Vol. 3 No. 43 Frank Budd

 We previously posted a piece by Dave D'Alessandro about  Milt Campbell . 

Here is a recent one by  Dave about Frank Budd from the Star Ledger in New Jersey. 

Thanks to Dennis Kavanaugh for bringing this piece to our attention. Also attached is the obituary of one of Frank Budd's lesser known teammates Joe Manion  ed.

Frank Budd, the former world record holder in the 100-yard dash, will take part in the eighth annual Frank Budd Track Meet today at his alma mater, Asbury Park High School (Tony Kurdzuk/Star-Ledger)

By Dave D'Alessandro/Star-Ledger Columnist 
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on July 06, 2013 at 5:00 AM, updated July 06, 2013 at 5:01 AM

His life began with polio, the paralytic curse of three generations, and the fact that he became the fastest man on the planet is not so much an irony to Frank Budd as it was a lesson of what an iron will can do for a man.

His wife of 50 years, Barbara, tells him this almost every day. She’s a critical care specialist, and this isn’t something they teach you in nursing school, but she applauded the stories from her mother-in-law — notably, how Frank’s mom applied a concoction of goose grease, nutmeg, mutton fat and witch hazel to a slightly deformed right leg, and transformed this limping child into arguably the greatest sprinter New Jersey has ever produced.

“She believed it was going to help Frank, and it obviously didn’t hurt,” Barbara said the other day. “But I think it was more about will and determination. I still believe it’s about having a positive attitude, and having a strong family around you, and Frank has both.”

“And keep in mind,” Frank Budd added, “that polio was more of a theory than medically proven. The doctors said it was ‘probably’ polio because my left leg was stronger, and the calf was an inch larger in circumference than the right. When I got to Villanova in 1958, a coach told me I was limping as I ran — I guess I just didn’t notice — but it gradually grew stronger.”

How strong?

There is a long and distinguished thread of world-class sprinters that binds the fabric of our state’s track and field history, including many men who carried the title of World’s Fastest Human – from Eulace Peacock in the 1930s to Dave Sime in the 1950s to Carl Lewis in the 1980s.

And along the way, there was Frank Budd.

“New Jersey has been home to a long line of incredible track and field athletes,” said Elliott Denman, the track historian and 1956 Olympian, “and Frank Budd surely ranks as one of the best of the best.”

We get another reminder of this today, when he hands out some medals at the eighth annual Frank Budd Track and Field Meet, an open USATF-sanctioned event at his alma mater, Asbury Park High School.

Some impressive athletes got their starts at this meet. Ajeé Wilson of Neptune, who is winning gold medals all over the world now, won the women’s mile here in 2006 at age 12.

It is but a small tribute to the man who broke the world record for the 100-yard dash at the AAU Championships at Randalls Island on June 24, 1961.

The extraordinary part of that achievement is that the previous mark of 9.3 seconds (held by USC’s Mel Patton) had stood since 1948. Nowadays, sprint records seem to last as long as it takes for Usain Bolt or Asafa Powell to lace up their shoes.

Budd, of course, ran on a cinder track, not the rubberized ovals that bounce Bolt and Justin Gatlin along at speeds that were unimaginable 52 years ago.

“And that day, I was in the first lane, where everyone runs during the distance races, so it was chewed up more than usual,” Budd recalled.

The WR

“But that 9.3 stood for a long time, and my theory is that it was because timers were just reluctant to give out a 9.2. But that day, just before I got in the block (Villanova coach) Jumbo Elliott said, ‘I want a 9.2 today.’ And I think the only reason they gave it to me was because the guys who came in second and third were timed at 9.3.”

In Sports Illustrated’s recap of that historic race, Roy Terrell wrote, “Patton himself always said that the first man to run 9.2 would be tall and strong and quick, a young giant with the reflexes of a cat. Budd is completely middle-size — 5-feet-10 inches, 172 pounds — and he never seems to be in a hurry until he runs. He lacks the effortless grace of a Patton . . . the catapult start . . . (and) he has none of the incredible finishing power. He just hustles along.”

It had been a year since his disappointment at the Rome Olympics, where his 4x100 relay team thought it set the record, only to be disqualified for an illegal handoff, but the 21-year-old from Villanova was now immortal. And though Budd’s 9.2 wouldn’t hold up long (Bob Hayes ran a wind-aided 9.1 the following year), he continued to dominate indoors and out, setting another record for the 220-yard dash.

By 1963, he was in the NFL, even though he hadn’t picked up a football since high school. He caught 27 passes over two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins, then played three years in the CFL. When he returned to Jersey, he had positions with the Department of Corrections and at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City.

He is 73 now and lives in Mount Laurel. For the past four years, Budd has been in a wheelchair, fighting multiple sclerosis, which was diagnosed in 1996. Twice he also experienced acute renal failure and was given long odds to beat it, yet he did.

“This is a man who walked both our girls down the aisle, which was very important to him — he put aside his walker in 2003 to dance with one of them,” said Barbara, who has three kids, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren with her husband.

“But that’s Frank. He’s still the most remarkable man I’ve known, considering where he was as a young man and where he is today, remarkable in that he doesn’t let MS get him down. I like to think that’s why he was a champion.”

   Ron Raemore, Joe Manion, Paul Drayton, Frank Budd

Joe Manion  R.I.P.  (from Villanova Track Website)Joe Manion, a stalwart of the short relays for Jumbo Elliott in the late 1950s and early 1960s, died yesterday at his home in West Chester, PA. Manion was a team captain while at Villanova and won four Penn Relays championships: as part of three consecutive mile relays in 1959, 1960, and 1961, and another in the 1961 880 yard relay. He is a member of the Villanova athletics Hall of Fame and received the Villanova Alumni Medal for outstanding service to the university's alumni association. Below is his obituary as it appears in today's Philadelphia Inquirer. The Villanova track and field community offers condolences to his family. 

JOSEPH J. MANION, age 72, of West Chester, PA, formerly of Media, PA, died peacefully on May 22, 2012 at his home.

Born and raised in St. Barnabas parish, Joe graduated from West Catholic Boys High School in 1957 and Villanova University in 1961. He was captain of the track team at West Catholic and Villanova - where he ran for the legendary Jumbo Elliott - and is in the Hall of Fame for both schools.

"What a nice article about Frank Budd, both in the past and the  present.  It is interesting that Villanova and Oregon are both noted for distance running, yet their sprint and field events are nearly as good with WRs all over.  At Villanova's fieldhouse there are about 100 Penn Relay plaques on the wall from nearly every event. The DMR probably has the most but the 4 x 400 has plenty as well. "    
 Bill Schnier



George

I had the pleasure of running in the 1961 NCAA Meet at Franklin Field when Frank Budd won both the 100 and the 220.

But, I did not have the pleasure of meeting him. He is a class guy.

I never knew that he had polio as a boy. - Quite like the story of Wilma Rudolph!

They are both lucky to have had great Mom's!

John Bork

Vol 2 No. 37 June, 1961

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JUNE 1961

If you are a track fan of a certain age, this issue of T&FN will make you feel warm and fuzzy all over. We'll take it chronologically beginning May 20.

The Big Eight Championships are held in Boulder, Colorado. Oklahoma upsets perennial champ Kansas 99-88¼ with Oklahoma State right there at 84½. This is the first time Kansas has not won the championship since 1951. It is the first Big Eight championship for Oklahoma since.....are your ready?....1935. If you want to take a moment to sing a few verses of Boomer Sooner, we'll wait.

Oklahoma University Big 8 Champions , Boulder, Colorado 1961
Front Row: Mike Lindsay, Cal Sharpe, Neville Soll, Mark Sullivan, Tim Leonard, Paul Ebert, Don Warrick, Lee Smith, Buddy Stewart
Top Row: Bob Wilcox, Walter Myers, Richard Sinclair, Bill Noble, J.D. Martin, Coach Bill Carroll, Mark Brady, Tom Raley, Steve Swafford, E.H. Miles
(Click on photo to enlarge)
But team scores pale when compared to the world record vault of Okie State's George Davies who, after two misses at 15-10¼, clears to raise Don Bragg's record by an inch.

An aside here. There is a photo of Davies, who is 6-3, 190 and blessed with movie star good looks. Have you ever noticed that pole vaulters are the quarterbacks of track? More often than not they are broad shouldered good looking guys. Not that we have a 50 year old man crush on the guy. Just making an observation.

Given the importance of the meet, the marks are not outstanding. The best marks on the track are a conference record 46.5 440 by Colorado's Jim Heath, a 1:49.2 880 by Kansas' Kirk Hagan.





and a 14.1, 22.8 hurdle double by Kansas State's Rex Stucker. Apparently the altitude takes its toll in the distance events as Bill Dotson and Billy Mills run only 4:14.5 and 9:31.2, just good enough to win.

The Sooners, led by Mike Lindsay's weight double, 57-5½ and 164-2, garner 54 of their points in the field events.

Aside number two: Perhaps this kid, Toomey at Colorado

should find a sport better suited to his talents. He places fifth in the lows at 24.1 and fails to score in the long jump. Maybe tennis, golf or croquet would be a better fit.

Bill Toomey and Coach Frank Potts , after they figured it out. On this same day the Far West Championships are held in Corvallis, Oregon. Oregon's Harry Jerome runs 9.3 to grab a share of the 100 WR. Dyrol Burleson miles in 4:05.6 and returns to run a PR of 1:48.7 in the 880.

Four days later in Eugene Archie San Romani leads through splits of 59.0 and 1:58.5 before Burleson takes over, hitting the 1320 in 2:58.0 and hanging on to finish in 3:57.6 to break Jim Beatty's American mile record of 3:58.0. In another three days Beatty and Burleson will be in Modesto for the California Relays, but the long awaited match between them won't come about. Beatty is running the mile and Burleson is anchoring the Oregon 4 mile relay.

Now it is Saturday evening, May 27 and we are in Modesto. This meet will be remembered because it is tonight that the 27 foot barrier is broken with half an inch to spare by Ralph Boston. Each member of the overflow crowd of 11,100 has an I-was-there story to tell. Overshadowed are great performances. Hal Connolly experiments with four turns instead of three in the hammer and it pays off with a prodigious 226-0½, the third longest throw in history, only five feet short of his WR. Hayes Jones nips Don Styron in the highs, 13.6 to 13.7, but Styron returns to edge Bo Roberson in the lows 22.1 to 22.3. Dennis Johnson, Harry Jerome and Dave Styron cross the line in that order in the hundred, all running 9.4. Like his twin, Styron is not done. He returns to win the 220 in 20.7. The 880 goes out in 55.5. Jerry Siebert takes the lead into the final straight only to be passed by George Kerr. But Siebert isn't through. He regains the lead and powers to a three yard win over the great Jamaican in 1:50.2.

Dale Story of Oregon State has only been training for eight weeks after coming off an injury, but he has enough in the tank to finish the last half of the two mile in 4:17.9 to win in 8:46.9 and leave Doug Kyle and Charley Clark behind. Jim Beatty is stalked by Jim Grelle through laps of 58.2, 2:00.2 and 3:02.2. The pace doesn't pick up until the backstretch when Beatty drops the hammer and pulls away for a 3:58.8 to 4:01.3 win. His 56.6 last lap is even more impressive considering his delayed late sprint. Cordner Nelson says Beatty's last 220 had to be 26 flat.

Since the meet is the California Relays, yes, there are relays. Texas Southern wins two close ones, upsetting San Jose State in the 440, 40.2 for both, then returns to edge Abilene Christian in the 880, 1:23.6 for both.

Oregon State also wins a couple impressive races. Norm Hoffman, given a slight lead on the anchor leg, brings the baton around in 1:48.8 to cement the second fastest sprint medley ever run, 3:18.4. In the two mile relay the Beavers gamble, holding Norm Monroe out of the 880 relay and inserting him on the third leg. It pays off. OSU has a tenth on the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village and the pressure is on Monroe to open a gap because Ernie Cunliffe will be anchoring for SCVYV. He comes through. His 1:50.8 produces a three second gap for Hoffman who needs it. Though Cunliffe runs 1:48.1, the fastest two laps of the evening, Hoffman's 1:50.1 is enough to bring the Beavers home in 7:27.3.

The WR in the 4 mile relay is 16:25.2 by the Hungarian national team. Oregon plans to break it, but after two disappointing legs, it is obvious this will not happen. Indeed they may not win. Dyrol Burleson is 12 yards down to Southern Illinois' Englishman, Mike Wiggs, at the start of the anchor leg. His 57.7 opening lap closes the gap. With no chance at the record, Burley is content to follow before blowing by in the final straight. His 4:00.5, three seconds faster than Wiggs, gives the Ducks a bittersweet victory in 16:32.8.

Now it is June 2 and we are at the Compton Invitational where a crowd of 7800 sees Herb Elliot take a beating. Okay, not Herb himself – he wasn't there – but his records. Jim Grelle wins the mile in 4:02.7, but the crowd is cheering for 18 year old high school senior Tom Sullivan who breaks Elliot's world junior record (4:04.3), finishing second in 4:03.5. The assault on the great Aussie's records continues. Seventeen year old Bruce Kidd races to, in Cordner Nelson's words, “the most amazing performance, by age, of any runner in history”, a 13:56.4 5000 victory over Max Truex and Lazlo Tabori. After following Truex through mile splits of 4:28 and 9:00, with a lap and a half to go, the young Canadian takes off and leaves the Olympic veteran in his wake. His three mile time obliterated Elliot's WJR of 14:02.4. His final time lowered Kidd's own record of 14:29.9.

Abilene Christian ties USC's collegiate mile relay record as Earl Young's 46.0 brings the Texans home in 3:07.6. Ernie Cunliffe has a big evening, breaking the meet record at 800 meters (1:47.5) en route to a convincing 1:48.2 victory in the half mile. Among the scalps he collects this evening is that of Jim Beatty who finishes sixth in 1:50.2.

If you are a meet director, you want to invite Bo Roberson. He definitely gives you your money's worth. In addition to broad jumping, he ran the lows at Modesto last week. Tonight he wins the broad jump at 25-9¾ and fills his idle moments placing second in the 100 and fourth in the 200. Last seen, he was sweeping out the stands after the crowd left.

Ron Morris wins the pole vault at 15-4 as new world record holder George Davis and previous record holder Don Bragg can do no better than a tie for fourth at 15-0¾. Dallas Long bests Parry O'Brien 62-3¾ to 61-7¼ in the shot. Hal Connolly, once again proves that his performance in Rome was an aberration. His 221-1 wins by 26 feet.

Great discus competition does not required the presence of Olympic champ Al Oerter. Rink Babka and Jay Silvester are doing just fine without him, thank you. On his second throw Silvester spins a world record distance of 198-0½, but loses his balance and steps on the ring. (Why a foul is measured is not addressed.) Still he leads through five rounds with 194-1½. Babka has been throwing well all night, but now, up for the final time, it is for all the marbles. The big guy, “his injured knee encased in plastic”, readies himself, takes a deep breath, spins and fires. The spot is marked, the tape stretched out, the measurement taken and announced: 194-4½ and a three inch victory. Who needs Al Oerter to have a good time?

Now you may be saying what a great meet, but where was Ralph Boston? That would be at the NAIA championship in Sioux Falls, South Dakota supporting his team, Tennessee A&I. Well, if we are to be totally forthcoming, he is the team. He wins the broad jump at 25-6½, the hop-step-jump at 48-10¾, the highs in 13.7 and the lows in 23.2 and finishes in a tie for second in the high jump at 6-6 for TA&I's 47 points, two behind Texas Southern. Ralph earned his scholarship this day, but he doesn't get the headline in the article. That goes to a Florida A&M freshman, Robert Hayes, who adds his name to the long list of those who hold the 100 record at 9.3. For record purposes the track is measured: 100 yards and a half inch. There was some mention that he also participates in football.

Listed under Late News there are a couple AAU meets of interest. In the Middle Atlantic AAU at Villanova Frank Budd runs his second 9.3 100. The Southern Pacific AAU showcases young talent. Dallas Long, still only 20, puts it all together and comes up with three puts over 64 feet with a PR of 64-7¾. Only Bill Nieder has thrown further. High school boys give their elders a lesson. Ulis Williams of Compton HS takes the 440 in 46.5. Ralph Turner of Burroughs edges Forest Beaty of Glendale Hoover in the 220 on a curve as both run 21.0.

Inexplicably, though the AAU meets just mentioned were run on June 9 and listed under Late News, the Pacific Association AAU meet run the following day at Stanford is front page material...and justly so. Oregon failed in an attempt to break the WR in the 4 mile relay. Now it is the Santa Clara Valley Youth Village's turn. The problem is that they have virtually no competition. US 10,000 record holder Max Truex will lead off, followed by Lazlo Tabori, Ernie Cunliffe and Jim Beatty. Truex figures to be the slow leg and he is. After two laps in 2:03.1, the pace slows dramatically and he hands the baton off in 4:10.8. Tabori, after 59.7 and 2:01.0 splits, also suffers a case of the slows in the second half mile and finishes in a disappointing 4:08.9. Still with Cunliffe up and Beatty on deck, 16:25.2 looks beatable. Ernie C. does his job, splitting 58.9, 2:00.0 and 3:01.9 and kicking home in 61.1 to run 4:03.0. All that is needed now is a 4:02.4 from Beatty. The recently dethroned American record holder at this distance is out well, 58.6, but a 62.7 puts him at 2:01.3. The third lap is even slower, 63.2 (3:04.5) and now the typical Jim Beatty kick is needed. His “usual blazing surge” isn't there and the last go round takes 59.3, producing a 4:03.8 leg and a 16:26.5 final time, an American record, but a disappointment just the same.

The season is heating up in Europe. Two world records are broken. The USSR's Grigoriy Taran runs the steeplechase in 8:31.2 and Italy's Carlo Lievore throws the javelin 284-7 (or 84.74 as they say in Europe).

We here at the Vest would be remiss were we not to give you an informational advantage the next time the conversation at the Dew Drop in turns, as it inevitably will, to track and field. Ask your buddies if they can recall the last time a major invitational had sprint fields consisting only of white guys. Oh, what the heck, all events having only white guys. Allow sufficient time for the significance of this to set in while they ponder. The answer would be the 1961 Meet of Champions in Houston held on June 9, well before racial enlightenment. When black athletes found that seating would be segregated, they boycotted the meet. Being the possessor of this sort of inside information means you will not have to pay for a round the rest of the evening.