave Express.” Neugass’ reputation came at no surprise considering he tied the world record for the 100-yard dash at 9.4 seconds.

Off the track, Neugass loved Tulane and was as smart in the classroom as he was fast on the track. “He had very high regard for the university. And he did very well. He was [a member of] Phi Beta Kappa [and] won a math medal [within the] math department,” his son Richard Neugass said.

When asking if his father experienced antisemitism at Tulane, Richard remarked, “I never heard of any antisemitic actions or attitudes at the college. There may have been, but he never shared that with me. He was very proud of Tulane, always.”

Herman Neugass also formed a special bond with his track coach, Fritz Oakes. Neugass lost his father when he was 13, but Oakes, who had no children of his own, became an important father figure in his life.

Closely following the successes of the young sprinter, the American Olympic Committee invited Neugass to participate in the 1935 Olympic trials held in Flushing Meadows, New York in anticipation of one of the most controversial Summer Olympic Games ever in Berlin, Germany.

Chosen as the host city in 1931, the 1936 Summer Olympic Games were originally supposed to show the progress of the democratic Weimar Germany in returning to the global stage. Two years after being selected as the host city, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany and the Nazi Party was selected to lead a coalition government. By 1935, Hitler held a totalitarian grip on Germany and began instituting oppressive laws that primarily targeted Jews.

Intending to use the games for propaganda purposes, Hitler hoped to brandish his reimagined Germany, stronger and more unified than ever. Hitler carefully constructed the nation’s image to downplay the numerous antisemetic and racist laws present in Germany.

As a Jewish athlete, Neugass expressed his strong disapproval of U.S. participation in the antisemetic atmosphere.

One athlete spoke on Neugass’ behalf, claiming Neugass would be in attendance at the trials. Neugass promptly broadcasted his disapproval through a letter written to The Times-Picayune.

“I would not participate in games in any country in which the fundamental principle of religious liberty is violated as flagrantly and as inhumanely as it has been in Germany,” Neugass said. “As an American citizen who believes sincerely in the cardinal tenet of freedom of religious worship embedded in the Constitution of the United States, I feel it to be my duty to express my unequivocal opinion that this country should not participate in the Olympic contests if they are held in Germany.”

Neugass gave up his Olympic dreams despite having a realistic chance at glory in both the 100 and 200-meter dash. In addition to his world record speed for the 100-yard dash, he also went on to win the 220-yard dash at the 1935 Southeastern Conference championships with a timing of 21.7 seconds. Though his time was a second slower than the gold medal time, Neugass would have still qualified for sixth place. But, the 220 yards converts to just over 201 meters, so Neugass may have done even better.

Despite Neugass’ absence, the events that took place at the Olympic games are integral to Neugass’ story. Despite calls from the NAACP to boycott the games, Black sprinters Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalfe and Mack Robinson — brother of future Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson — still attended.

Owens won gold in four events, including the 100 and 200-meter dashes, with Metcalfe capturing silver in the 100-meter and Robinson silver in the 200-meter.

Neugass raced Owens twice in his collegiate career, losing both times. But according to Richard Neugass, his father adored Owens and met him after the NCAA championships. “They didn’t have a close relationship, but he appreciated the man that Jesse Owens became when he got back [from the Olympics],” Richard Neugass said.

One curious incident was the 4×100-meter relay. The U.S. took seven sprinters, and traditionally, the top three runners would compete in the individual event, while the bottom four would compete in the relay. Among the four relay runners were two Jews who trained for the event until they were replaced on the morning of the race by Owens and Metcalfe. The Americans won the gold comfortably.

“There was a special exhibit at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in 1996, [where] several Jewish athletes were invited. I went in my father’s stead because he had passed, and I met Marty Glickman … ” Richard Neugass said while speaking on this race. “He told me, your dad was right. He took the right stand.”

Long-time advocate for Neugass’ recognition Marc Bowman recalled the parallel between the 1980 Olympic Game boycott and Neugass’ boycott over 40 years prior. President Jimmy Carter invited Neugass to stand with him at the White House Rose Garden in support of the boycott of the Moscow 1980 games following the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

“Jimmy Carter makes a statement and standing next to him is Herman Neugass, exhibiting a different variation of the same principle,” Bowman said. “If you can’t be free [and] you want to invade a country … you have no right to be a host of anything that invites the world community.”

Bowman has been sharing Neugass’ story for nearly 20 years and said he hopes to see Tulane’s acknowledgement of the New Orleans legend.

“What I’d like to see is something that represents Herman so that students could see it all day long and understand that principle is not just a word. Principle is how you act and behave,” Bowman said.

Despite being inducted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame alongside coach Oakes in 1979, many Tulane students are unfamiliar with Neugass’ legacy. Tulane did have a plaque for Neugass, but it is no longer there. According to Richard Neugass, Katrina destroyed the Hall of Fame, and it has yet to be rebuilt or reconstituted.

Currently, the only piece of recognition Neugass has on Tulane’s campus is that his name is listed among Tulane’s All-Americans on a board in one of the offices of the Wilson Center. Despite a storied history, Tulane track and field as a whole only has a few pieces of memorabilia in the building, paling in comparison to what the football, swim and tennis teams have.

Iker Yturralde, sophomore and member of both the track and field and cross country teams, said he did not know about Neugass’ mark on Tulane until recently.

“Learning more about who Herman Neugass was and what he stood for is an inspiration,” Yturralde said. “His story has helped me claim the responsibility of influence I have as a student athlete at Tulane. I am proud to be part of the same team that he was once on.”

Re: Herman Neugass

Thank you, George. And many thanks to my long-time good friend, Ned Price.

An amazing story. Unfortunately, an example not often copied.

Gary Andrus

Saturday, January 14, 2023

V 13 N. 7 Wilt Chamberlain on the Track

Going through and cleaning out some old files recently I found a video clip of Wilt Chamberlain competing in the hop-step-jump (nomenclature of the 1950's) and the high jump at the Kansas and Drake Relays (just the HJ) in 1958. I recalled seeing pictures of Wilt many years ago in track shorts and spikes running and jumping but could not remember all the details. And Wilt had also supported the sport and frequently appeared at track meets during and after his NBA career. From the first day he came to the University of Kansas to play under the guidance of the legendary Forrest "Fog" Allen and then head coach Dick Harp, the main question was , "How long until he would jump to the NBA?" That was something no one did in those days before graduating or flunking out of college. You had to wait until your class graduated before the NBA would take you. Wilt jumped but not straight to the NBA. Instead he went to the Harlam Globetrotters.

Wilt Chamberlain Video

I showed this video to some friends who wanted to know more about Wilt's track career, like how high, how far? Typical track nut questions. The answers were 45 feet 9 inches in the hop step jump and 6' 6 3/4" in the high jump. We had to scour a few old newspaper vaults to find those results. It's clear from the clippings, Wilt was a major part of pre-meet publicity and post meet as well. He finished fourth in the HSJ and second in the HJ at Kansas and won the HJ at Drake with his PR in that event. In one clipping the Kansas coach Bill Easton predicted a 7 foot jump by the 7' 3" Wilt, but it didn't come to pass, because by the end of the season he was on his way to the Globetrotters.

Initially he had planned a tour of South America with two teams one white one black competing with each other. That idea must have fallen through the planks because he would end up playing with the Harlem Globetrotters until his university class graduated.

From Google. TBT - Wilt Chamberlain played a full season with the Globetrotters in 1958-59. Even after starting his NBA career, he still played parts of several other seasons with the Globetrotters, joining the team when he could between NBA seasons.

This was the day the music died in Lawrence (May 24, 1958) when Wilt drove off campus in a new red convertible heading to Philadelphia where he planned to go pro by organizing the South American tour mentioned above.

Wilt's verifiable college marks are:

1956 (Freshman)

High Jump - 6'4 7/8" (1st in Big Seven Freshmen meet)

Shot Put - 47'5.25" (3rd in Big Seven Freshmen meet)

Triple Jump - 46'2" (4th in Kansas Relays)

In those days the Freshman meet was a postal competition where marks were sent in by the coaches from the various schools and places determined by a statistician. There was known to be a bit of truth exaggeration in that meet.

1957 (Sophomore)

High Jump - 6'5" (1st in Big Seven Outdoor Conference)

Triple Jump - 45'9" (3rd in Kansas Relays)

1958 (Junior)

High Jump - 6' 6.75" (tied-1st in Big Seven Indoor Conference)

Here are some more clippings from those days with comments below in case they are too difficult to read as posted here.

Here there are three mentions of Wilt. First he was DJing a music show (uncompensated) from campus. He played basketball against Oklahoma on Friday night and got permission, whose I don't know, to jump in the Big 7 Conference indoor meet the next night in Kansas City. He tied for first place in that meet, and it is noted that he was second in 1957 at the Kansas Relays.

There are myths about Wilt running a 49 second 440, a 1:58 880, and throwing the high school shot put 57 feet at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia, but there is no data to back that up.

Coach Easton predicts Wilt will go 7' but he was out of school by the end of that season

Ron Kramer would go on to fame with the Green Bay Packers

Wilt showing his flexibility in the Des Moines Register at the Drake Relays

For a good account of Wilt's involvement in women's track and field see this article by Linda Huey who was one of the early members of Wilt's Wonder Women Track Club.

Wilt's Wonder Women

Not sure if this is Penn, not much crowd so probably not

Probably Big 7 Indoor Meet 1958

Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, MO

Overbrook HS Philadelphia (1953-55)

High School Shot Put

Penn Relays

Kansas Relays TJ 1958

Wilt Became a Volleyball Legend after His Basketball Career

George…

Wilt had a second career…in volleyball. He loved to play on the beach and indoors. Eventually became head of International Volleyball. I met him on a beach in Manhattan Beach in early ‘70’s and played co-ed doubles against him many times. He became a friend when I mentioned I had run in Relay Circuit at Texas, Kansas and Drake. We traded some stories…he had some beauties…usually involving women. He knew all about Wanamaker Millrose Mile and was impressed when I mentioned I had won it in 1968. He was a very good athlete…not just a big man. He was usually at the beach with several bikini clad girls and would always leave with one (or more). Once told me that the beach was easier than a bar as far as picking up women. As you might know he was a legend as far as how many women he had “known.” He made a claim in his book he had slept with 20,000 women! Very nice, soft spoken guy.

Preston Davis

see link below from INSIDE HOOK July 23, 2020 by James Simpson II :

Wilt Chamberlain and Volleyball

Once Upon a Time in the Vest