Vol. 3 No. 47 March, 1964

MARCH 1964

With the nationals behind us we are moving on to the outdoor season, right? Actually, no. There are still indoor meets, lots of them.

On Thursday, Feb. 27 the New York Knights of Columbus meet is held in the Garden and a crowd of 12,602 is there to see Bill Crothers improve his status as co-favorite with Peter Snell in the October Olympic Games 800. The Canadian pharmacist drops down from his usual 1000 yards to 600 and moves to second on the yearly list with a 1:09.7 clocking. The K of C meet loves mile relays; there are four of them. Crothers returns to run in one and brings his East York Track Club from last place to victory by two yards over the New York Pioneer Club with a 47.2 anchor leg.

Indoor word record holder Tom O'Hara hadn't planned on running fast this evening, but the crowd's enthusiasm propels him to a 3:58.5 clocking, the second fastest mile ever run indoors. Although running his PR, Ergas Leps' 4:03.6 leaves him 40 yards in arrears.

Ron Clarke's American tour has been marked by ups and downs. Tonight he suffers his third loss in six races when Bruce Kidd's kick gives him an 8:39.0 to 8:39.2 two mile win. Ron Laris PRs in third at 8:45.6.

Question: How do you win the triple jump on your last attempt without bettering the mark of your opponent? Ira Davis and Chris Mousiades are tied at 50-10 going into the final round. Using the tie breaking rule in which the second best mark determines the winner, Mousiades leads with 50-4½ second best jump before Davis hits 50-8 in the sixth round to snatch the victory.

If you want to see a meet on Feb. 29 you have your choice of four, the All-Eastern Games in Baltimore, the Heptagonal Indoor Championships in Ithica, NY, the Eastern NCAA Regionals in Louisville and the Western NCAA Regionals in Portland.

Wendell Mottley is having a heck of an indoor season. Already he has bettered world records at 440 and 500 yards. Tonight in the Heptagonal Games he is trying to add the 600 to his record collection. The odds are stacked against him. Let us count the ways: the race will be run on a flat track; he will not be allowed to wear spikes; the competition is mediocre and he just ran a trial heat an hour and a half ago. Not to worry, Wendell is up to the task. He cruises through 24.1 and 49.7 splits and now has one lap to run. As we recall from last month's issue, this is where he ran into trouble at the Millrose Games. He split 48.3 in that race, but apparently learned from the experience. This time his pace has left considerable in the tank. He finishes strongly to take George Kerr's WR down a tenth with a 1:09.2 clocking. But wait, the Yale captain is back 90 minutes later to bring the Eli's from 20 yards down in the mile relay to victory with a 46.7 split. If you think Wendell was voted the outstanding athlete of the meet award, you would be right.

The All-Eastern Games is the site of what Hayes Jones says will be his last ever indoor race. He makes his 55^th consecutive indoor win a memorable one as he blazes to a 6.8 clocking thereby lowering his 60 yard WR by a tenth. Now on to the outdoor season and the Olympics for the former Eastern Michigan star.

John Thomas also has a pretty good night. He jumps 7-2¾ for the best jump in the world this year and his best mark since 1961.

The Eastern NCAA meet, held in Louisville's Freedom Hall, is the first one ever and it shows. Only 22 schools and 135 athletes are entered. Worse yet, the spectators number only 1200. That doesn't stop the lads from Maryland State from having a good time. They win the meet with 18 points to runner up Penn State's 13. But, wait, it gets better. Two of their mile relay runners have already run the 600, so we can only assume that this is not a flat out world record attempt, but a WR is what they get. The team of Brown (48.5), Morris (47.8), Skinner (48.1) and Rogers (47.3) runs 3:11.7 for the record. Pretty sure this is a 220 yard track.

Portland is the site of the Western NCAA meet. Four thousand and four fans are buoyed by the return of Harry Jerome. After being out of action since suffering a severely torn thigh muscle in 1962, the University of Oregon star demonstrates his readiness to compete at the highest level with a 6.0 60 yard clocking, just a tenth off Bob Hayes' record. Oregon State's Jan Underwood and USC's Bruce Bess tangle at 1000 yards. After a slow 61 second quarter the pace picks up. Underwood follows Bess until the last straight where he blows by to win by six yards in the fastest time of the season, 2:08.5.

Now it is Friday night, March 6 and we are at the Chicago Daily News Relays where there are 18,307 spectators, the largest crowd of the season, most of whom have come to see a local boy break a record. That boy would be a 5'9”, 130 pound redhead who is a student at Loyola of Chicago, Tom O'Hara. He set the world record in the indoor mile, 3:56.6, just 23 days ago and there is no doubt that tonight will see a serious attempt to lower that record.

His determination to take it out hard is evident as he jumps the gun. The crowd and especially the starter have to be praying for a legal start the second time. A collective sigh of relief fills the stadium as the field is away cleanly. O'Hara leads around the first turn before the rabbit, Jim Irons, takes over and leads through 58.1 and 1:58.8. Irons drops away and now O'Hara must hold pace without help. Jim Grelle is right with him so there is no temptation to dawdle. The crowd is with him. When the ¾ mark is reached in 2:59.8, pandemonium reigns. O'Hara has a fierce kick, but Grelle is no slouch. The ex-Oregon star stays close until the final 160 yard lap where O'Hara goes to the afterburners that Grelle – or maybe no one – has. Now it is the local hero against the clock. It is as if the crowd can will him to break the tape in record time. To the relief and joy of all assembled, that is exactly what happens. His 3:56.4 shaves two tenths from his previous mark.

In what has to be one of the most egregious faux pas in recent track history, no other runner receives a time though Grelle's coach, Mihaly Igloi, clocks him in 3:58.9. But wait, it gets worse. O'Hara went through 1500 meters in an unofficial 3:41.6, bettering the world record, but the officials don't have the forethought to time him at that distance. The lack of place timing is not confined to the mile. Only the winner of each event is timed. Second place makes one the first loser and, as such, apparently unworthy of a guy in a tuxedo wasting his time clicking his watch.

Miami's Bob Schul was outkicked by Bruce Kidd in a two mile last month, but today the tables have turned and Schul has the upper hand. He holds off the Canadian phenom, winning by “a slight margin” in 8:48.2 to......well, we will never know.

That isn't to say that Canadian runners go home with no gold medals. Bill Crothers benefits from a rabbit in the 1000 and replaces Jan Underwood as the holder of the season's best mark, 2:07.6. He now holds three of the four fastest times ever run at this distance. “K.C.” Yang, as he is repeatedly called by the announcer, wins the pole vault at 16 feet. This is probably the same guy we know as C.K. Yang.

The second annual United States Track and Field Federation meet is held in conjunction with the 13^th annual Milwaukee Journal Games, oddly on a Monday night. John Camien runs an indoor PR with his 4:02.8 mile for the top mark. The best race is the 1000 where Missouri's Robin Lingle leaves Villanova's Tom Sullivan and Oregon State's Jan Underwood well behind, 2:09.1 to 2:10.5 for both. In addition, we have our first George Wood sighting. The So. Illinois strongman puts the shot 60-2 to win by a foot and a half.

The lights of the indoor season are dimming as the Cleveland Knights of Columbus meet on March 14 wraps up the season. An overflow crowd of 10.891 watches John Uelses clear 16-4½ for an American indoor pole vault record. Unfortunately, two of the top attractions are not able to compete. John Thomas has a sprained ankle and Tom O'Hara has aggravated a groin strain. In O'Hara's absence, Jim Grelle breaks O'Hara's meet record with a 4:02.3 mile, excellent considering that it is run on a 12 lap to the mile track. In a season marred by poor officiating, it seems only fitting that Bob Schul is timed in 9:11.3 in winning the two mile. It seems that the guys in the tuxedos had trouble counting and that the Miami star has run 25 laps. What to do? One timer believes that Schul had completed 24 laps at 8:51.2. Seems as good a time as any, so be it. Nearly fifty years later that 8:51.2 is etched in stone.

Running through the rest of the issue in no particular order we find that Willie Crawford of LA Dorsey High has already jumped 24-11. Seems the young man also plays baseball pretty well. Wonder what sport he will choose........The Australian 440 relay team broke Oregon's 40.0 world record with a 39.9 March 15. Wait a minute, the alert among you may be saying, Texas (39.6) Abilene Christian (39.7) and San Jose State (39.7) have run faster than that. Yes, but those were one turn races. The Aussies went all the way around the track.......John Rambo jumped 7-0 last year and has a strong shot at making the Olympic team this year, but basketball has been taking up some of his time. On February 27 the Long Beach State star scores 27 points. The next day he jumps 6-9¾ in the Long Beach Relays, but still has enough left to score 42 points in that evening's game........Why middle distance runners should not be tough guys: wonderfully named Abilene Christian half miler Charlie Christmas is out of action with a broken jaw after a “dormitory argument”........Mal Whitfield has suggested that Negro athletes should boycott the Tokyo Olympics unless they get “first class treatment at home”. In an article in Ebony magazine, the former Olympic champion writes, “It's time for American Negro athletes to join the civil rights fight”.......Occidental discus thrower Bill Neville has thrown 194 feet. His improvement may be the result of a weight gain from 208 to 265 in the last year. He now benches 470. In 1964 no one in track had heard of steroids. He is just a growing boy.......Is there a correlation between representing your country in the Olympics and death? Sure seems to be. In this issue we learn that John Brennan who placed fifth in the 1908 broad jump has died in a Milwaukee nursing home. Patrick Ryan, the gold medalist in the 1920 games hammer, has passed at 81 and Stacy Linden, second in the 1906 1500, has succumbed to a heart attack. Strange, but true...............It is rumored that Jim Grelle is considering the steeplechase for October's Olympics........Speaking of the Olympics, save a spot on the '84 team for Charles Wray, the son of former Oxy star, Larry Wray. The lad has just set an age group record that may not be challenged in his lifetime. Young Charles ran a 440 in 4:18.0 two days before his second birthday. For those of you doing the math at home, yes, the kid was one. Dad says that little Charlie ran the entire distance in the third lane and therefore covered 452 yards. He kept going 20 yards beyond the finish before he could be corralled.

Just peeked at the next issue. Good stuff. Two world records and the comeback of an Olympic champion after a four year layoff. Be watching for the next installment.

Vol. 3 No. 46 February, 1964

FEBRUARY 1964

Take a seat on the flying carpet and we will transport you back to February 1964 and the world of Bob Hayes, Gerry Lindgren, Ron Clarke and Tom O'Hara.

Running through this issue of TFN chronologically, we begin our journey on January 30 with the 57^th Millrose Games in Madison Square Garden where Bill Crothers runs 880 yards in what is reported as an American record of 1:50.0. As Crothers is Canadian, we must assume that this term means the fastest 880 run by anyone on American soil. Ireland's gift to Villanova, Noel Carroll, is clocked at 1:50.4.

The crowd of 16,004 is treated to three meet records. John Thomas jumps 7-2¼ to better the mark of Valeriy Brumel. Bruce Kidd holds of the big kick of Bob Schul, running his last half in 2:02 and the final quarter in 58.9, to win the three mile in 13:32.4 with Schul at 13:33.8. Well back in sixth is Billy Mills of the Quantico Marines at 13:53.4.

With the mile field through the ¾ mile in 3:05.6, John Camien throws down a 57.0 finish only to earn a distant view of Tom O'Hara's backside as the redheaded Loyola student finishes in 54.9 for a 4:00.6 Millrose record.

With a plethora of records, one non-record race stands out. Yale's Wendell Mottley takes a shot at the WR at 600 yards. The Yale captain doesn't lack for courage as he goes through the quarter in 48.3. Does he have enough gas in the tank for one more 160 yard lap? Not only is the gauge on E, the tires fo flat, the radiator overheats and the head gasket blows. The bear on his back is of the Polar variety. Mothers cover their children's eyes to keep them from witnessing the horror of a last lap in 26 seconds. Mottley's last 100 yards consume 17.5 seconds as the field goes by. His 1:14.3 puts him fourth behind Jay Luck's 1:11.2. There will be better days for Wendell. In fact one is only two days off.

Gary Gubner demonstrates his dominance over anyone not named Dallas Long. He shows no respect for the age of Perry O'Brien or the youth of Randy Matson. Gubner's 62-6½ leaves O'Brien 2½ feet behind and Matson over five feet back.

Now it is two days later, February 1, and we are in the Boston Garden for the 75^th Boston AA meet. This is one of those aforementioned better days for Wendell Mottley. He splits 22.3 for the 220 on the 160 yard track and holds off Charley Mays of the Grand Street Boys Club to run 48.0 and break Roy Cochran's 1942 world record of 48.2. Mays is right there at 48.3. Not to worry about Charley. He is not one to brood over missed opportunities. He wins the broad jump in a meet record 24-4¾.

Note: Broad jump is not an antiquated term. We learned last year that the event had been renamed the long jump. This transition must take place in the outdoor season as every indoor meet reported in this issue has a broad jump competition.

The 13,535 spectators are disappointed that snow has shut down the airport and therefore Bob Hayes and Bill Crothers aren't here, but their disappointment is mitigated by the world record performance of those plucky youngsters on the Villanova two mile relay team. NCAA cross country champ Vic Zwolak opens with a 1:55.1 leg but then things speed up. Al Adams covers his 5½ laps in 1:51.8 and hands off to Tom Sullivan who cranks out a 1:50.8. Now it is up to Noel Carroll. Noel is taking no prisoners. He runs 52.2 for the quarter en route to a 1:48.7 split and a 7:26.4 WR, breaking the old record of.....well, which one do you want? Last year Georgetown set the 8 lap to the mile record of 7:29.0. The 1962 Kansas team had the dirt track record of 7:29.2 and the 11 lap to the mile record of 7:30.8. Take your pick, Villanova beat them all.

Now it is February 7 and we are still on the East Coast. The Philadelphia Inquirer Games may be competitive but there will be no fast times because of the “sharp-turned 12 lap track”. (For those of you without a calculator at the ready, that is 146 2/3 yards to the lap, not your basic dodge-ball ball circle, but close.) An example of the difficulty is provided by Charley Mays, who last week ran 48.3 on a 160 yard track. Tonight he wins the quarter in a meet record of 49.7.

The next night on the other side of the county things pick up in the LA Times meet. There is no snow at LA International, so Bob Hayes and Bill Crothers are in attendance.

Actually Crothers is the focal point of the meet. He states that he can beat Peter Snell for the Olympic gold, because “I am faster than he is”. If tonight's performance is any indication, he may be. If you are assuming that this indicates that Crothers extends his 16 race winning streak at 1000 yards and the press unanimously vote him Athlete of the Meet, you would be half right.

Running against a strong field with 370 yards to go, Crothers makes his move on the curve. He catches the heel of an unmentioned opponent and down he goes. By the time he is up again Dick Drake estimates that he has lost 45 yards to the field. You are starting from a dead stop 45 yards behind the field with only two laps left. What do you do? If you are Bill Crothers, you take off after them. Drake writes, “Perhaps the final 340 yards of an indoor 1000 have never been run so fast”. Incredibly he passes four competitors with a lap to go. Only Jim Dupree is ahead. The crowd goes wild as Crothers eats up Dupree's lead. Into the straight they come. Both lean at the tape and Dupree gets the nod by an inch as they are both timed in 2:11.9. The crowd acknowledges the magnificent effort it has just seen. The standing ovation lasts two minutes. Off is performance tonight the great Canadian is ready for Peter Snell. Bring him on.

Snell isn't here, but there are two representatives from down under, Aussies Ron Clarke, the world record holder at 10,000, and Tony Sneazwell, the high jumper with the third best ever mark. Both compete well, but winning is not in the cards tonight. Clarke leads the two mile until the mile and a half mark when Bob Schul makes his move. Clarke make a game effort, but two miles is not his forte and Schul is not to be denied. He holds Clarke off by four tenths in 8:42.2. Sneazwell jumps 7-0¾ but can't match John Thomas who goes an inch higher.

We mentioned that Bob Hayes was in the house and indeed he covers 60 yards in 6.0 to equal the world record for the third time in four weeks. He is not the only Hayes to win tonight. Hayes Jones holds off Dee Andrews of Long Beach State to take the 60 hurdles in 7.2 for his 52^nd consecutive indoor win.

Tom O'Hara wins the mile in only 4:07.0, but his destruction of Jim Grelle on the last lap gives indication that something awfully good is in the future. Grelle can't match O'Hara's kick and settles for second in 4:08.4.

Ralph Boston trails Wellsley Clayton until the fifth round of the broad jump where he soars 25-7½ for a three inch victory.

As close as the broad jump is, the match up in the shot between Gary Gubner and Dallas Long is closer. Gubner throws 62-4¼ only to see Long put one out a quarter inch further.

February 13 finds us back at Madison Square Garden for the New York Athletic Club Games.
 Jim Beatty is injured and won't run tonight, but, as the world record holder in the indoor mile, he fires the pistol that starts the race. Three minutes fifty-six and six tenths later he is no longer the world record holder. Tom O'Hara follows through splits of 59.0 and 2:01.3 before starting his drive 500 yards out. He scoots by leader John Camien, passes the 1320 in 3:01.6 and the race for the record is on. Fifty-five seconds later he hits the tape in 3:56.6, clipping 2.3 seconds off Beatty's record.

Bill Crothers adds O'Hara to his list of guys (two in number) who might beat Snell. “I used to think that O'Hara was the one man who might give Snell a good race at Tokyo. Now I think that O'Hara will outkick him.”

Crothers himself has his hands full in the 880. After a relaxed opening quarter of 56.1, Missouri's Robin Lingle supplies all the competition Crothers can handle and leads into the final straight before Crothers catches him with ten yards to go, winning 1:50.8 to 1:50.9. Noel Carroll finishes faster than everyone but can only muster third at 1:51.0.

You know you are really good when you keep running world records and no one pays much attention. Such is the case for Bob Hayes who equals the WR 6.0 at 60 yards for the fourth time this season.

The two best high jumpers in the world not named Valeryi Brummel, John Thomas and Tony Sneazwell, go head to head and the winner is.......Lew Hoyt of USC who PR's with a 7-1 clearance to beat the big boys by two inches.

Five days ago Bob Schul upset Ron Clarke at 2 miles in Los Angeles. With Bruce Kidd added to the mix you don't want to be going out for popcorn during the 2 mile tonight. Surely Clarke will take it out fast to nullify the kick of the others. Nope, the mile goes by in 4:28. The field of six stays together through a mile and a half when the big boys ramp it up. Clarke, Kidd and Schul are together at the gun when Schul makes his move. Kidd hangs on down the backstretch, but Clarke lets ground open up. Just as they hit the final turn Kidd moves by. There is a bump but no foul is called as Kidd holds off Schul 8:42.6 to 8:42.8 with Clarke third in 8:43.8. Kidd's last lap is 57.0.

Gary Gubner puts the shot 63-2½ to put that Matson kid from Texas A&M in his place by four feet.

Two evenings hence, February 15, Jumbo Elliot is pretty sure his two mile relay team can break that world record they set two weeks ago. One reason for his confidence is that they will be running on an 8 lap to the mile track in Louisville's Mason-Dixon Games. This issue is never in doubt. Orr opens up with a 1:53.9 (1.2 seconds faster than Vic Zwolak ran in Boston). Adams (1:52.6), Sullivan (1:49.5) and Carroll (1:48,8) follow and the record drops 1.5 seconds to 7:24.9.

Bob Schul is here but Kidd and Clarke have other duties to attend to, so after a dawdling 4:28 opening mile, the Miami of Ohio star cranks out a 4:19 finish to win the 2 mile by ten seconds over Pat Traynor in 8:47.3.

Charley Mays nearly pulls off one of the strangest doubles in recent history. He tangles with Ray Saddler and Earl Young in the 500. Bumping and shoving ensue, but Charley holds on for a 56.2 victory with Young edging Saddler for second, both at 56.3. No time to chat, Charley is off for the broad jump runway where he does battle with Ralph Boston. Charley sees Boston's 25-3 and spots him his own 25-3¾. There is a reason that Ralph is the Olympic champion and he shows it in the fifth round, when he goes 25-10 to keep Charley from the 500-BJ double.

Oh, and Bob Hayes equals his own WR at 70 yards with a 6.9 clocking.

On the other side of the country there is another meet this evening. The Golden Gate Invitational, held in San Francisco's Cow Palace, draws a capacity crown of 13,277. That high school kid, Gerry Lindgren, captured the city's heart seven weeks ago when he ran 9:00 for two miles. A month ago in LA he ran 8:46.0. Tonight he is back in the city by the bay to tangle with the great Ron Clarke. You bet it's a sellout. Grab your coat and hat. We're going.

The meet lacks the star power of others previously reported but no one came to see the 440, triple jump or 60. The crowd is here to see the two mile and I am sure the distance runners among us agree that is the way it should be.

If you are a 117 pound high school kid racing one of the greatest runners the world has seen, what is your strategy? Well, you go out hard and take it to him. Lindgren leads through a 61.7 quarter and a 2:06.4 half. The pace settles a bit and the mile comes up in 4:19.7. After the race Clarke comments that he wanted to share the pace setting but Lindgren wouldn't let him. When the mile and a half mark is reached, Lindgren is still in the lead at 6:30.7. Finally the 26 year old Aussie makes his move with three laps left. Once he has gone by there is no doubt as to the outcome. Even as Clarke powers away, the crowd is with Lindgren. The 3000 meter mark is passed in record time for both, Clarke 8:05.0 for the world best, Lindgren 8:06.3 for the American mark. Not often is the second place time more significant that the winning time, but this time it is. Clarke's 8:36.9 has been done before. Lindgren's 8:40 hasn't, not by a high school kid, not by a 17 year old.

To the delight of the crowd the two jog a lap with their arms around each other. Clarke's admiration is obvious. “He's colossal. The kid is the best I have ever seen.” Lindgren is quoted as saying, “I was hoping I could run 8:46 again. Now I don't know what I can do.”

The Golden Gate meet has emotion of a different sort as well. A sense of reality settles in with the appearance of Brian Sternberg in his wheelchair. He, his family and his girlfriend have been flown from Seattle for a ceremony initiating the Brian Sternberg Award. This award is to be given annually to “the athlete who most typifies the spirit and ideals of American track and field as exemplified by Brian Sternberg.” The crowd stands as he is wheeled around the track by his buddy, Ron Morris, and his idol, Dutch Warmerdam. Brian says his only regret this evening is that his good friend, John Pennel, had to withdraw from the meet with a heel injury. “I sure wanted to see John. He is a great guy.”

What if we staged an indoor track meet on a Tuesday night, just four days before the nationals, would anyone come? That had to be the concern of the promoters of the Long Beach Games, but sure enough they hold the meet. When the Golden Gate Invitational ended, the track was disassembled, loaded on trucks and set up in Long Beach.

The size of the crowd isn't mentioned, but a good many big names are there to compete. Two of the biggest names are the focus of attention for different reasons. Dallas Long leaves Perry O'Brien two and a half feet behind with a throw of 64-8 in the shot, the best in the world this year. This is not unexpected news.

What is unexpected is Bob Hayes loss in the 60 to Darell Newman of Fresno State. Wait a minute, the invincible Bob Hayes lost? Yes, but there is an explanation. Newman gets a rolling start that is apparent to everyone save the starter and recall starter. Hayes eases off his blocks thinking that the race will be recalled. No shot is fired and the Florida A&M star has an “oh-oh” moment. Realizing that the race is on, he takes off after Newman. In fairness it must be mentioned that Newman is not flat out as he listens for the recall. Hayes gains, but Newman is a world class sprinter. Give him an advantage an it is all over. Bert Nelson estimates that Hayes gains four feet in the final 30 yards, but it isn't enough. Newman wins by inches at both clock 6.0. There is talk of running the race again but it doesn't happen.  More about Darell Newman  (from L.A. Times, 1997)

But flash back to the mid-1960s and Newman is the "bald bullet" of Fresno State. This is a man who briefly shared the world record for 100 yards with Bob Hayes. Newman ran the 100 in 9.2 seconds (hand timed) and ran a world-record 5.9 seconds for 60 yards indoors.

Blessed with an extremely fast start--and already bald as a collegian, hence the nickname--he was ranked third in the world at 100 meters in 1965.

That was a golden age for track and field, when dual meets between nations drew huge crowds and worldwide attention.

Newman's apex of fame came in a United States versus Soviet Union meet in Kiev. Newman won the 100 meters in 10.03; he says it was the first competitive 100 to be electronically timed and the first event televised live from one continent to another.

Newman was named the male athlete of the meet and was swarmed by autograph seekers. "All of a sudden I was super famous in Russia," Newman said. "I was even assigned two KGB agents as bodyguards."

But upon returning home and graduating from Fresno State, Newman had to give up running and get a job. Although he had never played football, he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 1966. After a couple days in camp he decided to return to California to teach and coach.

His first job at Smedley (now Carr) Intermediate in Santa Ana was the start of 27 years as a track coach, including 11 at Santa Ana High. Fifteen years ago he became the Saints' girls' cross-country coach and in 1992 he took over the entire program, although he now mostly deals with administrative duties while Roger and Imelda Nava handle the day-to-day coaching.

Although it might seem incongruous, a sprinter coaching distance runners, Newman says he enjoys the simplicity of the sport. Still, his background makes him a prime target for ribbing from Athletic Director Frank Alvarado, a former cross-country runner.

"I often tease Darel that he never ran anything over 200 meters in his life," Alvarado said. "He just laughs and says that's because he was smart."

Back to February 1964

The best distance race is the 1000 yards where Canadian Sig Ohlemann, competing for the Emerald Empire Athletic Association, takes the measure of John Bork 2:10.1 to 2:10.3. Long Beach State ace Darryl Taylor is third at 2;10.9.

Now the aforementioned four days have gone by and we are back at the Garden for the 76th AAU National Indoor Championship, a meet Jim Dunaway reports is “marred by confusion, inept announcing, sloppy administration and erratic officiating”. Other than that, how did you like the meet, Jim?

Still, there are some very good marks. Ron Clarke benefits from running three miles rather than two. Try as he may to take the lead and set a fast early pace, he has trouble getting to the front because of that damned Lindgren kid who goes through the mile in 4:22. Clarke finally takes over at the mile and a half (6:40) and, with the exception of Pete McArdle forcing the pace at two miles, leads the rest of the way to win easily in a WR 13:18.4. McArdle is second at 13:32.6 with Lindgren setting a high school record of 13:37.8 in third.

Some of those good Aussie runners of the time.
Front Al Lawrence,  John Macy (Poland) Barrie Almond
Back  Pat Clohessy, coach Johnny Morris, and George Ranken (nat. ?)
U. of Houston's Cross Country champions

For a country with no indoor track, the Aussies have a fondness for the indoor three mile. The 13:26.4 record Clarke breaks was first set by countryman Al Lawrence and later tied by fellow Aussie Albie Thomas. Good to keep it in the family so to speak.

How do you define confidence? How about this? You are a Nebraska freshman. You were a dominating high school sprinter last year in Seattle but his is the national championship and you have made the finals in the 60 and will be running against Bob Hayes. Your name is Charley Greene and you have just told Hayes that he will have to equal his world record of 5.9 to beat you. You are right. You, Mel Pender and Hayes are shoulder to shoulder at 40 yards. Indeed the Florida A&M deity pulls away for a hand timed 5.9 clocking. His Bulova phototimer time is 5.99, the first sub six clocking, but if you are young Charlie Greene, the future looks promising. You just ran 6.05.

And look who has just risen from the dead. That's Ernie Cunliffe toeing the starting line in the 1000. But wait, it can't be. The first quarter just went off in 62 seconds. That's not the Ernie we remember, not the guy who goes out hard and lets the chips fall where they may. No, this is the older, wiser Ernie who chooses the moment to strike. And strike he does. Three hundred and fifty yards remain when the veteran separates the man from the boys. His burst supplies a half second victory in 2:14.8. Could it be that the former Stanford star is back?

Speaking of veterans, yes, that is Perry O'Brien leading the shot through five rounds with his seasonal best of 62-10. But that is also Gary Gubner throwing 63-2½ on his final attempt to take his third consecutive US indoor title.

Another Olympic champion tastes defeat as Ralph Boston's 25-8¼ broad jump is topped by Charley Mays' 26-1½. Without Lew Hoyt here to upset the natural order of things, John Thomas jumps 7-1 to relegate Tony Sneazwell and his 7-0 to second. You think nothing outlasts the Energizer bunny? How about Hayes Jones who wins his 54^th consecutive indoor hurdle race, in this case the 60 yard variety in 7.0.

Tidbits from Dick Drake's and Bert Nelson's columns follow. Ron Clarke trains twice a day, plays squash at lunch and often goes out for a brief run with his wife just before bed. When he finds time to play, he is an avid golfer. When his running days are over he would like to play golf daily. (Why is it there are no golfers who say when they are done playing, they would like to take up distance running?).......Clarke says that a couple days after his 10K record he felt depressed. He said John Landy told him he went through the same experience after setting his mile record......The world record holder used to be a chubby? Apparently so. Clarke says that when he was in the army he gained 50 pounds in 3½ months, the result of starchy food and no running.....Talk about your that and fifty cents will get me a cup of coffee award, the AAU has seen fit to award Brian Sternberg a lifetime membership......After three years at Occidental, Jim Bush will succeed Ducky Drake as head coach at UCLA. Ducky will stay on as head trainer......Herb Elliot and Merv Lincoln are still competing with each other. They are TV sports commentators on rival Melbourne stations......Says Bob Hayes who has been drafted as a receiver by the Dallas Cowboys, “I hope they give me a chance. I would like to prove a sprinter can succeed in pro football”. We'll see how that turns out.

Vol. 3 No. 42January, 1964

January 1964 This issue is 48 pages, the largest T&FN has published, dwarfing the previous largest, the 1960 Olympic issue, by 50%. The recent indoor news is sandwiched between the world rankings and lists and the US rankings and lists. The cover is graced by the smiling face of C.K. Yang, the magazine's 1963 Athlete of the Year. As mentioned when he broke his friend, Rafer Johnson's, decathlon record, the deciding factor was the pole vault where the development of the fiberglass pole was the deciding margin. Johnson's marks were better in 7 of the 10 events and take away the pole vault, Johnson holds the edge. On the other hand, Yang has so thoroughly dominated the year's decathlon competition that he has outscored the second best performer, Germany's Willie Holdorf, by 1036 points.

Apparently this issue was published in February because there are results from as recently as January 25. The indoor season is in full bloom and the unlikely dominant performer is a 5'6”, 117 pound 17 year old high school kid from Spokane who has the full attention of the track and field world. If the name Jerry Lindgren pops to mind, you would be right.

Dick Drake, writing on the First Annual (San Francisco) Examiner Holiday Invitational held Dec. 27, calls Lindgren's performance in the high school two mile, “the most exciting race this writer has witnessed indoors”. Competing against three of the four fastest high school two milers in what Drake calls “the greatest high school two mile field ever assembled”, Lindgren laps all but one to run exactly nine minutes. Second in 9:22.2, after a disastrous fall at the start, is Jim Ryun, a junior from Wichita. Lindgren's coach, Tracy Walters says, “He is ready to run 8:50 right now”, an assessment that proves to be correct.

Three weeks pass and now we are in Los Angeles for the LA Indoor Invitational and Dick Drake is forced to find stronger adjectives, specifically “sensational”, “fantastic” and “unbelievable”. This time the kid who looks like your paperboy is up against the big boys, George Young, Julio Marin and the biggest boy of all, Belgium's Gaston Roelants, the world record holder in the steeplechase who was undefeated at any distance last year. The pack goes through the mile in 4:21 before Roelants takes over. With the other three in close contention entering the final quarter, Roelants' powerful finish comes to the fore as he pulls away for a decisive win in 8:41.4.

The crowd doesn't care. All eyes are on the high school kid who passes Marin and Young to take second in an amazing 8:46.0, bettering Bruce Kidd's year old age 17 world best. Marin is third at 8:46.6 with Young fourth in 8:50.2.

A profile on the same page gives Lindgren's brief running history. He has been running only three years. As a sophomore he ran 10:14 in cross country and 9:17 the next year. His 10^th grade times on the track aren't mentioned and a broken foot kept him from competing as an 11^th grader until the summer when, with little training, he ran a 4:12.9 mile to beat Tracy Smith.

Actually there were other athletes competing in the San Francisco and Los Angeles meets whose achievements bear reporting. In San Francisco Washington's Phil Shinnick, who leaped a wind-aided 27-4 last year, gets off only one fair jump, 25-6½, but it is enough to edge Olympic champ Ralph Boston by half an inch. Canadian Bill Crothers sets an American all comers record in the 880. His 1:50.2 betters Arnie Sowell's 1957 record by a tenth for an 11 lap to the mile track. John Thomas jumps 7-1 to best Paul Stuber (6-10) and Joe Faust (6-8). And who is that standing at the top of the awards stand at the conclusion of the shot put? Parry O'Brien, that's who. His 60-1 tops Jay Silvester by 2½ feet.

The Examiner meet director shows his fun side with a one mile steeplechase and a devil-take-the-hindmost mile. One is to assume the steeplechase was waterless. Emphasizing that track and field was a much simpler sport in 1964 is the appearance of Canadian steeplechase champion Hylke van der Wal who hitchhikes from London, Ontario in order to place second to George Young. No mention is made of his return agenda.  And no PR guy thought of calling him "The Incredible Hylke" at the time.  Want to know more about Hylke, see article below. ed.

The LA meet is confined to more traditional events, among them the triple jump and the pole vault where Mahoney Samuels and John Pennel establish US records of 52-7 and 16-4½. Bob Hayes finds 6.0 seconds in his busy day to equal the WR at 60 yards. With Parry O'Brien home in bed with a virus, Dallas Long gets off only one throw of 60 feet, but it is 62-7 ½, enough to leave Jay Silvester nearly four feet back. A lanky freshman from Texas A&M, Randy Matson, finishes fifth at 57-1.

Two other indoor meets are showcases for runners from down under. On Jan 24 in Toronto's Maple Leaf Games Australian Albie Thomas does exactly what he said he would do in the three mile, specifically “run Bruce Kidd into the ground in the first two miles”. He breaks away from Kidd and Bob Schul at the mile and a half, reaching two miles in 8:49.3. Although he slows a bit in the last mile, there is no doubt of the outcome. His tenacity is rewarded with a WR 13:26.3. Schul and Kidd battle for second with the American getting the nod as they cross the finish together in 13:39.6.

The Maple Leaf Games will be remembered for Hayes Jones' 5.9 50 yard hurdle victory, not so much for the race itself, but for the fact that this is his 50^th consecutive indoor hurdle victory.

The next night, on the other side of the country, New Zealand's Bill Baillie sets out after Jim Beatty's indoor two mile record of 8:30.7. Although he misses, he gives it a good scare with a 8:31.9 clocking, a time all the more impressive as it is Baillie's first competition on the boards. Julio Marin and Keith Forman prove their excellent condition placing 2^nd and 3^rd in 8:37.2.

Gaston Roelants, billed as Baillie's main competition, drops out in the first mile with a groin pull and a torn Achilles tendon. His status as the favorite in the Olympic steeplechase is now in doubt.

On the first day of the year Bob Hayes shows that he is ready to skip the indoor season and just get after it outdoors. In the Orange Bowl meet, run on a soggy track after two days of heavy rain, he runs 9.1 and 20.1. There are no wind readings, but estimates are in the 6-7 mph range. There is no mention of whether the 220 was on a curve or a straightaway, but your reporter guesses the latter as “Hayes slowed at the end to avoid the crowd”. Adding to the significance of these efforts, especially the 220, is the fact that Hayes just finished football Dec. 14 and has had only ten track workouts.

Remember that pole that John Pennel borrowed from Fred Hansen's coach at Rice, the one he used to set the world record? Well, Fred won't be getting it back. John broke it and had to use another in this meet in which he had three close misses at a WR 17-1½ before settling for the win at 16-1. Wonder if he sent a note of apology? “Dear Fred, I thank you for the use of your pole, however I am sad to say I broke it. Can I buy you a new one?”

But enough about track in the US, the more significant news is from Australia, where on Dec. 18 twenty-six year old Ron Clarke, long regarded the greatest junior distance runner, is about to take a shot at removing the word “junior” from that title. We are in Melbourne where Clark and 22 others are on the starting line for the Emil Zatopek 10,000 meter Cup Competition. This is only Clarke's fourth attempt at the distance and his PR is 29:10.4, but he has his sights set on Sandor Iharos' 6 mile WR of 27:43.8 and the much tougher 28:18.8 10,000 record that belongs to Pyotr Bolotnikov.

Though this is a serious record attempt, there will be no pacesetter. The only advantage he will have is the understanding that lapped runners will cede the inside lane to him. It is 6:15 on a brisk but calm evening. The crowd matches the competitors in number. The plan is to go through the first three miles in 4:28, 9:02 and 13:40 then run 70 second laps the rest of the way.

Clarke is as focused as he is courageous. He splits 4:25, 8:57 and 13:32, just 4.5 seconds off his PR at this distance. If the bear jumps on his back at this point, it is only a cub. The next two miles go off at 4:38 and 4:40, as he clocks 18:10 and 22:50 at four and five miles. Now there is little doubt that Iharos' record will fall. All that is needed is a 4:53 final mile. Indeed, Clarke is finishing strongly. His last mile goes off in 4:27.6, producing a new six mile record of 27:17.6 and clipping 26.2 seconds off Iharos' mark, lowering Clarke's previous best by 53 seconds.

The 10,000 record is lost in the joy of the moment. Clarke slows to a jog before the shouts of excited reporters alert him to the fact that Bolotnikov's mark is there for the taking. Can he muster up enough steam for one more hard lap? You bet he can. When he hits the tape 376 yards later he has run 28:15.6 and beaten the old record by 3.2 seconds.

If the Track and Field News event rankings are an indication of how US athletes fared, 1963 was a pretty good year for the red, white and blue. Following are those ranked number one in each event and the leading American if in the top ten.

100: Bob Hayes

200: Henry Carr

400: Ulis Williams

800: Bill Crothers (Canada) 3. Jim Dupree

1500: Peter Snell (New Zealand) 2. Dyrol Burleson

5000: Murray Halberg (New Zealand)

10,000: Ron Clarke (Australia)

steeplechase: Gaston Roelants (Belgium)

110 HH: Hayes Jones

400 IH: Rex Cawley

HJ: Valeryi Brummel (USSR) 3. Gene Johnson

PV: Brian Sternberg

BJ*: Ralph Boston

TJ: Jozef Schmidt (Poland)

SP: Vilmos Varju (Hungary) 2. Dave Davis

DT: Al Oerter

HT: Gyula Zsivotzky (Hungary)

JT: Janis Lusis (USSR) 7. Frank Covelli

Decathlon: C.K. Yang (Formosa) 6. Steve Pauley

• Although the event has been renamed the long jump, TFN uses broad jump as that is what the event was called in 1963

On the back page, just above the ubiquitous Clifford Severn Adidas ad, is an offer of a permanently bound full year of Track and Field News. For $3 you will receive 12 back issues bound with a Kromekote cardboard cover and plastic spiral binding which allows the volume to open perfectly flat. Don't you wish you had taken advantage of that offer nearly 50 years ago?

Former East Texas State athlete runs strong 50 years later

By Sara de la Rosa

Published: Friday, February 25, 2011

from The East Texan 

ontariomasters.ca

Former East Texas State University student-athlete and Netherlands native Hylke Van der Wal recently visited A&M-Commerce 50 years after having attended the university. Van der Wal is a championship track and field athlete.

After earning a place in the University of Nebraska at Kearny Hall of Fame and breaking more records than he can remember, championship runner and former East Texas State University student Hylke Van der Wal spent the second week of February getting reacquainted with his old school.
Van der Wal, now 73, attended East Texas State in 1959 and 1960 for his sophomore and junior years, after transferring from Oklahoma Baptist University.
"The campus seemed a lot closer back then, because I think people are commuting a lot more now," Van der Wal said. "Back then there seemed to be more cohesiveness. I was on a full track scholarship, getting $50 a month spending money, my scholarship paid for room and board and books. I bet the tuition was less than $200 per year, for two semesters."
Originally from northern Netherlands, Van der Wal and his family immigrated to Canada when he was 11-years-old. He said he adapted quickly to the new country and continued to immerse himself in the sport of running.
"In the Netherlands I was a high jumper," Van der Wal said. "I ran all the time, and swam, and biked. My dad had been a runner. He made national teams and had been an army champion. When we came to Canada, this farmer had land that was about eight miles from the house we lived in, and Dad would ride on a bike and I would run beside him, so I practiced long, slow distance running this way."
He said he later realized this type of running practice was one of the best ways to hone his abilities, which would help him win races and earn nearly 50 different scholarships to colleges in the United States.
"I have to say, the thing that really attracted me to East Texas State was that I could work and I could run," Van der Wal said. "School was actually incidental. It was not my first priority, but I realized by this time that I wanted to teach because I'd get more holidays that way, and I could run more. My parents did not slow me down from that, they were silently very proud of me."
Van der Wal said there were little or no African-American students on campus at East Texas State during the time he was there, and ultimately it was segregation issues that led him to transfer to another school before graduating.
"At the end of my junior year, I left because they wouldn't allow me to run against blacks," he said. "And so I went to the University of Nebraska at Kearny and graduated from there. I believed everyone was created in God's image."
Van der Wal said that he was the first white runner to compete in an all black track meet in the U.S., at Texas Southern University in Houston.
"When I look back, a guy would've had to have had real guts to do that, because I could have gotten myself killed," he said. "I did it two years in a row, '63 and ‘64, and back then, you didn't do that in Texas."
Van der Wal said he can't recall all the things he has accomplished over the years as far as running, but some achievements are especially memorable to him.
"One of the most amazing things ever, I don't know how I did it, I hitchhiked all the way to the Cow Palace and set the world record for the one mile steeplechase," Van der Wal said. "I became the Midwestern AU athlete of the year, in other words of the whole area top athletes, professional and amateur. I was just a Canadian kid, so it was unreal. I beat Gale Sayers, who was Rookie of the Year in the NFL."
He still runs and competes regularly, and won five first place medals at the National Canadian Track and Field Championships just last year.
"It's been over 55 years that I've won championships, in the U.S. and Canada," Van der Wal said. "The sport has been so good to me. I have received jobs because of the sport. I got my commissions because of the sport. Nobody tells me that they started on their own running and they did it for 55 years if they didn't love it, and to continue as a runner, you have to have people around you that love it too."


Glad the "e" finally got attached to Hylke van der Wal's name.  pronounced "Hike".  i knew him.  Nice guy,but prone to blow his own horn.  He had been to our house in Saginaw in the mid 70s. Good to hear he's still spouting off.   RT

Vol. 3 No. 37 December , 1963

DECEMBER 1963

Last month we gave you the results of the IC4A and NCAA meets. This month we have the USTFF, AAU and NAIA meets, so sit back and enjoy the magic carpet ride back to a simpler time, nearly 50 years ago

Bruce Kidd is 20, but his third decade has not been as kind to him as the second. This year's track season was a disappointment because of a bone inflammation in his left heel which was caused by an accumulation of scar tissue.

He finally raced a bit in Europe at the end of the season with less than satisfying results. As he lines up for the AAU meet in Van Cortlandt Park, there is a question as to his fitness. Last year's winner, Pete McArdle, sees his chance of winning lies in a fast pace. He quickly separates himself from the field. By the 2 ½ mile mark of the 10K race he has 70 yards on Kidd. At 4 miles Kidd hasn't closed the gap and it appears that the handwriting is on the wall. But Kidd isn't done. At cemetery hill he makes his move and within a half mile closes the gap to 10 yards. Gradually he moves to within a yard of the 35 year old leader. In the last mile of hills Kidd repeatedly attempts to pass McArdle, but the game Irish born veteran fights him off until, with 400 yards left, Kidd opens up a three yard lead. McArdle is flat out, but the margin remains the same at the tape.

Kidd may have the championship trophy, but McArdle doesn't go away empty handled. As the first American finisher, his reward is the trip to Brazil for the midnight run through the streets of Sao Paulo, a journey he made last year after winning this race. Billy Mills, competing for the US Marines, takes third, 25 seconds back, his best finish in this race since 1959 when he was also third. Twenty two seconds behind him is Ron Larrieu in fourth, the first finisher for the victorious LATC.

 

Obituary for Pete McArdle

By The Associated Press

Published: June 27, 1985

Pete McArdle, a member of the 1964 United States Olympic marathon team and a familiar competitor in New York-area distance and cross-country races, collapsed and died Monday night during a cross-country practice run at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. He was 56 years old.

Born in Ireland, Mr. McArdle came to the United States in 1956. He became a United States citizen in 1962 and worked as a mechanic for a New York bus company. He competed for the New York Athletic Club in the 1960's, establishing himself as one of the nation's top distance runners.

He finished 20th in the marathon in the 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo. In the 1963 Pan American Games at Sao Paulo, Brazil, he won the 10,000 meters and finished third in the marathon.

The USTTF meet is held in Chicago's Washington Park also at 10,000 meters. Local favorite Tom O'Hara of Loyola of Chicago won the NCAA championship last year but was ineligible (not explained) this year. It is only his fourth cross country race of the season, but no rust is showing. Polish born John Macy of the Houston TC leads through three miles, but teammate Jim McClatchie from Scotland, another of Johnny Morris' foreign contingent, takes over in the fourth mile.

At this point McClatchie, Macy, Jeff Fishback of the San Jose State national champions, HTC/Australians Geoff Walker and Laurie Elliot (yep, Herb's brother), USC's NCAA 5000 and 10,000 champion Julio Marin and O'Hara are the lead pack within four seconds of each other. But there is only one 3:56 miler in the group and with half a mile to go, it becomes apparent that it is O'Hara. He glides to victory in 30:12 with McClatchie five seconds back and Fishback another five seconds in arrears, eight seconds ahead of hard charging Doug Brown of Montana. San Jose State runs well, but their 34 points are trumped by the international contingent of the Houston TC that scores 25.

The NAIA meet is held in Omaha, Nebraska, but the team battle is between Kansas powerhouses defending champion Emporia State and Fort Hays State.

John Camien

Ireland Sloan

Last year Ireland Sloan of Emporia was the individual champ. This year he settles for second behind teammate John Camien who runs 20:23.7 to edge him by seven second on the tough four mile course. Emporia's 1-2 finish isn't enough to overcome the depth of the Fort Hays squad which takes its first national championship 53-63.

Obituary    Ireland Ulrick Sloan  June 28, 2010

Ireland Sloan passed away on this date in Roanoke VA, where he had retired after many years working in the life insurance business.  He had also been a teacher in the Roanoke area.  He still holds several track records at Emporia State.  He was the first Kansan under 9:00 minutes for 2 miles eventually having a personal best of 8:31.3.  He was an alternate on the US Olympic team in 1964 in the Steeplechase.

It Happens to Us All Department: Remember Vladimir Kuts, the running machine who destroyed the fields in the 1956 Olympic 5,000 and 10,000? Gabriel Korobkov, head Russian track coach says, “You ought to see Vladimir Kuts now. He is up to 198 pounds. Yuriy Lituyev, our former 400 meter hurdle champion, and Kuts had a race. Lituyev ran 400 meters in 52.0 while Kuts couldn't finish 350 meters. He fell down.”

The high school record has been transferred within the family, well, sort of. On December 6 the record belonged to Jim Ryun of Wichita, Kansas who ran 9:11.5 earlier this year. On December 7 in a special meet in Woodside, California, Mike Ryan of Wilcox High in Santa Clara runs 9:09.8 to write his name first in the record books. Perhaps more significant is the performance of second place finisher, Ralph Gamez, a 15 year old sophomore, who places second in 9:13.8 and now is fourth on the all time list behind Ryan, Ryun and Tracy Smith who ran 9:11.6 this summer.

Ralph Gamez  (Belmont HS , Berkeley CA)

On page 11 is a report on the college freshman two mile postal race won easily by San Jose State. That would be the same San Jose State that won the NCAA cross country championship. Don't look for a let down any time soon.

For more on a gathering of former California high school distance greats ,  see the following link from Track and Field News.
http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/asset/special/2009/California_Distance_Reunion/Golden_State_Distance_Reunion.html


In Dick Drake's “On Your Marks” column we learn that 1960 880 national champion Jim Cerveny is back in training.......The United Press has named Valeriy Brumel “Sportsman of the Year” (apparently this means track and field) for the third consecutive year.....Cliff Cushman's Air Force assignment is now in Washington where he is has been given sufficient time to workout after two years of pilot training......Two who should and one who shouldn't: Oregon's Mel Renfro and Ohio States' Paul Warfield have signed contracts to play professional football. We'll see how that turns out. Football, hey, that sounds like fun said Jim Keefe, Cenral Connecticut's fine distance man. Unfortunately for Jim, all he got out of an inter-fraternity touch football game was a dislocated shoulder. He will be out six weeks.

There are profiles on distance runners Pat Traynor and Bob Schul. Neither set the world on fire as high school kids. Traynor's best marks were 2:00 and 4:26. Schul ran 4:34.5 and 9:59. Both are a whole lot better now.

In the “Letters to the Editor” column is a epistle from Jerry Nason, the sports editor of the Boston Globe “in Boston, Massachusetts” (Oh, that Boston!) Remember the hypothetical 880 race created by Roberto Quercetani in last months issue? Well, apparently it rattled Mr. Nason's cage to the extent that he felt compelled to defend the chances of John Woodruff whom Quercetani had finishing fourth in the field of six. Nason doesn't question the final placing, instead he is concerned about where the former Pittsburgh star would be entering the backstretch on the first lap. Nason says Woodruff had sprinter's speed, citing a 21.1 220 relay split in the Penn Relays. Quercetani had Tom Courtney leading and Woodruff boxed on the first turn. “Rather than be hopelessly boxed, it is more likely that Woodruff would have come off the turn leading the race.” Jerry, you are the sports editor of the Boston Globe. You have bigger problems to worry about. The Red Sox just finished in seventh place, 28 games behind the Yankees and this is what has your panties in a bunch?

We have to remember that only in the last couple years has the broad jump become the long jump. And now in 1964 the hop-step-jump will join its horizontal cousin on the journey into the twentieth century becoming henceforth the triple jump. Not if concerned letter writer Pete Hopkins of Chatham, Virginia has a say about it. “It seems unfortunate that the term 'triple jump' has gained such widespread acceptance. The term is a complete misnomer and we should forget it. There is nothing wrong with calling it the 'hop-step-jump', which is what it really is and the abbreviation HSJ, surely belongs as much as BJ (Pete, we're guessing news travels slowly in Virginia), HJ and PV. 'Triple jump' is pure slang and distorts the picture.” OK, Pete, we'll go over this again, very slowly. Bigger things to worry about. For one, the Red Sox finished 28 games back of the Yankees.