V 13 N. 90 New Book Out by Dr. John Telford: "Athletes,Activism, & Apple boughs"

 

If you are in my generation (early Baby Boomers) you may remember John Telford of Wayne State 

University as one of the top quarter milers in the US.   All his life Dr. Telford has been an activist in his Detroit community including serving a term as superintendent of public schools.  

As a high schooler I vaguely recall seeing John run the quarter in Dayton at an AAU meet.  That was a day when the 440 in Ohio was primarily run around one turn and runners broke for the pole and duked it out on the back stretch and on into the second turn, then saw who had anything left on the main stretch.  

This is the description of John when he was inducted into the Wayne State Hall of Fame in 1978:

A 1957 graduate of Wayne State University, John Telford is the youngest athlete ever to be inducted into the Wayne State Athletic Hall of Fame at the age of 42. Telford was a four-year letterman in track from 1954-1957. His greatest achievement was being ranked fourth in the World during the 1957 season. He excelled in all distances, from 60-880 dashes or running events. Telford still holds the Wayne State 440 yard record of 46.8 seconds and the record has stood for the past 20 seasons.

Not only a success on the athletic field, Telford has also excelled as a writer and an education administrator. In 1965 Telford authored, The Longest Dash, A Running Commentary on the Quarter Mile. In 1971, the book went into its second edition.

John Telford also served as an Executive Director of Secondary Education for the Plymouth-Canton Public School System.

Below is the Amazon hype on Dr. Telford's book:

My good friend and fellow poet John Telford has been a world-ranked sprinter, a championship track coach, a teacher, a college professor, and a Detroit Public Schools superintendent. He remains a lifelong civil-rights activist.

- Blane Smith, All-American Purdue and NFL linebacker

Telford is Detroit's Robert Frost! - Joseph Preville, PH.D., Harvard University

John's Detroit-oriented poetry is shameless kiss-and-tell - and it's brilliant! - Dr. Stuart Kirschenbaum, Michigan Boxing Commissioner Emeritus

This All-American athlete and physical marvel tells poetic tales of love and ecstasy with a blunt, unruly truth that transcends the tyrannical rules of decorum. - Sunanda Samaddar Corrado, Ph.D., Columbia University

Dr. Telford's autobiographical verse is evocatively erotic, and he's also a poetic genius. - Mildred Williams, Coordinator, the Detroit Poets and Authors Society

Coach Telford is a legend. - Spencer Haywood, NBA All-Star forward

Herein are fascinating pages of Detroit's athletic and civil-rights history, also recounting this busy Bard's AMATORY history, as well. - Greg Dunmore, Pulsebeat TV Arts, Entertainment, and Culture journalist, Detroit

John Telford has fully tasted the forbidden fruit. - Willie Wooten, vice president (retired), Detroit Public Schools Organization of Administrators and Supervisors

I'm going to read this poetic masterpiece over and over again! Come and join me! - Greg Thrasher, radio and TV commentator, Washington 

Salacious material apparently. Caution to us geriatric readers is well justified. Ned Price