Vol. 3 No. 46 Jack Yerman Biography by his son Bruce

I recently became aware that Jack Yerman's son Bruce recently published a book about his father.  Below is the intro to it from Bruce and a website where you can order it online.   If you go to the link you will be able to open a video of Jack running his opening leg on the 4x400 relay at Rome in 1960.
Ernie Cunliffe informed us that Bruce Hamilton Yerman is named after Brutus Hamilton longtime coach at Cal Berkeley.


Dear George,

Thank you for posting this on your site.  I have tried to write something that fits with the blog.  I hope this works.  Let me know.  I’ll be glad to change it.

Bruce

Your Time Will Come, Jack Yerman and His Incredible Journey to the 1960 Olympics

by Bruce Hamilton Yerman

Available in hardback, paperback, and ePub @ http://bhyerman.wix.com/books

This book was written by his son, is a labor of love, and a good read.   It is the inspiring story of a boy who overcomes adversity to become a world class athlete, who is a true champion in character and on the track. On the journey, readers are reconnected with great athletes of the era: Rink Babka, Don Bragg, Abebe Bakila, Harold Connelly, Dave Davis, Tom Courtney, Glenn Davis, Otis Davis, Dave Epstein, Olga Fikotova, Elias Gilbert, Dee Givens, Rafer Johnson, Johannes Kaiser, Joe Kapp, Carl Kauffman, Manfred Kinder, Tom Murphy, Bill Nieder, Ray Norton,  Wilma Rudolf,  Hans Reske, Jerry Seibert, Ernie Cunliffe,  Eddie Southern, Max Truex, Stan Vickers, Sam Williams, Early Young,  Lt. George Young, and more. Visit the website, see the video, ENJOY, "Like" it, and let us know what you think!

Jack currently resides in Paradise, California with Margo.  Bruce lives in New Zealand, works with schools in the Pacific islands, and runs fast, jumps high, and shoots the basketball with incredible accuracy -- in his dreams. He is married to Sarah and has five great daughters – and some of them can run.

 

Vol. 2 No. 47 March , 1962 and Introducing A Brief History of Track Shoes

Once again for the 137th posting on this blog, Roy Mason, our track historian does his customary and expected great job of bringing us a review of our sport's history. Some pictures of the Los Angeles Track Club are from 1963, a year out of sequence, but I thought some of you West Coasters would get a little teary eyed looking at them. In addition we will be introducing a section of track and field shoe history from our friend Phil Scott of Clayton, Ohio who among his many talents has a hobby of collecting old track shoes. Phil is one of the most dedicated and knowledgeable track nuts around as well as being a former National Junior College decathlon champion and bike racer and specialist in bicycle restoration. He is also the proud father of Jason Scott who is currently threatening to clear 18 feet in the pole vault and qualify for the Olympic Trials. Phil has shared some of his vast collection displaying it at Endurance Sports in Bellbrook, OH. Joe Sargent, entrepreneur of Endurance Sports allowed me into his establishment to photograph some of the shoes, without requiring me to actually make a purchase. Joe, always a gentleman.


And so we begin with Roy's review of March 1962 taken from the pages of Track and Field News and his encyclopedic memory.

MARCH 1962

      Snell on the Turf

Let's get this straight right off. In the world of track and field in 1962 there are two divisions. One is Peter Snell. The other is everybody else. After throwing down five world records in three weeks, you would think the man would take a break. Nope, the week after adding the indoor records at 880 and 1000 yards in the LA Times meet, he returns to New Zealand and takes a shot at his own WR in the mile. The fact that he fails is beside the point. His 3:56.8 on February 22 is the sixth fastest ever run and his second best. If this is failure, we'll take a second helping, please. His splits are more even than in his record run three weeks earlier: 59.1, 59.4 (1:58.5), 60.3 (2:58.8) and 58.0. Except when Gary Philpott moved ahead briefly on the second lap, Snell led the entire way.

Four weeks later in Tokyo on March 18, he became the first man to run sub 1:50 in the indoor 880 with a 1:49.9 breaking his own 1:50.2 record. Six world records so far this year; one can only wonder what is yet to come.

As with last month's issue, this one covers indoor action more by events than meets. Frank Budd ties the world record in the 60 with two 6.0's in the ICAAAA meet. Hayes Jones gets his long awaited 6.9 WR in the highs in the Chicago Daily News meet. Also in the Daily News meet Kansas takes down Manhattan's WR in the 2MR by two seconds. Kirk Hagan blows the race open on the first leg with a 1:52.2. Tonnie Coane and Bill Thorton do their parts with 1:54.4 and 1:53.1 before Bill Dotson anchors in 1:51.1 for a 7:30.8. Two weeks later at the Kansas State Relays, the Jayhawks lower this mark to 7:29.2. None of those annoying details or splits are given. 

Dave Mills tops the indoor 440 list at 47.8. Scanning further we find that this Toomey kid who resembled a Timex watch at Colorado (“Takes a licking, but keeps on ticking.”), is running for the Santa Clara Youth Village and may have found an event. He is ranked seventh at 49.1. Jack Yerman has the fastest 600 time, 1:10.1, a tenth of second ahead of old rival George Kerr. Jim Beatty likes newspaper sponsored meets. He set the indoor record in the mile of 3:58.5 in the Times meet (documented in last month's report) and now adds the only other sub 4:00 clocking with a 3:59.7 at the Daily News meet. In news somewhat akin to

God having an off day, Ralph Boston loses for the second time this season when he comes up half a foot short of Michigan's Dave Raimey's 24-3¾ in the Daily News meet. Dave Raimey, from my home town of Dayton, OH, had a good football career at Michigan and was a Hall of Famer in the Canadian Football League. ed. Boston does have the longest effort of the season, 25-2. A couple of Big Ten football players have displayed their long jump wares. Ohio State's Paul Warfield has the second best mark of 24-11½, but tastes defeat in the Big Ten meet at the hands of Michigan State's Sherm Lewis who leaps 24-6. Warfield as some will remember was an NFL pro bowler at Cleveland. ed. John Thomas is the only seven foot high jumper at that exact mark. John Uelses' 16-0¾, reported last month, provides him a nearly half foot cushion over the next vaulter. The outdoor season is in an embryonic state, with a few promising marks, but nothing to write home about and so we shan’t. If you are a top athlete who has used up his college eligibility and you are not in the service, you have probably moved to Southern California. The

Southern California Striders have a long history of dominating national championships, but now two more teams have formed. The Los Angeles Track Club, coached by Mihaly Igloi, seems to have cornered the market on middle distance and distance runners. Wearing the LATC singlet are Bob Seaman, Lazlo Tabori, Jim Grelle, Max Truex, Jim Beatty, Willie Atterberry, Bob Schul and Nick Kitt.

 LA Track Club withTom Rodda (Kansas St.) and Jim Grelle (Oregon) leading Paul Ebert (Oklahoma) in 1963 Southern Pacific AAU Cross Country Meet (contributed by Paul Ebert)

 

LATC Team Photo. Ebert Top Row second from Left. Igloi on the right. Front, Peter Mundle (Oregon) Rodda, Grelle Ray Hughes (Arizona), Meryle McGee Can anyone ID the other runners?

 If you are a top notch weight-man, your affiliation is with Joe Mangan's Pasadena Olympians, at least Parry O'Brien, Rink Babka, Hal Connolly, Tony Conkle and Bob Humphries seem to think so. The following is gleaned from the writings of Bert Nelson in his Of People and Things column. You probably want to resist the urge to invest in a company producing metal vaulting poles. Eleven of the top twelve vaulters this indoor season use fiberglass, J.D. Martin being the exception.(In those days J.D was told by the manufacturers that a fiberglass pole strong enough to hold him would have weighed more than 50 pounds ed.)......................Thinking of setting a world record in a race longer than 220 on a track that is oversized or the event is not run as a complete oval? You'll be wasting your time, Bucky. The IAAF has decreed that records that are produced on less than an oval (one turn 440 or three turn 880) shall not be recognized for record purposes. But how are the rules makers handling that sticky 220 on the straight vs. 220 on the curve thing? Minds wiser than yours or mine have produced the only possible result: there will be separate (but equal) records for each type of race. Any race involving a curve run on a track exceeding 440 yards will not be considered for record purposes......Get your big meet tickets early. The NCAA will be in Eugene June 16-17, the AAU at Mt. SAC June 22-23 and the USSR-USA meet at Stanford July 21-22. Who is the best all around hurdler (highs, lows and intermediates) as determined by the Portuguese Scoring Tables? Rex Cawley is fifth (13.9m, 22.5ys, 49.9m) with 3013 points. Fourth goes to Glenn Davis (14.3y, 22.5mt, 49.2m) with 3019. Surprising Fran Washington takes third (13.6y, 22.3ys, 51.5y) with 3020. But these guys aren't close to the top two. Second goes to Germany's Martin Lauer (13.2m, 22.5mt, 51.2m) at 3073.. And the winner is …......Don Styron (13.7y, 21.9ys, 50.1y) with 3084. Make special note of this as it could be on the midterm.

Page 17 has an ad for Elmer's Weights (Big Spring, Texas) which sells hand, leg and vest weights. You can get Olympic Style (“Used by Olympic Champions”) or, if you can't clear your calendar for Tokyo in '64, you can just get the Regular Style. Elmer also sells Bobby Morrow's Kick Gauge (to measure your starting block position). You can also buy a Track Leveler and if you have to ask what that is, you don't need to know. An ad for Archie's Little Black Book takes up all of page 20. I'm thinking Archie is having some trouble getting endorsements. Aside from a high school coach who during the time he has been giving the books as prizes every school record has been broken, the only other endorsement is from Charles (Chick) Evans, “one of America's greatest all-time amateur golfers”. Charles (call me Chick) says, “I put the book down with the thought that one should persevere no matter what the odds may be”. On page 17 there is an ad for Minerva Watches which has a photo of a ten second face split timer. This caused your reporter to clutch his chest an emit a cry best described as unmanly. I had one of those. I loved it more than life itself. Wonder where it is now? Just to assure equilibrium in your life, let me report that, yes, Cliff Severn Sporting Goods is still selling Adidas on the back page and the cost of a subscription continues to be only $3 a year.

 The pictures seen below are all of the same pair of shoes which are thought to be from the 19th century, approx. 1879. Phil purchased this pair in Lancaster, PA from a gentleman who had run a sporting goods store in the 1920's when the shoes were only 50 years old. Through searching old Sears and Roebuck and Montgomery Ward catalogues, Phil found advertisements from the 1880's for shoes much resembling this pair. The old gentleman told Phil that sometimes these shoes which all originated in England would be marketed under the local store's name. Top grade shoes were made of kangaroo leather, which is what Adidas and Puma and Dresske advertised in the 1950's and 60's as well. Eventually A.J. Spaulding began having shoes made in Massachusetts. J.W. Foster and Sons founded 1895 in England (later to become Reebok in 1958) was an early manufacturer. I personally held these shoes and found them to be very light and supple despite their age and rather thick sole in which spikes, quite long, were pounded into the sole. In these days the spikes were not interchangeable and started out rather long. Many were eventually made with a hardened steel and did not wear out. Believe me, getting spiked in those days meant some serious damage. Phil and I both remember wearing long spikes on good cinder tracks and the incredible grip you sometimes felt that you had and the sense of the shoe pushing you forward. We also remembered eating a lot of cinders being thrown up by these long spikes, and on wet tracks a lot of wet, mucky cinders covering those who ran back in the pack. Only the leader stayed clean, and even he usually kicked up a lot of dirt onto the back of his uniform. Also the inevitable cinders working their way into your shoes during a race and irritating your feet or causing blisters or abrasions was a common part of the sport. If you have any thoughts and memories of long permanent spikes and want to share them, click on the word "comments" at the end of this article. A box will then appear box below in which you can make a comment. We'll publish them as we continue our blog.< Smelly Feet

Vol. 1 No. 83 June , 1960

JUNE 1960
It’s the Jim Beatty show. There are two major meets and he is the star of both. On May 28 he tangles with American record holder Dyrol Burleson in the mile. Beatty combines with SCVYV teammate Lazlo Tabori to set a pace designed to take the sting out of Burleson’s kick. Tabori leads through 57.7 and 1:58.0 splits before Beatty takes over on the backstretch. By the start of the last lap Tabori has taken the lead again in 2:59.7 with Beatty in close attendance and the Oregon sophomore 8 yards back.
` Burleson makes his move on the backstretch, going by Tabori easily and moving up right behind Beatty. He follows Beatty around the curve, apparently ready for a big move on the final straight. Unfortunately for Burleson, it is Beatty who pulls away, opening ground all the way to a 3:58.0 finish and a new American record, erasing Burleson’s 3:58.6. Burleson finishes in 3:59.2 with Tabori at 4:00.0. Bill Dellinger, 4:02.7, and Bob Seaman, 4:04.3, run well, but are never in it.
As good as Beatty is, perhaps Don Styron had an intrinsically better mark. After finishing second to Lee Calhoun in the highs, 13.8 to 13.9, the NE Louisiana flyer destroys a strong field in the 220 lows with a 22.1 clocking, just .2 off his world record.
The 880 has the crowd on its feet. Mike Peake takes the field out in 52.5. Jim Grelle isn’t buying. He is 15 yards back and still only 7th at the 660. At this point he comes alive and moves through the field. It is too little, too late. Oklahoma State sophomore Bill Stone holds on for a 1:49.6 victory with Grelle and Jack Wilcox only inches back at 1:49.7.
How would the 880 have gone if George Kerr were in it you may be asking? We’ll never know because the NCAA champ is running the quarter…and running it well. Otis Davis, Mike Larabee and Vic Hall all run 46.3, but that only earns them a close view of Kerr’s backside as he finishes in 46.1.
The 100 sees the big meet debut of Oregon freshman Harry Jerome and an excellent one it is. He explodes out of the blocks to take the lead and though Ray Norton closes, the issue is never in doubt. They both clock 9.4. Doug Smith of Oxy is third at 9.5.
The six relays are split among three teams. San Jose State wins tight races at one and two laps. The Spartans, led off by Bobby Poynter and anchored by Willie Williams, clock 40.1 to hold off NELaTC and Baylor, both at 40.3 in the 440. The same group wins the 880 over Baylor with both timed in 1:23.7.
Occidental’s middle distance strength is on display in the two mile relay and the distance medley as they win easily in 7:34.8 and 10:00.7.
Abilene Christian didn’t come to California to lose. They beat East Texas and the Striders in the sprint medley in 3:20.2 and, though the Styrons give it their best with Dave leading off in 46.9 and Don anchoring in 46.0, ACC edges Northeast Louisiana in the mile relay with both teams running 3:10.0.
The Occidental freshmen have their walk in the sun with national frosh records of 7:37.5 and 3:ll.2. Dave Moon is the stud in the 2MR, anchoring in 1:50.7. Dave Brown, Steve Haas and Dixon Farmer all run low 47’s in the MR.
Six days later, June 3, and we are 330 miles south in Compton for the Friday evening Compton Invitational. Yep, it is the Jim Beatty show once again. Once again he and SCVYV teammate Lazlo Tabori have teamed up in an attempt to break an American record, this time at 5000 meters. They take turns leading. The mile passes in 4:24.9, the two mile in 8:58.3. “Still the pace did not slacken and the cheers of the crowd followed them around each lap. They ran laps of 69.8, 68.3, 67.7, and 63.9 for a 13:28.0, dead-heating for an American record. The Beatty turned on his final drive and gradually pulled away from the ex-Hungarian. His last lap, running hard for only half of it, was in 59.2” for the new record, 13:51.7. Tabori finishes in 13:53.2, while the next finisher is on the backstretch.
Herb Elliott runs only to win the mile, but the rest of the field wish they could do as well. He comes home in 57.0 for another monotonous (for him) sub four minute mile, in this case 3:59.2. Jim Grelle, still “not at my peak”, is in close attendance at 4:00.1 with the comebacking Bob Seaman, who says, “I’m hungry”, in third in 4:01.4.
The Styron twins provide major bang for their per diem. Dave runs 10.3 to take the 100 and just misses Adolph Plummer by a tenth in the 220. I don’t know if there was an “Athlete of the Meet” award, but my vote would have gone to Don. His 14.0 earns him a third in the highs behind Lee Calhoun’s 13.5 and Hayes Jones’ 13.9, but the best is yet to come. He beats Dickie Howard “with a great kick off the last hurdle in the 400 meter “mediums” in 51.5. Just to make the evening complete, he destroys Jones in the lows 22.2 to 23.0. Cordner Nelson pronounces it the “greatest hurdle triple in history”.
The shot put is a battle of the walking wounded. Dallas Long withdraws. No explanation is given. Parry O’Brien, plagued by hemorrhaging sinusitis, wins at 62-8¼. Bill Nieder, “still suffering from his hamstring pull, a result of reinjuring his old football knee”, takes an impressive standing put of 62-5½, but can’t take a traditional throw. Third at 59-11 3/4 is Dave Davis. It is explained that he is “weak from four days of milk and donuts”. Remember this is the guy who “disappeared” last month.
The on again, off again Deacon Jones is on in the steeplechase. He follows Phil Coleman until the last curve where he opens up in the last 120 for a 15 yard win in 8:49.7.
Hal Connolly is traditionally the most dominating performer on the circuit. Tonight is no exception. He throws the hammer 224-8 1/2 to win by more than 30 feet.
Mike Larabee comes from behind in the stretch to catch Earl Young and Otis Davis in the 440. The odd thing here is that whereas we have 46.9 as the winning time, the others are given times for 400 meters as Cordner Nelson writes that time at yards was “erratic”. So we have Larabee at 46.9 (46.6m) with Young at 46.7m and Davis 46.9m.
Rafer Johnson appears to be rounding into Olympic shape. He wins the javelin in a PR of 251-9 and finds a moment to run on the Striders’ 880 relay time, splitting 20.7.
California takes the measure of USC and Abilene Christian in the mile relay. Jerry Siebert’s 46.5 third leg gets Jack Yerman off first in the anchor. Yerman runs 46.5 to hold off SC’s Angie Coia’s 46.2 and Earl Young’s 45.9. Cal 3:09.2, SC 3:09.8, ACC 3:10.0. Oh, remember that frosh record of 3:11.2 Oxy set last week? Well, it lasted six days. The SC frosh run 3:11.0 for fourth. The Oxy kids got a good look at the new record holders as they ran 3:11.7 in fifth.
On May 28 the AAWU meet is held in Seattle. Those initials stand for The Athletic Association of Western Universities. Still not clear? That would be SC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal and Washington. SC wins the team title. The best race is the 880 where Cal’s Siebert catches Stanford’s Ernie Cunliffe at the tape, both clocking 1:49.0, a PR for Siebert.
Under the heading of “Late News” we find that on June 10 Charlie Tidwell tied the WR at 100 meters in Houston’s Meet of Champions. His Kansas teammate, Bill Alley, extended his collegiate javelin record to 273-10. George Kerr won the 880 in 1:48.5 and Lee Calhoun continues to look unbeatable in the 120HH, winning in 13.5.
In meet held the next day in New York, Tom Murphy and Al Oerter proclaim their readiness for the Olympics. Murphy runs negative splits (54.4-53.8) for 1:48.2, the second fastest 880 in the US this year behind Ernie Cunliffe’s 1:47.3. Oerter throws the discus 192-5.
Track and Field News, a subscription is still only $3 a year or pick up a copy at your local newsstand for a quarter.

Vol. 1 No. 44 July, 1958

JULY, 1958

And a very good issue it is with reports on the NCAA meet in Berkeley and the AAU in Bakersfield.

Glenn Davis might turn out to be pretty good. In the NCAA meet he sets the WR around two turns, running 45.7 to crush Eddie Southern’s 46.5. Jack Yerman is third at 46.6. Eight days later Davis breaks Josh Culbreath’s 50.5 WR in the 440 hurdles with a 49.9. Admittedly the metric times in both these races are superior: Lou Jones 45.2 and Davis 49.5, but, hey, a WR is a WR.

Hal Connolly sets a monster WR in the hammer, 225-4, after a Bakersfield blacksmith repairs the ball that had been “flattened” by hitting a wall in practice. Connolly’s wife, “the pretty Olympic discus champion” Olga, apparently makes her husband nervous when she watches so she hides behind some bushes, only to run out at the announcement of the record, “crying with joy” and gives her “embarrassed husband a bruising hug and kiss”. No mention is made of what happened at the motel later that evening.

Olympic champions of past and future win the miles in these meets. In the NCAA Ron Delany runs 4:03.5 to leave Jim Grelle 4:04.8 and Gail Hodgson 4:04.9 in his wake, then doubles back to take the 880 in 1:48.6 over Frank Murphy’s 1:49.4 to complete a great career at Villanova.

The AAU mile is Herb Elliot’s time to shine. Though countryman Merv Lincoln throws down a 54.7 final lap, Elliot covers it with his own 54.1 to finish in 3:57.9, his second best time and maybe a new world record, but actually only tying a previous WR which wasn’t allowed. Confused? I’ll bet. Sit down, listen carefully and I’ll tell you how this worked. Derek Ibbotson’s 3:57.2 and Elliot’s own 3:57.8 may not be approved because they were….are you ready?... “paced”. Imagine someone resorting to that. If they are not approved, then this time would beat John Landy’s record of 3:58.0. But wait, there’s a catch to that too. Landy actually ran 3:57.9, but four years ago in the dark ages of 1954, records in the mile were not recognized in tenths of a second. Bet you can’t wait to run this by the guys at the Dew Drop Inn tonight.

But not to discredit the rest of the AAU field. Lincoln runs a stout 3:58.5. He is followed by Ed Moran of Penn State, who until three weeks ago had never broken 4:10, but this night clocks 4:01.7, the same time as fourth and fifth placers Jim Grelle and Jerome Walters. They are followed by Don Bowden, 4:02.9, and Gail Hodgson, 4:04.5. Oh, and the future of American miling was visible in the heats. High schooler Dyrol Burleson ran a nonqualifying 4:12.2.

The giants of the discus world tangle in both meets. Rink Babka and Al Oerter “tie” at 186-2 in the NCAAs. The rule to break a tie with the second best mark was not yet in place. Babka takes the AAU 187-10 to 181-6.

As far as developing international competitors, the AAU has made the effort by including the intermediates, hammer and hop-step-jump. The NCAA has none of these. What is does have is team scoring. The first person to recognize a major southern school (think current SEC or ACC), raise your hand. USC 48, Kansas 40, Villanova 33, San Jose State 20, Winston-Salem 20, Illinois 17, the Ohio State University 17, Nebraska 14, California 13, Manhattan 12, Texas 12, Western Michigan 12, Indiana 12, Arizona State 11, SMU 10, Pacific Lutheran 10, Occidental 9, Oregon 9. While there were a lot of fractions in those scores (which I am not doing), what there wasn’t were any relays.

And Negroes are still being identified. Ernie Shelby, who wins the BJ in both big meets, is a regular run of the mill Negro, but Hayes Jones is a medium-sized Negro, Ray Nickleberry a short Negro and John Thomas a thin Negro.

The Frosh and JC Marks list contains a triple-double-double. That would be three sets of twins, each making the list in two events. The Styron twins are in the house. Dave has run 9.6 and 21.2. Don has hurdled 14.5 and 22.8 for NE Louisiana State. The McKeever twins are freshmen at USC. Mike has weight marks of 52-6 ½ and 153-3 ½ while Marlin has thrown 52-5 and 156-8. Finally, we have Mel and Mal Spence of Arizona State. Mel has a 47.9 to his credit while Mal is a tenth back. Not sure about the 880. Mel ran 1:52.3 while Mel is credited with 1:53.0. Obviously one of these is supposed to be Mal. I just report ‘em, I don’t ‘splain ‘em.

On the next to last page, sacrilege, a blow has been struck against Clifford Severn and Adidas. Indeed a quarter of a page is devoted to an ad proclaiming the superiority of Rawlings Fleetfoot track shoes, “the shoes built for that ‘fit and feel’ so necessary to track men”. Not to worry. Cliff and Adidas confidently occupy their usual spot on the lower right corner of the last page.