Vol. 3 No. 12 April 1963

April 1963

Editor looking over the work of our linotype operator

In the interest of accuracy – our watchword here in the offices of Once Upon a Time in the Vest - we have to start by making a correction regarding Henry Carr's successive 220 yard world records described in last month's issue. It seems that his 20.4 will not be submitted for a record, because his lane measured 18 inches short. A surveyor got to work on that right away and the measurement was correct four days later when he ran 20.3.

March 30 finds us in San Angelo, Texas for the appropriately named San Angelo Relays where once again Jerry Dyes displays his amazing range of talents. He wins both the javelin at 248-11 and the broad jump at 24-10½'w, places fourth in the shot put at 50-5 and leads off the winning Abilene Christian 440 relay. Thanks to Jerry, ACC nearly doubles the point total of Texas A&M, 60-30 ½.

Jerry Dyes, An American Hero

On the same page there is a photo the multi-talented Jerry Dyes. That's the good news. The bad news is that he is misidentified. There are two closeups, side by side. On the left is a swarthy gentleman with a hammer and sickle badge on his singlet.  

could this be Bulishev?

He is identified as “Jerry Dyes, versatile Abilene Christian field event ace”. On the right is a bright eyed bespectacled youngster, just the sort of young man you would feel good about having your daughter date, gripping a javelin, who is identified as Valeriy Bulishev, Russian 800m star who made the indoor tour”. After a lengthy conference of editors, reporters, staff assistants, correspondents and outside experts, we here at OUTV have come to the conclusion that the photos are reversed.

In early April, Stanford, San Jose St. and Oklahoma had a triangular meet at Stanford.  In reality it was a dual meet between Stanford and San Jose, with Oklahoma caught in the middle.  The Sooners had run at Arizona St. on the previous Tuesday night, then at Arizona on Thursday night , and finally at Stanford on Saturday afternoon.  A bit much in anybody's book.  That's the way   Spring break was spent in those days.  The youtube site shows a bit of the 2 mile run that included Jeff Fishback and Danny Murphy of SJS and Harry McCAlla of Stanford.   McCalla had won the mile that day in 4:04, went on to win the 2 mile in about 9:04 over Murphy and Fishback.  You can see in one brief moment Payton Jordan running over to the pack to encourage the Stanford runners.  I don't know who the other Stanford runners are. The two Oklahoma runners were David Hayes and John English.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn0EMjVl7Z0&feature=youtu.be

Also on April 30 the Easter Relays are held in Santa Barbara where Arizona State takes a determined shot at the college mile relay record of 3:07.2 it set last week. This time everyone is fresh. This is each runner's only race of the day. Mike Barrick leads off in 47.9. The pace picks up on the second leg as Henry Carr tours the track in 45.3. Ron Freeman and Ulis Williams finish up in 47.1 and 46.0 and the new record is 3:06.3. Makes one wonder what April, May and June might hold. C.K. Yang tops George Davis and Dave Tork in the vault 16-0½ to 15-6 both and is named the outstanding performer. Dave Davis is back on the scene. His 61-3 tops the 59-8 of Jay Silvester in the shot. Silvester doesn't go away empty handed as he wins the discus with a toss of 194-2½, ll feet ahead of Rink Babka.

The following weekend, April 6, sees the Texas Relays befouled by bad weather. Three inches of rain fall in 24 hours and the Friday night portion of the meet is moved to Saturday. Times suffer as the track is slow and the sprints and hurdles are run into an 8 mph wind. Fred Hansen is not discouraged, however, as he chalks up his first 16 foot vault. The surprise of the meet comes in the mile where Dyrol Burleson follows Bill Dotson for three laps then bursts into the lead only to be passed in the home straight by Emporia State sophomore John Camien whose 56.2 last lap brings him home three yards ahead of the 1960 Olympian in 4:02.6. 

See the finish of this mile by clicking on this address  on the youtube link that follows. 

http://youtu.be/1i6EtzHNSuo     John Camien defeats Dyrol Burleson in Mile at Texas Relays 1963   4:02

     Even John Camien has never seen this clip, as fuzzy as it is.  It has been in my home movie collection for 50 years.  I've set it on slow motion as it is just the last 40 or so yards.  Bill Dotson can be seen following in the all white uniform.  If anyone knows John, perhaps they can inform him of this site.  Ed.   

  

No report of this meet would  be complete if it didn't mention the dominance of Texas Southern University in the college division. The Tigers win the 440 relay, 880 relay, mile relay, two mile relay, sprint medley and the distance medley. There are no others. The first three are faster than run in the university division.

John Pennel's outdoor PV world record of 16-3 reported last month in the “Late News” section is the front page story along with Carr's 220 record. The smiling Pennel is pictured with a pole on his shoulder, wearing the distinctive – okay I'll say it, ugly - Northeast Louisiana State tee shirt type top. (Frankly, this reporter thinks those shirts may have been the reason the Styron twins transferred.) for more on the Styron's see story at the end of this post.   ed.  

  Pennel's performance that day is fleshed out a bit in this story. It seems that the previous week he had vaulted 15-9, but had cracked his pole in the doing. No pole is available from the factory so his coach, Bob Groseclose, called Rice assistant, Augie Erfurth, who shipped him one of Fred Hansen's poles. (Coach, I can't find my extra pole..... You did what?)

At the bottom of the page is a brief story entitled “Pennel Ups Mark to 16-4”. The story is only eight lines. The meet was in Natchitoches, Louisiana on April 10. The only additional information is the John P'Red in the broad jump as well that day, going 23-4¾ and hurting his back in the process.

Five pages of this issue are devoted to the US Report, a listing of the top ten marks for each event. We'll give you the top one or two. 100: Dennis Richardson of ACC 9.3, 220: Henry Carr 20.3, Bob Hayes 20.5, 440: Ulis Williams 46.4, Rex Cawley and Bob Tobler 46.5, 880: Ernie Cunliffe 1:49.0. Mile: Keith Forman' 4:00.1, Harry McCalla 4:01.5 Two Mile: Charley Clark 8:49.0; 120 HH: Willie May 13.8, Ralph Boston and Brian Polkinghorne 13.9; 330 IH: Jim Miller 36.2, Dee Andrews 36.5; HJ: John Thomas 7-2, Lou Hoyt 7-0½, Joe Faust 7-0¼; PV: John Pennel 16-4, Fred Hansen 16-1, Gerald Pratt and CK Yang 16-0½; BJ: Ralph Boston 26-6; TJ: Pete Danna 51-2¾ (Boston 5^th at 49-6½); SP: Dave Steen 61-8¾, Dave Davis 61-8½ (O'Brien 6^th at 58-11¼); JT: Larry Stuart 267-3; HT: George Frenn 196-4; 440R: Texas Southern 40.7, Arizona State 40.8, Kirkland State (now Truman State) 40.9; 880R: USC 1:24.9, Arizona State, So Cal Striders and Texas Southern 1:25.0; Mile Relay: Arizona State 3:05.9 note: this breaks ASU's WR of 3:06.3 covered in this report, but there is no reference to where or when this was run. We do have splits: Barrick 47.8, Carr 45.5, Freeman 46.6, Williams 46.0. No other information is available. 2MR: Occidental 7:29.0, USC 7:29.2; Sprint Medley: Texas Southern 7:20.1; Distance Medley: San Jose State 9:47.6, LATC 9:48.0, Stanford 9:48.2; The 3 Mile only has one time, Ned Sargent's 13:53.8 and the 440IH (yes, yards) have only 4 times with the note that they are 440 times less 0.3. Go figure.

Many of our loyal readers are of an age that we remember baseball and football without Rotisserie, Hot Stove or Fantasy Leagues. When did this sort of nonsense begin? Perhaps it was circa 1962 and the sport was our own beloved track and field. In Cordner Nelson's Track Talk, the editor writes, “Most of you are missing out on one of the most enjoyable games I know, and I feel it my duty to tell you about it. Nine of us play it and we call it simply 'The Game'. In brief, we choose up sides among the active athletes in the nation and our teams score exactly as those athletes do in the National AAU and NCAA meets.”

The initial draft produces a permanent team which is supplemented by additional monthly or yearly drafts. Players can draft high school kids and potentially reap the benefit years down the road. There is a limit that each player can have although this appears to be variable depending on the league. When you draft an athlete, you have to drop one. More guideline minutia is involved, but you get the idea. You also get the feeling that Cordner doesn't get out a lot.

A couple notes from here and there: Bob Hayes' 9.2 will not be submitted for world record status. The starting pistol was of too small a caliber. No further information is supplied. Bet someone is embarrassed....20 year old Joe Faust is retiring and giving up his spot on the Pan Am team roster....Remember when colleges had dual meets that really mattered? This reporter remembers numerous runs with a buddy over the years that were spent doping out the UCLA – USC dual meets. Here are a couple duals reported in this issue that must have been fun. USC wins the mile relay to top Stanford 73-72. Despite CK Yang's 16-0, 14.1, 226-4½ and 24-5½, Oxy tops UCLA 74½ to 70½......These meets are close, but we can give you even closer. How about the 72-72 tie between Abilene Christian and New Mexico? That only adds up to 144 points, one short. What happened? It seems that only the two ACC vaulters made the unmentioned opening height. Had the Lobos had a vaulter just clear a height, the meet would have been theirs. This is where OUTV's vast source of expert correspondents comes into play, specifically Pete Brown of Plano, Texas, who as alert readers are aware, has furnished us with his copies of T&FN for 1963. Pete ran in this meet. He tells us that the Lobos' vaulter, Don Beattie, would have easily cleared the opening height of 12-6, but he was sidelined with a sprained his knee. The two teams will meet again May 20 and we will be there to record the action.

"Hey, Old Henry Carr"

We will close with Henry Carr's comments in the Quotable Quotes column. “My name is just plain Henry Carr. When you're the ninth of twelve children your parents don't have many choices left........It's real funny about the world record. As a kid I dreamed of such things. Now it has come true and it doesn't seem real. At night I wake up and realize what has happened and tell myself, 'Hey, old Henry Carr, how about that?'”

Whoa Hoss, we're not done yet.  In the words above there was mention of one Gerald Pratt whom I clearly remember from these times as a top pole vaulter, and he was an African American, and he was a lefthander.  It was nice as well to read that Pratt received some early encouragement from my Oklahoma teammates.   Following is an article on Pratt, from 'The Defender' by   Max Edison

By: Max Edison

The 58th  Annual TSU Relays are right around the corner (March 20-21) at the Alexander Durley Sports Complex on the campus of Texan Southern University. Just the mere thought of the relays conjures thoughts of years gone by when the event was one of the nation’s premiere track & field meets, featuring some of the fastest athletes in the country. From Olympians to world record-setters they all came to Third Ward to race at TSU. Names like: Bob Hayes, Charles Frazier, Homer Jones, Jim Hines, Rod Milburn, Carl Lewis, Leroy Burrell and countless all competed at the TSU relays. The TSU Relays.
Throughout the sixties and seventies, the men’s track teams at Texas Southern, under the direction of track coach Stan Wright, were some of the most prolific teams in the country.
The TSU track team was known as the Flying Tigers, but in 1961 a unique element was added to the Tiger repertoire, that truly legitimized that moniker. Galveston born and Los Angeles raised, Gerald Pratt came to Texas Southern and began to compete for the Tigers in 1962. What made Pratt so unique? He was an African-American who excelled in the pole vault!
Pratt arrived to the Cleburne street campus after making a name for himself nationally at Los Angeles City College. Of course, regardless to where he was, Coach Wright had an eye for talent.
“I was participating in the National AAU meet in New York (1961) when Coach approached me about a scholarship to Texas Southern,” Pratt recalled. “I had run across Texas Southern at meets in Modesto and Fresno (California). I didn’t know much about the school, only that they had a track team that traveled.”
The fact that Pratt was Black and one of the world’s top vaulters is itself somewhat of a miracle and a testament to African-American ingenuity.
“We started in my backyard in Los Angeles. Myself, my brother Matt and some neighbors started off high jumping,” Gerald explained. “We got to a point where we had jumped as high as we could go, so we grabbed a metal pole in the garage and started using it to see how high we could go.
“I attended Dorsey High School and high jumped for the track team. I would wander over to the pole vault guys and play around with them and soon discovered I could do better than them. After winning more meets in the pole vault than I did high jumping or running the high hurdles, I just stuck with it. I never really had any real formal training.”
A coincidental brush with athletes from the University of Oklahoma sealed the pole vaulting deal for an impressionable young Gerald Pratt.
“One year during the Coliseum Relays (L.A.) a couple of guys from the Oklahoma track team came over to Dorsey to practice before the meet. Their vaulters were using fiberglass poles and they gave me one. I had been using bamboo and metals poles, which were the standard back then (1959). I was winning meets with a metal pole at 12’4″. The first time I used fiberglass in a meet I went 13’9″. As a matter of fact I still hold the pole vault record at Dorsey High.”
Gerald Pratt attended L.A. City College and his dominance in his event continued, amazingly enough, with little to no formal pole vault training and being left handed, which was extremely unorthodox for the event.
“At City College the training was very basic, essentially what you could read from a book,” Pratt continued. “There was no pole vault specialty training or coach. I got a few tips from the guys from Oklahoma, but that was pretty much it. Even later when I got to TSU I was pretty much on my own. At City College I set the National Jr. College record jumping around 14’6″ during my second year (1961).”
At Texas Southern, Pratt was an integral part of the TSU track juggernaut in the’60′s, a team that was second to none.

“We took a back seat to no one nationally or internationally if we ran against them,” Gerald proudly recalled. “We had a tremendous group of athletes. Guys like Homer Jones, Charles Frazier, Barney Allen, Overton Williams and Ray Saddler just to name a few. We always represented the University well. We had our TSU blazers, shirt and ties. We always strived to be professional.”
Pratt recalls the TSU Relays in the sixties as being a meet that attracted star power from all over the country.
“It was 1963 at the TSU Relays when I went over 16 feet and they were measuring it for a world record jump. Unfortunately the meet did not follow the correct procedure to accurately measure for a record, but I knew I was really close.”

Pratt became the first person in state history to ever pole vault 16 feet and at one time was ranked as high as No. 7 in the world, all while representing Texas Southern. An unfortunate back injury curtailed his 1964 season, yet he was still selected as an alternate for the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. A subsequent back surgery ended Pratt’s track and field career. 

Max Edison

from the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Don and Dave Styron or is it Dave and Don?

Don Styron

Sport: Track and Field

Induction Year: 1977

When he won three gold medals in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, sprinter Bobby Morrow relied on getting 11 hours’ sleep a night to keep up his strength.

Four years later, twin brothers Don Styron and Dave Styron used the same strategy to rank among the world’s best athletes in the specialties.

They might have a combined total of 11 hours’ sleep before major meets – 5 1/2 apiece for Don and Dave.

“If they got three or four hours sleep,” recalled former teammate Jerry Dyes, “they could run with anybody in the world.”

Former LSU track and field coach Murrell “Boots” Garland, who considered himself somewhat of an authority on the subject, said the Styrons’ reputation for being world class drinkers was greatly exaggerated. “They did plenty of carousing, but not much drinking,” Garland said. “I’ve spilled more liquor on the bar than they ever drank.”

Lew Hartzog, who coached the Styrons at Wheat Ridge, Colo., High School and Northeast State College (Northeast Louisiana University, Univ. of Louisiana-Monroe) was a great track coach, but he didn’t exactly run a tight ship. Any of his athletes would’ve had a hard time matching their coach’s reputation as a free spirit.

When Hartzog took the Styrons and Dyes to the 1960 Olympic Trials at Stanford by automobile, they were on the road for four weeks – with a two-day layover in Juarez, Mexico, highlighted by Hartzog’s leap from a second-floor balcony into a motel swimming pool.

“Looking back,” Dyes recalled when the Styrons were inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1977, “I don’t think stopping in Juarez was a very good idea."

In the Olympic Trials, the field for the 400-meter intermediate hurdles was the fastest ever assembled.

It included world record holder Glenn Davis, the defending Olympic champion, and the other two medalists in the Melbourne Game – Eddie Southern and Josh Culbreath. Whoever qualified for the U.S. team would be part of another 1-2-3 sweep in Rome.

Don Styron, running the event for only the sixth time in his life, had a personal best of 49.9. Leading the pack at 300 meters, he hit the eighth hurdler and lost his balance for a few strides.

“I lost my concentration, and wasn’t able to get my rhythm back,” he recalled. Despite the mishap, he finished sixth with 50.3 – one-tenth behind Culbreath. Davis won in 49.5 and the next three broke 50 seconds – but Southern, Culbreath and Styron didn’t make the team.

The following spring, Northeast won the Florida Relays as Dave Styron won the 100, Don Styron won the high hurdles and both ran on winning 440-yard and mile relay teams. The Indians rolled up 50 1/2 points to 28 for runner-up Florida.

When Northeast beat LSU’s Southeastern Conference champions 55-53, the Styrons accounted for 36 points. Don Styron had a personal best in the high hurdles that day, beating Dickie Durham of LSU with 13.9.

Later in the 22-yard low hurdles, he lowered the world record to 21.9 seconds.

The 220-yard low hurdles was a standard collegiate event at that time, but it was dropped in favor of the 440-yard intermediate hurdles.

Two years in a row, Track and Field News selected Don Styron as the world’s best triple hurdler – combining the 120-yard highs, 220-yard lows ad 440-yard intermediate hurdles. He was the national AAU champion in the 220-yard lows in 1961, the next-to-last time the event was held in a national meet.

Don Styron won his first race with his younger brother on March 18, 1940, when he was born 20 minutes before Dave.

The twins played football and basketball at Wheat Ridge, Colo., and also participated in track and field. But they enjoyed only modest success. In the 1957 state meet, Don Styron was second in the 180-yard low hurdles and Dave Styron was third in the broad jump (now the long jump).

When Hartzog got the Northeast job a couple of months later, he located the Styrons working on a summer job at hay and cattle ranches near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and gave them the only scholarship offer they received from a four-year school.

At Northeast, they had to build a track before they could build one of the nation’s best collegiate teams. “We had to borrow hurdles from Neville High and practice on the football field,” Don Styron recalled.

Social barriers also blocked their development as world-class athletes, because a Louisiana law did not allow state schools to participate in integrated events at that time. That prevented Northeast from winning national titles, and cut down on its athletes’ opportunities for top competition.

The Styrons shared Gulf States Conference “Athlete of the Year” honors three years, leading the school to its first three conference titles in any sport.

Two years after he completed his collegiate eligibility, Don Styron tried to come back and win a berth on the 1964 U.S. Olympic team. In the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, he was runner-up to Eddie Southern in the Texas Relays and runner-up to Cliff Cushman in the Kansas Relays. But the Amateur Athletic Union offered little of no help to world class athletes after their collegiate eligibility expired, and his comeback bid ended in frustration and failure.

He was able to fly to Corvallis, Oregon, for a qualifying meet, and finished second. But he ran out of money, and the AAU officials – who promised per diem expenses to the top three in each event – said they would mail a check.

Meanwhile, Don had to hitchhike to Los Angeles – where Southern Cal coach Jess Mortensen allowed him to stay in the athletic dorm while he trained with USC athletes, and then hitchhike across the nation to compete in the Olympic Trials at New Brunswick, N.J. But the time he arrived in New Brunswick, he had lost his conditioning and finished last in a qualifying heat.

More than 25 years later, he was still waiting for the check.

Vol. 3 No. 9 February, 1963

February 1963

Thanks to Pete Brown (see below) of Plano, Texas who has been kind enough to loan us his collection of 1963 T&FN issues, the missing year is missing no more.

Indoor meets abound. Sixteen are reported in this issue. We will run through them chronologically.

The Old Maple Leaf Gardens

The last weekend of January finds us in Canada where on Friday, January 25, world class track has returned to Toronto the first time in 27 years in the form of the Maple Leaf Games. Remember how Bruce Kidd and Bill Crothers dominated their competition last month in the US? Well, they are pretty good when racing in their own country, too. Crothers wins the 1000 easily in a seemingly slow 2:12.6. “Seemingly slow” because the competition is held on a 12 lap to the mile track. (Let me save you breaking out the calculator: that is 146 2/3 yards per lap.)

I think we have covered the part about Bruce Kidd being real good in last month's report. How good? Good enough to run a the second fastest three mile ever, 13:34.6, while lapping the field twice.

This should be enough to have the 12,625 in attendance talking about the hometown boys as they depart the stadium. But it isn't. The subject of conversation is Dave Tork who has just taken the pole vault indoor world record from Finland's Pentti Nikula with a leap of 16-2 ¼. If you recall, C.K. Yang had set the record a week ago in Portland only to have Nikula wipe his name from the books the next night. 

Your editor was 19 year old sophomore at U. of Oklahoma in Feb. 1963, and at an indoor meet in Lubbock,  Texas  C.K. Yang was vaulting as the current WR holder.  Next day in the hotel lobby I picked up a newspaper that had a story announcing that Yang had just become the former WR holder.  C.K. was in the hotel restaurant that Sunday morning, and I gave him the paper opened to the story.  He didn't seem too surprised.   That winter , the record changed hands almost every weekend.   

Six days later, it belongs to Tork. The fiberglass pole has just been approved and vaulters are becoming accustomed to it. Records aren't held, they are borrowed.

The next night we are in Winnipeg and as good as the PV was last night, it isn't tonight. J.D. Martin wins on misses over Don Meyers and Jerry Morro at 14-0. 
John Rose opens at 15-0 and no heights. What is going on? Well, it seems that the poles were stored outside. This may work in Los Angeles, San Diego and Miami. Not so much in Winnipeg. The vaulters are reduced to working with frozen poles that have no more bend than the steel poles of yesteryear.

J.D. Martin was the biggest man ever to clear 15' feet on a steel pole going about 15'7" maybe a little better.  He was 6'3" and well over 200 pounds.   The fiberglass technology of the day was insufficient to build a pole that could safely hold J.D.  It would have had to weigh at least 50 pounds, so he could never progress on glass.  Fortunately for J.D. he had multi talents and went on to win the Pan Am games decathlon in 1963.  By 1964 he was offered the head coaching job at Oklahoma (an offer he couldn't refuse) and stayed there 37 or more years.  Taking the job, cost him a shot at making the Olympic team in '64. ed.
   

John Belitza  ACC Champ 1962

Wendell Mottley

The 74^th Boston AA Games are held the same night. Yale's and Jamaca's Wendell Motley thrashes the 440 field by a second and a half with the fastest 11 lap to the mile track time of 48.3. 

Morttley will go on to put his Yale degree to good use, becoming the Minister of Finance for Trindad and Tobago from 1991-95and recently named Chairman of the Board of the Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Fund  2013. ed.

When Dave Tork leaves the stadium he is still the world record holder, but he is not the winner of this evening's competition. That would be John Belitza of Maryland who becomes the sixth member of the 16 foot club by half an inch. Rolando Cruz is second at 15-6. Tork is third at 15-0.

Rolando Cruz

The next week track and field is alive and well in the Millrose Games held in Madison Square Garden. The main attraction is the arrival of the Russians, world record holders Igor Ter-Ovanesyan and Valeriy Brumel and middle distance runner Valeryi Bulishev.

Brumel traditionally has had an easy time of it with America's best, John Thomas. This time it is a bit tougher as Thomas leads on misses at 7-0. The Russian regains the lead at 7-1 and then jumps 7-2 to win.

History is not on Ter-Ovanesyan's side. In eight competitions against the top American broad jumper, he has yet to win.  Tonight's dual with Ralph Boston will be their sixth. T-O has yet to win. After Boston's first round 25-10 provides him a 2½ inch margin, it appears to be more of the same. But this time things are different. T-O demonstrates why he is the world record holder with a second round indoor world record of 26-10. Not only can Boston not match that, he can't find the board. Four of his last five jumps are fouls and the Russian wins by a foot.

Ernie Cunliffe

Bulishev is not the quality athlete that Brumel and Ter-Ovanesyan are, but he shows he is good enough to handle the Americans at 880 yards. While Jim Dupree and Ernie Cunliffe lead through the quarter in 53.9., Bulishev bides his time. Down 20 to Cunliffe at the gun, he turns it on, catching EC on the last turn and as Cunliffe  moves wide to counter the pass, the Russian goes by on the inside and takes it, 1:50.8 to Cunliffe's 1:5I.2. Talking to the press later, Ernie says, “ I've never been so tired from a race in my life. When I heard the crowd roar, I knew someone was coming, so I tried to make him run wide on the turn. But I was so tired, I must have gone too far out.”

Bruce Kidd spends his lonely hours on a Friday evening winning the two mile over an improving Charlie Clark in 8:41.0. Clark's 8:46.0 is the new American record, surpassing the 8:47.1 of Max Truex who was third this evening in 8:46.2. (As a notation for further reference, Billy Mills is sixth in 9:21.6.) Tom O'Hara nips Cary Weisiger in a spirited mile, 4:01.5 to 4:01.8. No splits are given.

The Russian tour will continue next week in Los Angeles and two weeks later back at the Garden for the AAU Nationals.

Now it is the next day, Saturday, February 2. Remember that pole vault world record thing? Well, it is back. In Pajulahti, Finland, Pentti Nikula becomes the first five meter man with his 16-5 jump. Most of the 900 fans rush the floor. Pandemonium reigns. His coach, Valto (great name for a PV coach) Olenius, is lifted into the air. Backs are slapped, hands are shaken. The world record is back in Finland.

But rather than trotting off to the pub for a few cold ones, Pentti wants to try 16-6¾. After two failures, he clears. Why quit when you are hot? The bar is raised to 16-8¾. Over he goes on the first try. Two attempts at 17-0 go awry and Pennti is done for the night, secure in the knowledge that the WR is his. But remember the record can't be owned, only borrowed like a library book that has to be turned in in two weeks. Still and all, it is a pretty good night.

On the same evening at the Philadelphia Inquirer Games, Rolando Cruz of Villanova becomes the newest member of the 16 feet club, doing so with half an inch to spare. Just for fun Bruce Kidd drops down to the mile and handles Tom Sullivan 4:08.7 to 4:10.2.

A week has passed. It is February 9 and the promised LA Times meet is upon us. Let's start with the duals in the jumps. Valeryi Brumel's coach said he isn't in world record shape and indeed that is so. He takes three jumps to clear 6-8. John Thomas makes 6-10 on his first effort. Brumel takes two tries. Both clear 7-0¼ on their third attempts, but can go no higher and Thomas wins on misses, his first victory over Brumel in eight tries. In Brumel's defense, he has stepped on a TV cable and injured himself early on. His coach gives him credit for competing.

Ralph Boston and Igor Ter-Ovanesyan have at it again in the broad jump. The lead changes hands four times before the Russian pulls out a 26-3 to 26-1½ victory.

Herb Carper destroys the 60 field with his fifth world record equaling 6.0. The 6.0 club includes Jim Golliday, Charlie Tidwell, Roscoe Cook, Frank Budd, Dave Styron, Ralph Alspaugh and Brooks Johnson. Please, somebody run 5.9.

Hayes Jones runs the 60HH in his best time of the year, 7.1. More significantly, this is his 39^th straight hurdles win, breaking Harrison Dillard's record.

Nineteen year old Brian Sternberg becomes the ninth man to vault 16 feet, doing so by ¼ inch. Hal Bateman calls it “the greatest mass pole vaulting of all time. John Rose, C.K. Yang, Dave Tork and Mel Hein clear 15-8 while John Uelses, Mike Flanagan and Ron Morris are over 15-4

In the absence of Bruce Kidd, Bob Schul takes the two mile easily in 8:51.6.
Where is Kidd? He has opted for the mile where he can test his mettle 

Schul and Ron Larrieu following Bolotnikov in later years

against the great Peter Snell. Can he pull the upset? No, not close. He finishes well back in 4:12.7. But this is not to say there isn't an upset. Jim Grelle follows through a 2:02.5 half and takes over at the ¾ mark in 3:05.8. Snell is sitting 20 yards back and the crowd anticipates what is about to happen. It is only a matter of time before the king of the kick takes over. Or is it? Grelle looks around several times on the last lap for the Kiwi's challenge. It doesn't come. Grelle takes it easily 4:04.7 to 4:06.4. No explanation is given.

Friday, Feb. 15 finds meets on opposite sides of the country, the Golden Gate Invitational and the more significant New York AC Games which feature the touring Russian road show of Brumel and Ter-Ovanesyan. Thomas and Boston are not the competition tonight, but this is not a problem for either Russian. T-O leaps 25-6¾ and Brumel after a dismal showing last week, rights the ship to clear 7-4 for an indoor record.

The best races are the mile and two mile. Jim Beatty is matched against Tom O'Hara. O'Hara leads through the quarter at 59.7 before settling in behind Beatty for splits of 2:00.2 and 3:00.7 with Poland's Witold Baran in close attendance. O'Hara makes the early move and leads by two yards at the gun, but is unable to hold off the withering kick of Beatty on the final turn. The former North Carolina star surges strongly on the final turn to open a four yard margin at the tape for a world record 3:58.6. O'Hara has nothing to hang his head about. His 3:59.2 gives him the distinction of being the only man to run four minutes indoors without having done it outdoors. The two engage in the 1960's version of trash talking. Beatty: “It was a real honor to beat Tom tonight.” O'Hara: “I'll just have to work harder.”

Michel Bernard, the French record holder at two miles, is here to give 19 year old Bruce Kidd a run at this distance. He follows Kidd through half mile splits of 2:08.5, 4:20.8 and 6:33.2 at which point he is five yards down, ready to pounce. Kidd, who should be hanging out at the malt shop on Friday night, never gives him the opportunity. He closes in 63.2 and 62.6 to finish in 8:39.0. Bernard runs 8:41.4.

In San Francisco the competition is, well,......whimsical. There are four sprints, the 60, 50, 25 and weightman's 60. Herb Carper wins the first two, but the fun comes in the 25 when he lines up against fast starting Hayes Jones. Make that fast starting for a hurdler, Hayes Jones. Jones is no match for Carper who blows him away by a yard, 3.1 to 3.2. There will be a weightman's 60, but Parry O'Brien ain't running with the fat boys. No, he runs with the sprinters and is fourth at 3.5.

Jack Yerman is having a heck of an indoor season at 600. He drops to the 440 tonight and leaves Ulis Williams in his dust, 48.4 to 49.2. The aforementioned Mr. Jones runs his consecutive hurdle victory streak to 40 with a 7.1 clocking in the 60. Charlie Clark drops his 2M PR by two tenths to 8:45.8 thanks in great part to the 8:47.3 of San Jose State sophomore Danny Murphy.

The following night, Saturday, Feb. 16 and we are in the south for two vastly different meets. The first SEC meet is held in Montgomery, Alabama and the talent level among the competing schools is diverse. LSU wins with 30 points followed by Alabama 27. Mississippi State 25 and Auburn 24. None of the other seven schools score more than seven. In fact Mississippi and Vanderbilt take a goose egg. Marks are inferior to comparable size conferences. The high jump is won at 6-2, the mile relay at 3:31.1, the PV at 14-0, the mile at 4:28.7 and the two mile at 9:51.1. Integration has yet to come to the SEC.

In contrast, the Mason-Dixon Games in Louisville produce four world records. Bob Hayes has just returned from Jamaica where he tied the WR for the 200 meters on a turn at 20.5. He takes down the WR for 70 yards at 6.9. The other three records are aided by the Freedom Hall 220 yard track. As the runners wait for the gun in the 500, the WR is Charlie Jenkins' 56.4 set in 1956. One minute later and the record belongs to Earl Young who has knocked off a 55.5. Had Earl not been there, the record would have been broken anyway as Dave Mills, Ollan Cassell and Willie Atterberry all finish in 55.6.

Texas Southern and Georgetown have been waiting for this meet. The TSU guys obliterate Oklahoma State's 3:13.8 mile relay record with a 3:12.2. No one has split over 48.5 and Ray Saddler anchors in 47.2. The two mile relay WR falls to Georgetown in a race which is apparently timed by a watches with no tenths. The Hoyas run 1:55.0, 1:54.0, 1:50.0 and 1:50.0 for a time of 7:29.0, clipping two tenths off Kansas' record. The last two legs are run by Ed Duchini and John Reilly.



Michel Bernard (France)

Now we have returned to the Big Apple for the AAU Nationals where foreigners take home four American titles. Brumel handles Thomas 7-3 ½ to 7-0. Ter-Ovanesyan leaves no doubt that he is the world's best broad jumper by leaving Boston behind 26-6½ to 25-9¾. Bill Crothers returns to Canada with the US 1000 title after a 2:09.8 go round after numerous US talents don't survive the heats, among them Ernie Cunliffe, John Reilly and Cliff Cushman. The other non-US taxpayer with a title is Michel Bernard who cruises to a 13:38.4 win at 3M, narrowly escaping the kick of Bob Schul who finishes four tenths back.

Jack Yerman is the man this season at the 600 and proves it by running 1:09.4, only a tenth off George Kerr's record. Much credit for this goes to Norfolk State's Jim Johnson who leads until the final straight and finishes only a tenth back. One can only wonder how fast this might have gone without the earlier heats.

Jim Beatty runs a similar race to that in LA two weeks earlier, hitting the 1320 in 3:00.0 and finishing in 3:59.0, a second ahead of Jim Grelle.

 From the Quotable Quotes column we find this  "quantity-quality  conundrum" statement by Joe Faust. “My goal is to do 100 consecutive jumps of 6'6” or higher. If I can do this it would enable me to jump 7'4”.”
…

Ernie Shelton

....In the On Your Marks column we learn of the disaster that has befallen Ernie Shelton, NCAA high jump champ in '54 and '55 with a best of 6-11¼. He was injured while riding a motorcycle for a TV commercial. While riding 60 mph up a hill, he had to jump off when the throttle broke. However his foot caught on the pedal and he was dragged over the edge of a cliff. Falling to the bottom, he suffered nerve damage and spinal disc injuries. Currently he is hospitalized, unable to walk or move his arms...Ernie Shelton survived his injuries to go on to become a junior college art teacher and artist.  Still alive.  ....


Who holds the Tulane University record in the high hurdles? That would be noted radio and TV commentator Howard K. Smith who ran 14.5. in 1936.

Howard K. Smith

Hometown: Ferriday, La. Event: Hurdles Experience: 3L

Hall of Fame: 1983

Howard K. Smith, a 1936 graduate of Tulane University, was named one of the NCAA's 100 Most Influential Student-Athletes in 2006. As part of the NCAA's Centennial Celebration, a panel consisting of college and university presidents, athletics directors, NCAA committee members, conference office representatives, SAAC representatives and NCAA staff determined the prestigious list which celebrates each honorees professional accomplishments, athletics success and scope of achievement. Smith was a longtime newsman whose career began as a foreign correspondent for UPI in 1940. He joined CBS News in 1941 as its Berlin correspondent and covered many pivotal moments of the war, including the German surrender to Russia as well as the Nuremberg trials. In 1960, he was named chief of CBS's Washington Bureau and continued to build his impressive resumé, including serving as moderator of the first Kennedy-Nixon presidential debate. He would move on to ABC, hosting numerous news programs and was named co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, a position he would hold until 1975. He was also the author of four books, including the best-selling Last Train From Berlin, which chronicled his views of the conditions in Germany prior to his departure in 1942 - he was recognized as the last American correspondent to leave Germany after war was declared. As a student-athlete at Tulane, Smith earned three track letters and was captain of the team as a senior in 1936. He still holds the Tulane record in the 120-yard high hurdles at 14.5 seconds and was inducted into the Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame in 1983. He served as his class president for his sophomore, junior and senior years and also wrote for The Hullabaloo student newspaper and the Jambalaya yearbook. A Rhodes Scholar, he attended Heidelberg and Oxford after graduating from Tulane. Smith held honorary degrees from Tulane (LLD in Journalism, 1955), Maryland, Alfred, Thiel, St. Norbert, Roosevelt and Southern University. He also earned multiple honors from the NCAA, including being honored in 1972 with an NCAA Commemorative Plaque as one of a group of newsmen who achieved national prominence in the field after having won a varsity athletic letter. Born May 4, 1914 in Ferriday, La., Smith was married and had two children. He died on Feb. 15, 2002.

Who is Pete Brown?  Below a brief intro that Pete sent to me two years ago.  His devotion to and knowledge of Track and Field is profound.  

     Pete Brown winning a couple of races for the Lobos in the 1960's

George---I ran for UNM 61-62-63 and was only good enough to place 2^nd or 3^rd in conference (PR 1:52.1 880 in Tempe the night Plummer ran 44.9 and smashed WR) and I never ran after college. I missed Q for 63 NCAA in ABQ by .2. I got married after my soph year and only did 10k type stuff after that. I saw my first big-time meet in the Coliseum in 1950---USC, Yale and Michigan State and have been a fan ever since. I have boxes and boxes of track “stuff” I’ve collected over a lifetime and still go to the NCAA meets. 

Vol. 2 No. 62 May 1962 Throwers Excel but Greta Garbo Steals the Show

MAY 1962

Generally, as we age, adding pounds is not a good idea. Al Oerter is the exception to the rule. As the 19 year old Olympic champion in 1956 he weighed 228. As the 23 year old Olympic champion in 1960 he weighed 235. Now, as a 25 year old he weighs 250. He is older, bigger and better.

                                                                          Al Oerter

                                                                Al Oerter at Rome

                                                                    Dallas Long

                                                                   Fortune Gordien

On the afternoon of April 28 he tangles with world record holder Jay Silvester in the Mt. SAC Relays. Silvester throws 195-7, good enough to win nearly any time, anywhere, but not today as the Olympic champ slings one 198-6, the second best throw ever.

Three weeks later on the evening of May 18, Big Al is giving it a go again in the Coliseum Relays. Silvester and past world record holder Rink Babka are the prime competition. After a fling of 186-9 in the first round, Oerter gives warning of what is about to happen. His throw of 198-7 is a personal best, just inches from Silvester's record. Finally on his fourth effort history is made. He becomes the first to surpass the 200 foot barrier. It is measured at 200-5½. The throw is witnessed by three former record holders, Sylvester, who instantly gained that status, Babka and Fortune Gordien who is the official. Babka's 193-9 edges Silvester for second by 5 inches but no one notices.

Now to less weighty matters, in particular Dallas Long. The SC star finished last season at 274. Today as he steps into the shot put ring at the Coliseum he is a trim 246. This is the long awaited match with Gary Gubner.

Gary Gubner

 In the second round, with retired record holder Bill Nieder standing nearby, Long puts together the second record breaker of the night, a 65-10½ throw which better's Nieder's record by half an inch. He finishes with throws of 63-11½, 64-10, 65-0 and 64-6. Gubner is never close, but has no reason to be disheartened. In the last round, he drops one 64-11, good enough to win nearly any other place, any other day, but not here and not today. Rest assured they will meet again.

Paul Drayton

    

 

                                                  Frank Budd

The throwers aren't the only guys setting records. On May 12 in a dual meet with the Quantico Marines Frank Budd of Villanova ties Dave Sime's 20.0 WR in the 200 (straight). Teammate Paul Drayton is second at 20.1. Budd, the 100 yard WR holder at 9.2, wins that race at 9.3 to tie Sime's 1958 performance in Sanger, CA for the best sprint double, 9.3 and 20.0.

              John Uelses and Dave Tork

                                                                                      Dave Tork

                                                                                           

How about a jump world record? Hey, we got that too. On April 28 at the Mt. SAC Relays Marine lieutenant Dave Tork vaults 16-2 to steal the record from fellow Marine John Uelses.

(U. of Oregon Library)

Okay, WRs in the throwing events, sprints and jumps, but what about the distances? Just a minute, let me look. Yep, we have one of those also. It is the noon May 12 and we are in Fresno for the West Coast Relays. The Oregon Ducks are taking a crack at the 16:23.8 WR held by Peter Snell's New Zealand national team. Archie San Romani leads off. His opening go round of 60.2 is followed by a 64.0. This is cause for concern as San Romani is a great talent, but he has been erratic. Not to worry. The sophomore rights the ship and cranks out final laps of 58.1 each for a 4:03.5. Canadian Vic Reeves is up next, but after a 58.5 opening, he too suffers from the second lap slows, clocking 64.6. Like San Romani, Reeves rallies to run 62.2 and 60.1 to finish at 4:05.4. With Keith Forman up and Dyrol Burleson waiting in the wings, the record is not in doubt. Now it is only a question of by how much. Forman is a model of consistency, lapping 60.7, 61.5, 60.7 and 59.4 for 4:02.3. Burleson is the American record holder at 3:57.6. As long as he is not struck down by lightning, there will be a new record. Burley demonstrates his resolve, running 56.4 for the first quarter. The pace slows to 61.1 and 62.0 before he kicks home in 58.2 for a 3:57.7 and a new world record of 16:08.9. Keith Forman is not content to bask in the afternoon's glory. He returns eight hours later to win the open mile in a PR of 4:00.7.

This issue of TFN, like the last, reports by the event rather than the meet, so we shall do the same. We have covered the highlights in the 100 and 220. The 440 leaders remain Adolph Plummer and Ulis Williams at 46.0. Only four tenths of a second separate the top five in the 880: Burleson 1:48.2, Jerry Siebert 1:48.4, John Bork 1:48.5 with Jack Yerman and Ray Van Asten both at 1:48.6. At Mt. SAC in a race not described, Jim Grelle becomes the fourth American to break four minutes with a 3:59.9 win. Burleson's 8:42.5 still leads the two mile.

                                                                   Buddy Edlen

The single outstanding American achievement in the distances comes from London. Minnesota graduate, Buddy Edelen, now teaching in England, becomes the first American to win an English distance run title since 1887 when he fights off challenges in the last mile to win the British AAA 10 mile track championship in 48:31.8, smashing Johnny Kelley's American record set in 1959 by 2:20 and moving to fourth on the all time list.

In case you're trying to remember more about Buddy Edlen, the following bio is taken from the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame

Buddy Edelen

Sioux Falls (1955 Washington High grad). Minnesota. Edelen's success as a marathon runner inspired a generation of runners, including Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers. Edelen taught in England from 1960-65 and while there entered cross country and marathon races around the world. He set a world record in the marathon (2 hours, 14 minutes, 28 seconds) on June 15, 1963. The 1964 Olympic marathon trial in Yonkers, N.Y., was run in such heat and humidity that seven out of every 10 entrants dropped out; the 5-10, 135 pound Edelen won by almost 20 minutes. Within a week he was having sciatic difficulties. Edelen was sixth in the marathon (2:18:12.4) in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, and his competitive career ended not long after that. At Minnesota he was Big Ten cross country champ as a junior and won the two-mile in track. As a senior at Washington High in the 1954-55 school year, Edelen set records in every cross country and mile race he ran and set state mile record of 4:28.8. Born in Harrodsburg, Ky., and reared in the Twin Cities area. Only lived in Sioux Falls one year.

Ok , so I got a bit carried away with Jerry Tarr pictures ed.

Jerry Tarr and Fran Washington lead the highs at 13.7. Don Styron has run 13.8 but leads the 220LH at 22.5, fitting since he holds the WR at 21.9. Dee Andrews of Long Beach State and Jay Luck of Yale have clocked 22.6 and 22.7. Oddly, while the highs and lows are run and recorded at yards, the intermediates are recorded in meters with three tenths subtracted for 440 races. Rex Cawley, Bruce McCullough and Russ Rogers are the leaders at 51.5. John Thomas, shown placing third in a dual meet 100 (9.9), has yet to get it going in the high jump. His 6-10 is 2¼ inches behind leader Joe Faust.

The junior college ranks have produced two national leaders. Larry Stuart of Santa Ana JC tops the javelin list at 256-2 and Mahoney Samuels of Foothill JC and the West Indies has triple jumped 51-10¾ to set the junior college and freshman records and lead the nation by nearly a foot. Evolutionary note here: This is the first time the hop-step-jump has been referred to as the triple jump by TFN. You might want to make note of this as it may come up as game show question. What was the triple jump first called, Alex?

 Uelses Going Over

In an effort to preserve historical integrity, your diligent reporter presents information in the format used by the magazine. That means that we have “Late News” from meets run on May 18 and 19 in Los Angeles, Eugene and Lawrence.

Aside from the shot and discus records already reported, we have other results but no descriptions from the Coliseum Relays. Professor Peter Snell gives a lesson in miling to those upstart Americans. His 3:56.1 leaves Dyrol Burleson 15 yards in arrears at 3:57.9. The pace is beneficial for the rest of the field as Jim Grelle 3:58.9, Bob Seaman 4:00.6 and Cary Weisiger 4:01.5 all PR. Rex Cawley lowers his national leading time to 50.5 in the intermediates. The much anticipated match between 100 yard record holders Frank Budd and Robert (not Bob yet) Hayes over 100 meters is won by Hayes in 10.2. Budd's 10.3 is matched by third place finisher Henry Carr. John Uelses beats the man who took his record in the pole vault, Dave Tork, with a jump of 16-0¼, but Tork's 16-2 record still stands.

They are not called the Coliseum Relays for nothing. Each of the four relays is outstanding. Florida A&M and Texas Southern trade wins in the 440 and 880 relays. TSU takes the short relay at 40.3 with A&M two tenths back. The Florida kids rally to win the two lapper 1:23.4 to 1:23.7. One assumes that this Hayes kid ran in both races, but there is no narrative to confirm that.

Arizona State beat USC in the mile relay at Mt.SAC 3:07.5 to 3:08.0. These teams are back at it in the Coliseum. The result is the same, but the times are faster: 3:06.1 to 3:07.3 with Texas Southern third at 3:07.8. You want splits? Sorry about that. Texas Southern has a hell of a program. Here they are again in the two mile relay. Their 7:22.1 betters the 7:24.2 of national leader Missouri. What it doesn't better is the winning 7:20.6 of USC. The Trojans' previous best had been 7:28.1. Occidental also betters the national lead with a 7:22.8. Splits? We don hafta give you no stinking splits. Maybe more detail will come to light in the next issue.

In Lawrence, the Sooners of Oklahoma dominate the Big Eight meet with 101 points. Anthony Watson has a day to write home about. He broad jumps (no long jumping yet – this evolutionary process takes time) 25-8 and sprints 9.4 and 20.1 (20.0 in a heat). These marks are wind-aided, but nonetheless it is a pretty, pretty, pretty good day for the young man.

The big news from the Far West Championships is the national collegiate record in the high hurdles by Jerry Tarr who lowers his best from 13.7 to 13.3. To fill his afternoon he tours the intermediates in 52.0, perhaps a harbinger of things to come.

And yes, Clifford Severn Sporting Good and Adidas still lay claim to the back page. Assume this is the case in future issues until you are informed otherwise.


Hollywood Goes to the Track  1926

Who said that track and field was all work and no play?    I found this series of publicity photos of +Greta Garbo and the USC Trojans.  She allegedly was sent there by her publicist  against her wishes and posed for a few shots with Dean Cromwell and some of the lads.  This episode in her career  probably was the part of her life experience that led to her famous line, " I want to be alone".  Most likely  the lads in the middle photo had to take cold showers afterward.

"Honey If you don't roll that silk stocking down, you'll never be a Trojan"

"I'll kill that damned publicist"

Let's see Javelin or Self Defense Training?