Walter 'Al' Birtles
1937-2024
University of Hawaii
Walter 'Al' Birtles passed away September 14, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia at age 87. When this was brought to my attention recently, Al's name did not ring a bell until more information was provided. He was a miler at the University of Hawaii in the early 1960's and ran a 4:06 mile, a time of considerable importance in those days.
Writing this blog for fifteen years I've learned that sources for stories can be very, very unpredictable and they sometimes lead to other stories totally unrelated to the first story. Patience can be a virtue. "If you wait a bit, the story will come through the front door. And sometimes it will go out the back door before you notice". I noticed this one.
A week or so ago an email came from Mike Tymn in Hawaii about the recent passing of a U. of Hawaii runner named Al Birtles. Al was a Canadian and had come to Hawaii on a basketball scholarship and had been on two Canadian Olympic teams (1960 and 1964) in that sport.
Al Birtles on left with track mates at U of Hawaii
Al #12 on Canadian Olympic Team Year?? 1960 or 1964
But while in Honolulu, he took up the noble sport of track and field an became and outstanding miler at 6' 6" and over 180 pounds managed to run a 4:06 mile in his career. He was affectionately called "Turkey" for his unusual running style. Al passed away recently in Vancouver, British Columbia where for most of his life he had worked as a longshoreman. The name did not ring any bells initially, but then Mike mentioned that Al had finished second to
Al at Work as a Longshoreman in Vancouver, His Profession for 30 Years
Tom O'Hara in the 1963 NCAA Small College Division mile held at the University of Chicago. 'Small College Division' was what is now known as D III. That mention of finishing second to O' Hara at the U. of Chicago, started the rusty hamster wheels to begin turning in the recesses of my brain . The reason they turned is that I had witnessed that race between Birtles and O' Hara, and I distinctly remembered the stature of the Hawaiian who dogged the great Tom O'Hara up until the late stages of that race. O' Hara ran 4:02 that day and Birtles ran 4:06. I also recalled Al wore a dark green singlet and shorts. Don't ask me why, I have no answer. I would soon learn the error in my thinking about that uniform. I had never seen anyone that tall run that well , and I bet most of our readers haven't either.
A week later Birtles went to Albuquerque, NM to compete in the NCAA University Division (D I) championships and finished 7th. No time given. O' Hara won that race as well, but in a highly unusual case was DQ'd for a lane violation.
The 1963 NCAA University Mile Results
Among the many contacts I've made through this blog the last fifteen years, I thought of a gentleman in the Boston area, Ned Price might have some more info on that Chicago race. Ned is an ardent photographer, resided at the University of Chicago in 1963, and has an incredible memory and loves sharing stories. So I contacted Ned to see what he might have in the archives. Here is what Ned provided.
That Mile Race in Chicago June, 1963 NCAA Small College Div. (DIII)
O'Hara leading, ( 2nd Unk) and Al Birtles
I'm guessing backstretch, second lap. GB
O'Hara and Birtles again I'm guessing 2nd turn, third lap GB
ed. note. Tom O'Hara was frequently referred to as a 'skinny little runner'. Anyone looking at this picture can clearly see that he may have been short, but he was definitely well constructed.
O'Hara Approaching The Finish Line Although the Line in Picture
Is Not Attached.
I was sitting in those stands when this picture was taken, but don't ask me if I'm in the picture. GB
Did you notice the error in my memory? I mention above that I thought Birtles was wearing a dark green uniform. Not so. Call our next witness.
I actually have no other witnesses, but I do have other sources regarding the University or Division I race the next week in Albuquerque where both runners again competed. Rich Ceronie a member of the coaching staff at U. of New Mexico has just finished a three volume history of U. of New Mexico track and field and cross country. (see note at end of this article) Where else to find the answer to O'Hara's disqualification after winning the NCAA big school mile? Here is what I received from Rich.
George
"I am attaching four documents. I found newspaper/documents in my files that spoke about the DQ and your memory was good. But there were too many lines on the track and that caused the problems. Even before the meet began there had been a protest about the 20 college division athletes who were entered. They tried to get them all thrown out. Birtles finished fifth in the heat of the mile and I can't find any result that showed him finishing 7th in the final. The meet program didn't list the qualification system being used so it would have been strange for someone who finished fifth in the trial to advance. Not that he didn't but for some reason the results just don't have him listed in the final."
Rich
Hmm? Was he or wasn't he in the race?
Here are the clippings from Rich.
Entries in the Mile NCAA University Div. 1963
Note that Birtles is only credited with a 4:10.5 mile, not his 4:06 the week prior.
Friday June 14, 1963 Results NCAA
Saturday June 15, 1963 Results
TF&N ? Results
More thoughts on Al Birtles came in to me from Mike Southwood in Virginia, a former teammate at U. of Hawaii. Here are his notes on Al Birtles from 1961-1964.
These are the Notes (1961-64) about the Track and Field Career of Allan Birtles (1937-2024) based primarily on my Hawaii T&F/Running clippings file that runs from the 1909/1910 period to the late 1970s. As I recall, the Territory of Hawaii was granted membership in the Amateur Athletic Union (1888) of the United States around November 1910 and the first Hawaiian AAU meet was held a few months later in 1911. Based on my research, the first University of Hawaii (UH) Rainbow Relays were held in 1925- Otto Klum (best known as the UH football coach) and some of the Honolulu sportswriters envisioned the Rainbow Relays as the Penn Relays of the Pacific. If I'm not mistaken, the first Relay meet in the Territory was Punahou School's Cornell Relays (before WWI).
----Introduction/1961----
In an article about "Super Stars of the 60's" sportswriter Monte Ito told his readers that Al Birtles, a Canadian athlete from Vancouver, was "Hawaii's outstanding track and field performer for the 1960s" (Honolulu Advertiser, February 18, 1970, p. E5). At the University of Hawaii (UH), Birtles played basketball and ran track for coach Moses Ome, who ranked Birtles as "one of the most outstanding track athletes we've had at the University." Ito noted that Birtles' two Hawaiian Amateur Athletic Union (HAAU) records, 1:51.8 for the half-mile (1963) and 4:09.7 for the mile (1964) remained unbroken through early 1970. In 1962, Birtles tried out for the British Empire Games and clocked an impressive 4:03.9 in the Canadian trials. The following year, Birtles represented UH in the NCAA Small College meet at the University of Chicago, finishing second (4:06) in the mile to Tom O'Hara (4:02). Both runners bettered the Stagg Stadium mile record set by Glenn Cunningham. In 1964, Birtles did not make the Canadian Olympic team in track, but he earned a spot on the basketball roster.
In the Hawaiian AAU Olympic Benefit Meet on April 15, 1961, at Alexander Field, Punahou School, the Sunday Advertiser (April 16, 1961, C1) reported that Al Birtles (AB) ran for UH in two events. In the mile, Ernie Cunliffe of Stanford broke the tape in 4:09.8, followed by AB in second (4:36.8). In the 880, Cunliffe finished first (1:51.8), followed by UH's Sai Lit Ching (1:59.4) and AB, third (no time reported).
Birtles ran on two teams in the 1961 UH Rainbow Relays at Alexander Field on May 20th (Honolulu Advertiser, May 21, 1961, pp. C1, C4; and Sunday Star-Bulletin, May 21, 1961, Sports, p. 4). In the 2-Mile Relay, the UH quartet (Artemio Paz, Sai Lit Ching, Robert Funes, AB) came in first (8:04.8). Birtles also anchored UH's victorious 4-Mile Relay team (19:05.2), comprised of John Lee, Ricky Dodge, Rodney Anzai, and AB. For his role in anchoring two first-place relays, the 24-year-old Birtles, who was also on the UH basketball team, was selected as the meet's Outstanding Athlete.
For the HAAU T&F Championships of 1961 (May 27) at Alexander Field, Monte Ito's article was titled, "Birtles Shatters Isle Mile Record" (Sunday Advertiser, May 28, 1961, C2; Sunday Star-Bulletin, May 28, 1961, Sports, p. 2). AB captured the mile in 4:24.8, setting a new HAAU record, breaking the old one (4:26.5) set in 1957. AB also prevailed in the half-mile (1:58.2). The Results also show that AB finished fourth in the Discus (distance not listed). Lyle Nelson of the Star-Bulletin added that AB threw the Javelin (did not score) and "ran a fine, but frustrating, anchor for the [second place] UH Mile Relay team. The Advertiser coverage of the meet included a photo, "Birtles scores close 880 victory."
----1962----
Two special races (half-mile and 2-mile), featuring New Zealand Olympic Games Medalists were held at Alexander Field in mid-May 1962 during the Hawaii State high school track and field championships (Lyle Nelson, "Snell Runs 1:47.8 in Half-Mile," Honolulu Star-Bulletin, May 13, 1962, Sports, pp 1,3). In the exhibition 880-yd event, Peter Snell, defending 800m Olympic champion, sped to a Hawaiian AAU Guest record time (1:47.8) and was followed by UH's Sai Lit Ching (1:56.1). Birtles edged former UH runner Harold "Ky" Cole of the Spikesters for third. Looking back on his Guest record effort, Snell remembered he was "anxious for a good time [and] hurtled in a good first lap of 52 seconds and hung on to finish in 1:47.8, 8.2 seconds ahead of the next runner [Sai Lit Ching] and breaking [the] Hawaiian [Guest] record of 1:50" (Peter Snell and Garth Gilmour, "No Bugles, No Drums" (Auckland: Minerva, 1965), p. 115). Birtles also ran in the special two-mile, finishing second (9:49) to Barry Magee (9:10.5), who also set an HAAU Guest record, bettering the old one (9:39.4) set by Lowell Zeller of Indiana University in 1956. Magee earned Bronze in the 1960 (Rome) Olympic Marathon (David Maraniss, "Rome 1960: The Olympics that Changed the World" (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2008), pp. 378-79). In the Hawaii state high school meet, future UH middle distance runner (later transferred to Oregon University to run under Bill Bowerman) Brian Clarke set a new record in the mile (4:28.3) (Brian Clarke, "Running by Feeling: A Year on the Comeback Trail" (Honolulu: Competitive Running Press, 1999), pp. 26-30, 79, 92-96, 108-9, 149-50, 185-88, 190-92, 261-62, 285-86).
In 1962, the UH Rainbow Relays were held at Alexander Field on May 19. Monte Ito covered the Relays for the Sunday Advertiser (May 20, 1962, C3; Sunday Star-Bulletin, May 20, 1962, Sports, p. 1). Birtles anchored the UH 2-Mile relay squad to a first place finish (8:03.6). Other runners were Leroy Wong, Karl Van Etten, and Sai Lit Ching. The UH foursome (Gary Ho, Sai Lit Ching, Jack Wilkerson, AB) set a new record (4:36.7) in the Medley Relay (220, 660, 440,880). The old record of 4:40 set in 1958 was held by the 25th Infantry Division. The Star-Bulletin included a photo, "Sai Lit Ching hands off to Al Birtles in anchor lap as University two-mile relay beat Spikesters in thriller." In its comment about the second place UH mile relay team, the Star-Bulletin writer observed "Ching and Birtles were shot by the time the last [running] event came around." The meet's Outstanding Civilian Performer award went to UH's Sai Lit Ching.
The 1962 HAAU T&F Championships were conducted at Alexander Field in late May (Sunday Advertiser, May 27, 1961, p. C1). New Zealand's Murray Halberg [Olympic Gold Medalist 5,000m, Rome 1960] and John Davies [Olympic Bronze Medalist, 1500m, Tokyo 1964] competed as Guests. In the mile, Birtles ran an impressive second (4:13) to Davies (4:11.6). Since Davies was a guest athlete, Birtles was awarded the HAAU gold medal and his time established a new Hawaiian record, bettering his own 4:23.7 earlier in the year on April 14. In the 2-mile, Olympian Murray Halberg ran a 9:03 to take first and Birtles took second (9:49). The Advertiser observed that "Halberg lapped the field except for [Harold] Cole [holder of the HAAU record] and Birtles," who edged Cole for the HAAU gold medal. In the Sunday Star-Bulletin (May 27, 1962) writer Lyle Nelson headlined his story: "Al Birtles Runs 4:13 Mile." The meet's mile and two-mile races are discussed (p. 152) in "A Clean Pair of Heels: The Murray Halberg Story" as told to Garth Gilmour (Wellington and Auckland: A H and A W Reed, 1963: "John [Davies] won a mile race in 4:11 from the giant six-foot-six Al Birtles, a one-time Canadian basketball star; and I lowered Barry Magee's brand-new Hawaiian record to 9:03" (p. 152).
----Notes (1963)----
On Monday, May 13, 1963, the Hawaiian AAU held a special meet at "drizzly" Alexander Field, an event that featured New Zealand's Peter Snell, who captured the 800m Gold Medal at the Rome Olympics in 1960 (Bill Kwon, "Snell Runs Half Mile Exhibition in 1:49.5," Honolulu Star-Bulletin, May 14, 1963, p.29). In the 880, Snell was followed by UH's Al Birtles who finished in 1:51.8, a new Hawaiian AAU record, breaking the old mark (1:52.7) set in 1957.
Although the Armed Forces captured the UH Rainbow Relays team title in 1963, Al Birtles anchored three UH squads to first-place finishes (Sunday Star-Bulletin and Advertiser, May 19, 1963, C-3). In the 2-Mile relay, the UH team broke eight minutes (7:59.8) for the event with runners Dave Jackson, Gary Smith, Brian Clarke, AB). In the Medley Relay (220, 660, 440, 880), the UH team (George Butterfield, Karl Van Etten, Jim Sanders, AB) stopped the clock with 4:37.4. In the 4-Mile relay, the UH team of George Simao, Clarke, Jackson, and AB set a new meet record (18:17.8), retiring the old mark (18:49.4) set by the Marines in 1957. For his key role in leading UH to three relay victories, Birtles received the meet's Outstanding Civilian Performer Trophy.
After UH's fine showing at its Rainbow Relays, "Birtles, A Courageous Runner" was the lead story for Monte Ito's "Sports Notebook" column (Honolulu Advertiser, Monday May 20, 1963, B7). Ito called AB "Courageous" for his anchoring three first-place UH teams at the Rainbow Relays and for finishing second to New Zealand's Peter Snell in the 880-yard race the previous Monday. Ito informed his readers that AB's "best 880 came last Monday (1:51.8) when he chased Peter Snell of New Zealand across the finish line in a special AAU meet."
The 1963 Hawaiian AAU T&F Championships were held at Alexander Field on May 25th (Sunday Star-Bulletin and Advertiser, May 26, 1963, C3). Birtles raced to a first-place mile finish in 4:20.3. In the meet's final event, the mile relay, Birtles anchored the UH team to a 3:23.4 triumph. Other members of the team were George Butterfield, Francis Souza, and Al Nash.
In early June 1963, Birtles represented UH at the NCAA Small College meet at the University of Chicago (Chicago Tribune, June 8, 1963, Section 2, p. 2 and June 9, Section 2, p. 1; Sunday Star-Bulletin and Advertiser, June 9, 1963, C1). In the Trials, Tom O'Hara of Loyola notched the top time (4:12.3) and AB was among the qualifiers for the mile final. In the championship race, O'Hara placed first (4:02.5) and Birtles came in second (4:06). Both runners clocked times faster than the Stagg Stadium record set by Glenn Cunningham. In its coverage of the Small College event, the Honolulu press noted that AB planned to run in the NCAA T&F Championships to be held later in the month.
In mid-June, Birtles traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to compete for an NCAA mile title (Los Angeles Times, June 15, 1963, Part II, pp. 1,2; and Sunday Star-Bulletin and Advertiser, June 16, 1963, C4). For the mile final, two heats were held, with the top six from each heat qualifying for the championship race. Birtles qualified for the final, finishing fifth (4:14.2) in his heat. In the final, Birtles did not place among the scorers. The Sunday Star-Bulletin and Advertiser (June 16) carried a post-race photo of Birtles at the University of New Mexico Student Union.
-----1964----
In late March 1964, the Hawaii Marines staged their Invitational Track and Field Meet at Alexander Field. The meet's featured guest was C K Yang [Silver Medalist in the Decathlon, Rome Olympics] (Sunday Star-Bulletin, March 29, 1964, p. C1). The Star-Bulletin writer commented that running times and field marks were impacted by "a prevailing crosswind which reached a speed of 25 miles an hour during most of the afternoon" and the previous week's "heavy rains." For his victories in the mile (4:25.4), half-mile (1:59.6), and anchoring UH's first place (3:27.7) mile relay squad (Richard Sawyer, George Butterfield, Al Nash), Al Birtles was recognized as the meet's Outstanding Performer.
The Hawaiian AAU All-Comers meet was held on May 9, 1964 at Alexander Field (Sunday Star-Bulletin and Advertiser, May 10, 1964, C2). Al Birtles won the mile (4:17.2). With Birtles running the anchor leg, UH won the Sprint Medley Relay (440, 220, 220, 880) in 3:35.7. Other members of the team were Dick Sawyer, Al Nash, and George Butterfield.
Although the Hawaii Marines won the 1964 Rainbow Relays team crown, Al Birtles and the UH Medley Relay (220, 660, 440, 880) team sparkled with a record-setting effort (Sunday Star-Bulletin and Advertiser, May 17, 1964, C2; Monte Ito, "Now Hear This!" column, Sunday Star-Bulletin and Advertiser, May 24, 1964). In the Medley Relay, UH's William Affonso, Francis Souza, Robert Frye, and Birtles ran to a new record (4:34.8), bettering the time (4:36.7) put up by UH two years earlier. This article includes a photo showing the UH Medley relay team, holders of the new Relays record. Birtles again was selected as the meet's Outstanding Civilian Performer.
On Wednesday, May 20, hurdles trials (for the Hawaiian AAU T&F championship meet) and the HAAU 6-Mile run final were held at Alexander Field (Honolulu Advertiser, May 21, 1964, B6). Al Birtles was among the 11 entrants (10 finished) who toed the line for the 6-Mile. Former UH thinclad and veteran road-runner Harold "Ky" Cole of the Spikesters set a new Hawaiian record (31:21.1) with Birtles coming in second (no time given).
The 53d annual HAAU T&F Championships were held at Alexander Field in late May ("Birtles Wins Mile in Fast Time of 4:09.7," Sunday Star-Bulletin and Advertiser, May 31, 1964, C1. In his final HAAU championship mile, Birtles blazed to a sub-4:10 clocking, winning in 4:09.7, breaking his old record (4:12.9) set in 1963. In the half-mile, Brandon Black of the Marines won in 1:53.5 and AB earned a Bronze medal (no time reported).
Strangely almost no one in Canada seems to remember that Al Birtles was an outstanding runner in his time at the University of Hawaii. I'm not sure if he ever ran a race in Canada although he may have tried out for the Olympic team in 1964, he already had a place on the basketball team.
George Brose with greatt help of Mike Tymn, Mike Southwood, Ned Price, and Rich Ceronie
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