Vol. 4 No. 5 June 1964 AAU Meet at Rutgers University

1964 AAU

     June 27 and 28 find us at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey for the AAU National Championships. Ah, but this is more than just another AAU championship. The top six finishers will join the six from the NCAA meet in the first Olympic qualifying meet next week to determine the first spot in each event. The added bonus is that the first two finishers will represent the US in next month's dual meet with the Soviet Union.

 

     The university has ponied up $75,000 to import “En-Tout-Cas” (a crushed brick surface imported from England used for clay tennis courts) cinders but the track is only three weeks old and not firmly packed. (An American tourist once asked an English gardener how he got the lawns to be so smooth, at Oxford,  and could she get someone over to put her lawn in such nice shape.  His answer:  "Simple, Madam, you just have to roll it 600 years." ed.

Another significant problem that one would think could be solved or at least negotiated previous to the agreement to hold the meet here is that the track has six 48 inch lanes, meaning that only two can qualify from the heats and semis in the 200, 400 and intermediates. (Eight lanes are available on one straight for the 100 and 110 hurdles.) Undoubtedly many of our alert readers have already hit upon the solution: have eight 36 inch lanes for the 200 and 400. Nope, that proposal has been made and has been turned down by AAU officials.  (Thus a raison d'etre for the AAU officials has been created.) 

 

     This meet will see an innovation in timing that will require putting on your thinking caps. The winner of the shorter races will be hand-timed, but the non-winning times will be determined by adding the difference between the winner's time on the Bulova watch and the placers to the hand time given the winner. Got that? Anyone who needs further explanation please raise your hand. Nobody? Okay, we'll move on. Whether this procedure is the reason or not, this will be the first AAU Championship in which all finishers will receive a time.
 

      Dick Drake, writing the report of the meet, says that generally the athletes are being treated well. Transportation and recreational facilities are adequate and lodging downright cheap at a dollar a night. On the other hand, the meals, although plentiful, are expensive at $4.75 ($36 in today's money).  (Does anybody know what the per diem is for athletes compared to  per diem for officials?)ed.
 

      The  New York Yankees apparently are not affected by the competition 46 miles away. They draw 45,000 for their games with the Detroit Tigers while only 24,000 attend the two days of the meet.  Of the 24,000 spectators, I wonder how many are friends and family members of the athletes and how many are just track fans.

 

     But enough of this. Now on to the report of the action which sees one national record and seven meet records.

 

Charlie Greene

     Bob Hayes wins the 100 meters. While this is no surprise, there is some drama. Nebraska freshman Charlie Greene, by way of Pine Bluff, Arkansas is lightning out of the blocks.  He leads early, but Hayes catches him and pulls away....sort of. At 90 meters he pulls a thigh muscle but manages to hit the tape first in 10.3, the same time as Greene. It is not known how serious the injury is. Fortunately he has already qualified for the 200 in the NCAA meet so he can spectate that race.  Can somebody explain how they will apply the timing rule to second place in this race? See paragraph 3 above.

Hayes explaining the AAU timing rule to a Russian

 

Larry Questad

     How do the sprinters like the new track? Larry Questad's response must have AAU and Rutgers officials grinding their teeth. “This is the slowest track I have ever run on. It is soft, crumbly and too spongy. Usually a track gives you something back, but not this one.” 

 

     Paul Drayton leads the field as they come off the curve in the 200, but here comes Henry Carr. He takes the lead, but just barely, as Drayton hangs tough. In last year's AAU meet they dead heated. This year again they have the same time, but Carr gets the win in 20.6.

 

     The 400 is loaded and the heats are brutal. Only two qualify from each of three semifinals. BYU's Bob Tobler, a Mormon, is not competing because the finals are on Sunday. Veteran Mike Larabee wins the first semi in 46.0. Ulis Williams and Earl Young are clocked in 46.4, but only Ulis is invited back tomorrow. Britain's hope for Olympic gold, Robbie Brightwell, wins the second semi in 46.1. Theron Lewis' 46.2 is good enough to warrant returning for the final. In the third heat Adolph Plummer and Ollan Cassell run 46.2 and 46.3 and will be in the blocks tomorrow.

  

     The final sees Plummer and Brightwell out early and leading at the halfway mark. On the curve Cassell makes his move and leads into the straight.

Ollan Cassell

  He doesn't hold it long, as Larrabee powers by to open up a three yard advantage. But maybe Mike has moved too early, for Brightwell is closing ground. They cross the line together in 46.0, but Larrabee gets the win.

Robbie Brightwell and Ann Packer,
the future Mrs. Brightwell

   Cassell and Plummer both run 46.3 but it is Cassell who will run the 400 against the Russians. Williams, who is coming off an injury, takes fifth in 46.5. Lewis is sixth in 46.7

Mike Larabee



 

     This is the 30 year old Larrabee's eighth AAU meet, but his first victory. Indeed, this is the first time he has been better than fourth. His performance today provokes a great sigh of relief from an unnamed young man in Southern California. Larrabee is a teacher, the sort of feel good guy kids love. Two months ago this student, in a moment of horseplay, gave his teacher a judo chop in the stomach that ruptured his pancreas. Mike has been in pain since. He almost didn't compete today because of the inflammation. Somewhere there is an eighth grader saying, “Thank you, Jesus”.

 

     There are only 17 entrants in the 800, eliminating the need for semifinals. The top three in the heats move to the final. The third heat provides a bonus qualifier. Morgan Groth takes a nasty fall 20 yards into the race. He rights himself and, with adrenaline ruling the day, catches the pack and, indeed, takes the lead at the end of the first lap. His boyish enthusiasm leaves him spent and he drops out. But wait, in a case like this when a competitor falls early, the race is to be recalled. Since that didn't happen, Groth is advanced to the finals.

 

     On Sunday Groth, John Dunkelberg, Norm Hoffman, Jerry Siebert, Robin Lingle, Lee Martin, Ted Nelson, Fran Smith, Darnell Mitchell and Jim Dupree toe the starting line.

Ted Nelson

  Nelson takes the lead on the first curve, but this is Siebert's race and he is taking no chances at getting caught in the pack. He and Mitchell move into the lead on the backstretch and Siebert is in command at the 400 in 53.9. Despite taking precautions, Siebert gets hemmed in shortly thereafter as Groth and Lingle move past and trap him inside. Not to worry, Jerry is a veteran. He doesn't panic. He waits for his moment. That moment comes just before the final curve when he and Mitchell go by Groth. Surprisingly, Smith follows closely. Down the straight Siebert is in control.

Jerry Siebert

  He takes the win by a tenth over Mitchell in 1:47.5 with Smith third in 1:47.9. Groth and Nelson are fourth and fifth in 1:48.6 and 1:48.8.

 

     Siebert's win is no surprise, but the performance of Mitchell and Smith is. Both are scholastically ineligible, Mitchell at Ohio University, Smith at Cornell. Mitchell says he has run only one outdoor race this year. Obviously it was good enough to meet the qualifying standard of 1:50.1. Smith's finish is a surprise bordering on shock. He didn't make the standard until last Wednesday when he PRed in 1:49.8. In four days he has lowered his best by nearly two seconds. Obviously both of them will be strong contenders next week.

 

     All the big boys are here for the 1500 but only six will nail down a spot in next week's meet. Dyrol Burleson is the favorite. Tom O'Hara has run fast this year but his work is cut out for him as he hasn't beaten Burleson in six attempts. Still, he has backed off his training and is going into this meet relatively fresh. He likes his chances. “I've waited a long time for this. If I thought Burleson had my number, I'd quit running.”

 

     The heats have no surprises. All those who are supposed to make the final, do so easily. In fact Burleson and Jim Ryun cover the last 180 yards of the first heat running side by side chatting. With three qualifying from each of three heats, other finalists are Ben Tucker, Jim Grelle, John Camien, reigning AAU champion Cary Weisiger and the English duo of John Boulter and Peter Keeling. Camien and Tucker have already qualified for next week's Olympic team qualifying meet so they are not feeling the pressure the others are.

 

     The Brits are good sports, taking over pace setting duties right away. Keeling leads at the 220 with Boulter assuming command at 440 in 58.1. Weisiger takes over on the second lap and leads at the half in 1:59.5. O'Hara follows closely in second then come Boulter, Burleson, Grelle, Camien,Tucker, Ryun and Keeling all tightly bunched. 

John Camien

 

     With 500 meters remaining, O'Hara makes his move, taking over first. Burleson responds, moving to second. At the gun it is O'Hara and Burleson followed by Camien, Weisiger, Ryun and Grelle. In past meetings O'Hara hasn't been able to catch Burleson, so this time his plan is to have the lead and take his chances holding off the Oregonian. O'Hara is an extremely strong finisher, but Burleson has run a sub 54 final lap. Strategy only goes so far against that kind of finishing speed. O'Hara has achieved his goal of having the inside lane at the gun. Now we'll see how well this works.

 

     Just before the final turn Ryun makes a move into third. Grelle follows as both pass Camien. The crowd is on its feet as the field hits the straight. Here comes Burleson, right? Wrong. O'Hara is not just holding the lead, he is lengthening it. Inches turn to feet and then yards. Tom O'Hara is pulling away. The margin grows until the tape is hit in 3:38.1, a time bettered by only Herb Elliot in the 1960 Olympics and Michel Jazy last year. It is a new American record replacing Cary Weisiger' 3:39.9. Although well beaten, Burleson holds off Grelle and Ryun as all three PR in 3:38.8, 3:38.9 and 3:39.0.

 

Tom O'Hara

     A jubilant O'Hara says, “Getting the inside lane for the gun lap was the big thing. This would force Burleson to run outside and make him cover more ground. It worked just that way.”

 

     Though Burleson is gracious, saying, “I lost to a better man today”, he disputes O'Hara's strategy. “Running in the second lane meant only about an extra six inches. I knew I wasn't going to catch him when we were about 30 yards from the finish tape.”

 

     This race was the fastest mass 1500 meter race in history, surpassing the 1960 Olympic final. Finishers in third through eighth recorded the fastest place times for those positions. In addition to those mentioned, Boulter was sixth in a British record of 3:40.4, Tucker seventh in 3:40.8 and Weisiger eighth in 3:40.9.

It also dramatically changes the all-time world list. O'Hara is now in a tie for third with Stanislaw Jungwirth who set the world record in 1955. Burleson is tied for eighth best. Grelle is 11^th, Ryun 12^th, Camien 18^th and Boulter 23^rd.

 

     Those who chose to go to the meet instead of Yankee Stadium may have missed Tom Tresh

driving in five runs in an 8-6 Yankee win, but they saw a pretty damn good race.

 

     It is 81 degrees as the 5000 field lines up. The favorite is US record holder Bob Schul. With him are Bill Dellinger, Tom Rodda, Jim Beatty, Oscar Moore, Ron Larrieu, Julio Marin, Gene Gurule and that pesky high school kid, Gerry Lindgren.

 

     Lindgren takes the lead right away and everyone is happy to cede that responsibility. Two miles pass in 9:04. As the field completes ten laps, it is Lindgren, Beatty, Schul, Dellinger and Rodda. Larrieu and Marin have dropped out. Things sort themselves out neatly on the backstretch of the final lap. With 250 to go Schul engages the gear that no one else has. He leads at three miles (13:32.6) and stretches the margin all the way to the tape. His last lap is 55.1 en route to a final time of 13:56.2.

Schul, Lindgren, Dellinger

 

     Lindgren may be a high school kid, but he sure doesn't act like one. Has he done the grunt work, leading the entire race, only to succumb to the finishing kick of the veterans? No he has not. Jerry still has some scoot left. Schul may be pulling away from him, but Lindgren is pulling away from whomever is behind him. His last lap is 57.5. His time is 13:58.6. Second place and a spot on the team that will face the Russians is his. The third placer is Beatty who loses ground all the way, finishing in 14:06.0. Dellinger is fourth in 14:10.2. Rodda runs 14:12.4.

 

     Little description of the 10,000 is given, but the heat takes its toll. Twenty-six stout hearted warriors enter the fray but only eleven finish. About halfway through Pete McArdle opens a gap that he stretches to the tape, finishing in 30:11.0. Second, and the spot on the team for the Russian meet, goes to John Gutknecht in 30:44.6, three seconds ahead of Oscar Moore.

 

Vic Zwolak

     The steeplechase has everyone of note except the national leader, Vic Zwolak, who ran 8:42 in last week's NCAA meet. As strong as the field is, by the fifth lap it has become a two man race. George Young leads with Jeff Fishback

Jeff Fishback

in close pursuit. Fishback makes his move on the final water jump 180 yards from the finish and suddenly it is over as Young has nothing left. Fishback wins in 8:43.6. Young's 8:49.4 gives him a seven second margin over Fred Best. It will be Fishback and Young against the Russians.

 

     Remember the line about how this is the first AAU meet in which every finisher will get a time? Well, it hasn't worked out that way as Keith Forman in llth and last place gets an NT.

 

     The 110 high hurdles have heats, semis and the final on the same day. All the big names survive the heats but the semis eliminate two 13.4 men, 1960 Olympic silver medalist Willie May and Roy Hicks. After suffering two recent defeats to Blaine Lindgren, Hayes Jones scores a mild upset by winning in 13.8 with Lindgren a tick back. The slow times are attributed to the track which the hurdlers like even less than the sprinters do. This is Jones' fifth AAU title and provides a great trivia question for Friday's track geezer meeting at the Dew Drop Inn. Who is the only American to compete in the first six US – USSR meets? That would be Hayes Jones.

 

     The heats of the 400 intermediates eliminate Olympic silver medalist Cliff Cushman as well as Don Styron. The semis and final are run on the same day. In the first semi Billy Hardin bests Willie Atterberry 50.7 to 50.9 with Chris Stauffer also making the final. Rex Cawley's 50.9 takes the second semi with Tom Wyatt and Jay Luck being invited back for the final.

 

Rex Cawley

     Hardin always goes out fast and the final is no exception. Luck finishes strongly but comes up short at the finish as these two run 50.1 and 50.2, qualifying them for the Russian meet. Veterans Atterberry and Cawley clock 50.3 and 50.6 and have to wait for another day.  

Billy Hardin recounts some of his career on youtube.com

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G28AiWyKIqU

     Three high jumpers separate themselves from the field. Ed Caruthers, John Rambo and John Thomas all clear 7-1 and finish in that order based on fewer misses.

 

      At this point we must take an editorial aside. Before anything is posted, the linguistically limited product of our reporter, a C student at best, is presented to our master proofreader, Steve Price, former coach of the Kettering Striders, Bowling Green State U. and now Findlay U. Steve turns this lump of coal into the polished diamond you are currently reading. Would that Track and Field News have had access to Steve's skills in 1964. If it had, John Rambo would not have been listed as both the second and third place finisher and John Thomas unmentioned in the results. The error-free reports to which you are accustomed are the reason we pay Steve the big bucks. (Also, if you find a mistake, it's Steve's fault.)

John Thomas

 

 

      The pole vaulters must have wished they had packed a lunch. The competition began at 1:00 and didn't end until 8:53. All fifteen US vaulters who have cleared sixteen feet are here. Also in attendance are another eleven who have met the qualifying standard of 15-3½. At 16-0 the field is parred to eight with 16-9 vaulter Don Meyers being the chief casualty. Floyd Manning, John Pennel, Gerald Pratt, Fred Hansen, Dave Tork and Ron Morris are left after 16-4½. For Manning and Pratt this is a PR.

Fred Hansen

 

     Sixteen feet eight inches decides who will compete against the Russians. Tork and Hansen are over. With the bar at 17-0, Tork misses three times, but world record holder Hansen clears on his second try. He wants the bar set at 17-6 ¾ . This is easier said than done. The lift truck used to check height has broken down. Another truck used for the judges at the finish line lacks a driver. (How this creates a lasting problem is not explained.) Finally, after a 34 minute wait, the bar is in place and Hansen takes his shot, narrowly missing on his first jump. Two more misses and the event comes to a merciful end.

 

      Ralph Boston's first effort in the broad jump produces the 26-7½ winner. Charley Mays of the wondrously named Grand Street Boys Club has five jumps over 25' and a best of 26-2 to take second and earns a spot on his first international team. Darrell Horn barely misses making the team at 26-1¼.

The javelin presents a recipe for disaster with 28 entrants and insufficient room for a proper approach. The throwers start with their backs against the wall that encircles the track, run across six lanes of track and jump the curb before reaching the throwing apron.

 

     Adding to the confusion, at the end of the trials it is discovered that all the throws have been measured ten feet short. No explanation is given, but at least everyone is shorted equally. Frank Covelli pops a 253-7 for the win. Jan Sikorsky takes second at 248-1.

 

     Hal Connolly set his 231-10 world record in the hammer throw two years ago in the dual meet with Russia. He would very much like the opportunity to compete against them this year. That goal is realized when he throws 226-5½ to win. A foul of 229-5 bodes well for the future. Ed Burke surprises with his a PR of 215-10½ and his best series to take second from perennial runner up Al Hall who can do no better than 208-5.

 

      The road to the AAU discus title goes through Al Oerter. It is a path no one travels this day. Big Al wears a neck brace made from two towels and a belt to keep him from throwing his head too far back and pinching a nerve in his left arm. No matter. Oerter throws 201-1½ on his first attempt and no one gets close. Jay Silvester is second at 193-9.



Dallas Long

 

     This year has seen the emergence on the national scene of high school distance stars Jim Ryun and Gerry Lindgren. But as good as they are, their performances don't compare with that of their 19 year old contemporary, Texas A&M freshman shot putter Randy Matson. His potential is unlimited. When Dallas Long retires, the crown will belong to Matson. He is the future of shot putting.

But, wait a minute, perhaps he is the present of shot putting, for today he thoroughly thumps world record holder Dallas Long to claim his first national championship. For Long, his 63-4¾ is a disappointing effort, but even if Long had thrown a foot and a half further, he would have lost to the youngster's 64-11 PR. Now consider this. 

Randy Matson

Randy Matson has been putting the 16 pound shot for only one year. Maybe the word “potential” no longer applies.

 

     At the other end of the spectrum is Perry O'Brien. In his storied career he has won 17 AAU shot put championships (including indoor). Today he is no match for the young blood and finishes third at 61-11.

 

     But this is not the only significant meet this weekend. On the other side of the country at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California the AAU decathlon championship and two of the three spots on the US Olympic team are decided.

Ten of the fifteen competitors achieve personal bests. C.K. Yang, the world record holder from Nationalist China, wins as expected. His 8641 points place him firmly atop the world list.

 

J.D. Martin

      The two places on the US team go to Paul Herman (7794) and Don Jeisy (7768). Just missing are Santa Clara Valley Youth Village teammates Russ Hodge (7729) and Bill Toomey (7620). They, along with

Dick Emberger

Dick Emberger (7502) and J.D. Martin (7343), will have a chance to claim the third spot on the US team at the final Olympic Trials September 12-13.  J.D. "Goose" Martin will not go to the trials, as his alma mater, the U. of Oklahoma will offer him the head coaching job, one that he cannot refuse.  He will stay there for 37 or more years.  ed.

           While Dave Thoreson is eliminated, he is heartened by clearing 6-9½ for an all time decathlon best. Toomey's 47.5 400 puts him in that elite club as well.

Bill Toomey



Vol. 3 No. 35 November, 1963

November 1963

There was no report of cross country in the October issue so this issue jumps right to the championship meets with little mention of what preceded them. The IC4A meet is held November 18 in New York City, probably Van Cortlandt Park though it is not mentioned. Former Marine and current Villanova student Vic Zwolak opens such a large lead that even though he is bothered by a stitch in his side which slows him to a 5:13 final mile, he still wins by 120 yards and breaks the course record he set last year with a 24:46.8. Notre Dame takes the team title easily with 55 points followed by Brown (133), Michigan State (154) and Villanova (159).

A week later, November 26, the NCAA meet is held in East Lansing, Michigan and Notre Dame runs into the big boys from the west coast. Defending champion San Jose State enters the meet as a strong favorite and more than lives up to that billing, winning with 53 points to beat Oregon's 68. The Fighting Irish edge Kansas and Michigan State for third 128 – 130 - 135.

Vick Zwolak leading John Camien and Geoff Walker

Once again Vic Zwolak is the man of the hour though this time he has little margin for error. Emporia State's John Camien 

stays with him throughout the race only to be outkicked by ten yards. San Jose had it pretty much wrapped up early with three runners in the top ten: Jeff Fishback 3^rd, Danny Murphy 5^th and Ben Tucker 8^th.

From Dick Drake's “On Your Marks” column we learn that Wilbur Hutsell has retired after coaching Auburn for 42 years. He is replaced by Melvin Rosen...

Mel Rosen

.Larry Questad scored 18 points for Stanford in this year's NCAA meet, but he won't score any next year as he has been suspended for the year for an unmentioned fraternity prank. He will continue to train with Payton Jordan.....Joe Faust has married the unnamed 1962 Mt. SAC Relays Queen. (Her name, Joanne Radaich, was mentioned in the September issue. How hard would that have been to include?) ...Ernie Cunliffe has been transferred by the Air Force to the ROTC unit at the University of Oregon and will train with Bill Bowerman.....Max Truex has retired from track. He is the vice-president of his class at the USC School of Law.....Another USC post graduate, Dallas Long, has arranged his studies at the SC School of Dentistry so that he will have time to train for the Olympics. “He is on an all out weight training program and is as strong as an ox”.......Former Oxy and Strider hurdler Clarence Treat is the lead singer with the New Christy Minstrels…....Ray Barry, a 20 year old sprinter from the Virgin Islands will become the University of Miami's first Negro athlete......Speaking of Miami, Bob Schul has just enrolled. That would be the Ohio type Miami.....Oliver Jackson who has helped individuals or relay teams to break or tie 15 world records in his 15 years as coach at Abilene Christian has resigned to become district manager of American Founders' Insurance Company where he has worked part time for the last nine years.

Three quarters of a page is devoted to a fictitious 800 competition among the 12 greatest half milers of all time as seen by Roberto Quercetani, the European correspondent. To cut to the chase, semis pare the field down to Mal Whitfield, John Woodruff, Arthur Wint, Tom Courtney, Peter Snell and Rudolf Harbig. Wint leads with 200 to go, but Courtney and Harbig pass and pull away. But here comes Snell. He squeezes through on the inside with 50 meters to go and wins in a WR 1:43.6 (even 51.8 second splits). Harbig 1:43.9, Courtney 1:44.0, Woodruff 1:44.2, Whitfield 1:45.0 and Wint 1:45.2 follow.

Snell, Courtney, Woodruff and Dave Wottle.
 Looks like Dave Wottle could mediate this conversation about a hypothetical 800 race.  Where might he place himself?

Arthur Wint defeating Herb McKenley and Mal Whitfield while equalling the WR in 400 M at Wembley Stadium August , 1948

Harbig Smoking a Field in Berlin

This is somewhat akin to Sandy Koufax, leading 3-2 with one out in the ninth, pitching to Babe Ruth with Ricky Henderson on second.

Three pages are devoted to “The Tokyo Diary”, publisher Bert Nelson's diary of his experience as the manager of the US team at the recent Tokyo International Sportsweek meet. He relates incidents involving John Pennel, Russ Rogers and Larry Questad, but most importantly, this journal answers the question of what Pat Boone was doing anchoring a relay team in Ireland this summer.

The August issue of TFN has a photo of the singer running with baton in hand and no competition in sight. Even the boys down at the Dew Drop Inn were flumoxed by this seeming inanity. Finally we have the answer from the lips of one of Boone's relay teammates, Larry Questad.

“That's the craziest thing you will ever hear. Pat is a good friend of the owner of the stadium. The stadium wasn't doing well, so Pat wanted to help him with publicity. It worked. The stadium was packed. Pat may have looked good in the picture (editor's note: no he didn't), but he can't run worth a darn. He had about a 35 yard lead when I handed off to him and he lost all but six inches of it. He was running against a half miler, too.

Larry Questad, Any Resemblance to
Pat Boone , below?

Boone training for track meet?  I swear we
didn't photoshop this picture

“Everybody in town seemed to know that Boone was arriving and when our group got there they mistook me for him (ed. note: there is a resemblance) Ain't That a Shame?  . After the meet Pat threw a big party for us. Starlets and everything.” That's Pat Boone, lousy runner, but a friend of track and field. The boys will raise a glass in his honor Friday night at the Dew Drop.

Vol. 3 No. 21 July , 1963

Ross and Norris McWhirther
How do they figure in this Track and Field blog?
Read on.

JULY 1963

What if you gave a track meet and nobody showed up? Well, that isn't exactly what happened at the NCAA meet in Albuquerque, but the attendance was disappointing. When Adolph Plummer set his 440 record last month the crowd was 12,000. Adolph has used up his eligibility and isn't running in this meet. The attendance reflects his absence. Only 3800 show up on Thursday night. Friday's competition is seen by “a few more” and seats are available throughout Saturday's final as only 10,024 are in attendance.

That select few see USC win another NCAA title, but the Trojans do so by standing on the shoulders of their smallest performer, distance runner Julio Marin. Because of the 4600 foot altitude the distance times are slow, but first place is all that matters to Marin. He wins the six mile Thursday and the three mile Friday. Just to keep busy on Saturday he runs his first steeplechase and finishes fourth, providing the Trojans with 24 of their 61 points and outscoring all but four teams by himself.

Rex Cawley produces another 18 as he wins the 440 hurdles and places second to Ulis Williams in the 440. Together he and Marin equal the score of second place Stanford. Behinds SC's 61 and Stanford's 42 the West Coast's dominance is obvious. Arizona State takes third at 39 followed by Villanova 36, Oregon State 29, San Jose State 21, Occidental and Southern Illinois 18, Washington 17, California 15, NYU 14, Purdue 12 and Fresno State 11.

Three meet records are set. In the 440 hurdles Cawley comes from two yards down at the top of the stretch to catch the leaders, Jim Miller of Colorado and Billy Hardin of LSU, and record the fastest time in the world this year, 49.6. Half miler Ron Whitney of Occidental comes from even further back to take second at 50.3 and perhaps contemplate an event change. Jim Allen of Washington State is third at 50.5.

Henry Carr gets the second record when he holds off Stanford's Larry Questad by a tenth in 20.5. Purdue's Nate Adams (Cleveland Glenville HS) is third at 21.0. There is a photo on page 7 of this issue where these three are hitting the tape together in the 100. One can't find a better shot of a dead heat. The Bulova phototimer sorts them out. Questad, Carr and Adams in that order, all timed in 9.7 into the wind.

Not surprisingly the third meet record goes to Brian Sternberg, but not without an element of doubt. In the qualifying on Thursday he makes 15-4 only to have his pole go under the bar disqualifying his clearance. A miss on the second attempt puts him in jeopardy of not making Saturday's final. He confers with teammate John Cramer before clearing on the dramatic third jump. When Saturday rolls around he is his unbeatable self, setting a meet record of 16-4¾ as Rolando Cruz of Villanova, Cramer, Fred Hansen of Rice and Bob Watson of Oregon all clear 15-9¾ and finish in that order based on misses.

In the 440 Ulis Williams allows Rex Cawley a couple yards at the halfway point, but runs a strong curve to enter the straight with a three yard lead and holds on for the win, 45.8 to 46.1. Charles Strong of Oklahoma State takes third at 46.7, holding off three others at 46.8.

Oregon State just established a world record in the two mile relay and that talent is on display in the 880 and the mile. Norm Hoffman takes on two of Europe's finest, England's Bill Cornell running for So. Illinois and Irishman Noel Carroll of Villanova. Cornell makes a big push in the first turn of the second lap, but Hoffman stays with him and passes at the end of the straight to power away for a 1:48.0 win. Cornell hangs tough to hold off Carroll at the tape, 1:48.4 for both.

Hoffman's teammate, Morgan Groth takes the mile, but the win is less satisfying. After a 3:07 1320, Loyola's Tom O'Hara, “a frail red-haired boy who won't be 21 until July”, holds off Groth and breaks the tape at 4:04.8. But wait a minute. O'Hara is DQed for cutting for the pole too soon. Maybe he didn't get there first, but Groth is the NCAA champ at 4:05.3. Cordner Nelson displays his feelings. “He did not interfere with anyone. He did not shorten his distance. He lost a championship on a bit of petty officiousness, although technically guilty of a charge which is infinitely small compared with many serious infractions which go unnoticed or unpunished.”

Marks made in field event prelims carry over to the finals. Competitors in the broad jump are aided by strong winds in the Thursday prelims. No one improves in Friday's final. Central State's Clifton Mayfield takes gold at 26-7w, but Bill Miller of McMurray State and Paul Warfield of Ohio State are also over 26 feet at 26-4¾w and 26-2½w. Miller has the best legal jump at 26-2. Phil Shinnick has fouls of 26-6 and 27-0, but can manage only 25-4¼ off the board. Cordner Nelson reports that Shinnick has a scar on his calf from running through a fence while being chased by bulls in Spain. It is unclear whether Phil vacationed in Pamplona or was just out in a field.

Gary Gubner of NYU trails Oregon's Dave Steen by two inches as he steps into the ring for his last throw. His 62-5 is enough to reverse that situation. Steen is second at 61-11¼. The event must have been concluded quickly as only ten are entered and George Woods of So. Illinois simplifies the matter by fouling three times in the prelims.

The javelin throw is contested on consecutive nights on a wet runway. Frank Covelli of Arizona State wins at 257-8½ over Gary Stenlund of Oregon State who throws 253-4. Former national caliber thrower Buster Quist is the object of competitors' ire as an official for calling so many throws flat. Jerry Dyes of Abilene Christian has a groin injury and is never in the medal battle. Neither is one of the pre-meet favorites, Larry Stuart of USC, who “is harassed by an Oregon rooter who must have learned his manners at baseball games”. His 232 leaves him well out of medal contention.

Bet you'd like to know who won the 440 and mile relays, wouldn't you? Nobody, that's who. The NCAA meet is still in the dark ages of 1963. No relays for you, track fans.

A week later, June 21-22, the center of the track and field world has moved a thousand miles east to Saint Louis where the AAU is being held. Significantly, this is the first national championship meet to be held on a composition track. Three hundred and sixty tons of rubber, asphalt and crushed stone are laid on the existing cinder track at Public Schools Stadium in one day using conventional paving equipment. It is rolled down to a thickness of an inch and a half.


  



Larry Questad, Livingston MT, and Stanford

Bob Hayes likes the new surface. In his semifinal heat, with the wind a legal 2.2 mph, he blows the field away with a 9.1 clocking which will be submitted for world record consideration. He leaves no doubt in the final, catching Johnny Gilbert midrace and winning in 9.1 once again, but this time with an aiding wind of 7.7 mph. Gilbert runs 9.2. Paul Drayton, Willie Williams and Larry Questad finish in that order in 9.3. Hayes says, “I like this track. I wish they made all tracks like this.”

Hayes' lack of dedication to track is obvious. This is his third day on the track in two weeks, an absence he explains with, “I needed a rest”. As a harbinger of what may come, he says, “I like to run, all right, but I would rather do it carrying a football”.

Middle distance runners seem to have an affinity for the new surface although you couldn't tell from the comments from 880 winner Bill Crothers of Canada, “I didn't like the track. I thought it was too soft.” But when he hears his time, 1:46.8, a mark bettered only by Peter Snell, he responds, “Holy mackerel! It's hard to believe.” Jim Dupree and NCAA mile champ, Morgan Groth, impress with 1:47.3 and 1:47.5. The real surprise however is the fourth place finish of Steve Haas, previously a sprinter of note at Occidental. He has been troubled by cramping in his upper thigh, so after a season of sprinting, he has been moved up to the 880 by coach Jim Bush. The results are outstanding. Before this meet he has run the race only four times. Today he runs 1:47.6, leading the casual observer to believe that he may have some potential at this distance. Dick Drake writes, “This is the making of a world class half miler.” Sounds as if he is already in that select group.

In the mile, facing his usual competition, Jim Grelle, Dyrol Burleson, Tom O'Hara and Cary Weisiger, Jim Beatty alters his tactics and leads for three laps, hitting the bell at three minutes exactly. Grelle has dropped out with a foot problem, but the other four are closely bunched on the final curve. O'Hara is boxed in third when Burleson makes the decisive move. Beatty is obviously beaten before they reach the stretch. O'Hara passes Weisiger and finishes the fastest, but the gap Burleson ran up is too much to overcome. Burleson wins 3:56.7 with O'Hara at 3:56.9, good enough for a collegiate record. Weisiger is third at 3:58.5 with Beatty fourth at 3:59.2.

This is not to say there were not problems. The major “oops moment” came when the track was marked. As savvy followers of the sport know, in a race run in lanes around a curve, the inside lane is four inches wider than the other lanes. This is because the runner in the pole position cannot run as near the curb as the other competitors can to the line separating their lanes from the lane to the inside for fear of stepping on the curb. Well, somewhere in the planning stages this subtlety was lost. Lane one is 42 inches wide, just like all the other lanes. As the measurement is made from lane one, this means that the other runners are running about a foot less in the 220 and two feet less in the 440. There will be no record in those events unless it comes from lane one.

Henry Carr

Two twenty world record applicant Henry Carr is not 100%, but then when you are Henry Carr, 95% will do. With his knee taped because of “loose joints”, the Arizona State sophomore takes a yard lead into the straight only to have Paul Drayton come on strong and catch him at the tape. The photo on the cover of this issue shows the dilemma the judges face. It is impossible to say either won. Meet referee Cap Haralson confers with judges looking at the Bulova phototimer. Three judges give it to Drayton. Four vote for Carr. Haralson has the last say. He calls it a tie. The time is 20.4. Oddly, just the previous week in the NCAA 100, as mentioned earlier in this entry, Carr is involved in another “dead heat”, but that time the tough call was made and Henry was second. Who was the victim of lane one you may be asking? That would be hard luck Earl Young who has the only legitimate time in the race, 20.7.

And now (drum roll here), the race everyone has been waiting for, the 440 match between defending national champion, Ulis Williams, and world record holder Adolph Plummer who soundly trounced him in that world record race last month. This is their first meeting since that memorable day.

Both win their heats. In the final Plummer is in lane six with Williams in seven. Williams leads early, but Plummer catches him at the halfway mark and, like in his world record race, opens up daylight around the curve. At the start of the straight he has two yards. That distance gradually shrinks and it is a question of whether Williams will run out of time before the finish line. Twenty yards out Williams catches Plummer. Cordner Nelson writes, “He (Williams) had six inches on his tall rival five yards from home and the lead increased to a foot and half at the tape”. Williams 45.8, Plummer 45.9.

The times are fast in both hurdles, but there are complaints. Blaine Lindgren says the track is made for Hayes Jones, that it gives too much under a heavy hurdler such as himself. Rex Cawley says the track is too springy and causes an intermediate hurdler to change his stride. Nonetheless fast times are the order of the day; Hayes Jones leads all the way to take the 120HH in 13.4 with Lindgren and Roy Hicks second and third at 13.5.

In the 440H little known Jim Allen of Washington State 13 steps for seven hurdles then switches to 15 steps. He leads Rex Cawley by 2½ yards at the ninth hurdle, but the SC star is not to be denied. He catches Allen five yards from the tape and executes a perfect lean to win 50.4 to 50.5. Cawley and Allen are on the team that will compete in Russia. Willie Atterberry, at 50.6, is not.

Allen is a late maturing athlete. His best high school hurdle times were 16.3 and 20.6. As a junior at WSU he ran 14.6 and 23.7. Last year he was out with a hamstring pull. This year he has discovered the 440 intermediates and has blossomed. At 6-4 and 170 it is possible he will fill out and run even faster.

Ralph Boston is ready to go to Russia if his 26-10 is any measure. Darryl Horn takes second in the broad jump at 26-4.

Consistent Brian Sternberg takes the pole vault at 16-4. John Uelses, Ron Morris and Rolando Cruz all clear 16-0½ with Uelses making the team on fewer misses.

Perry O'Brien is a model of persistence. The veteran is long since past his prime, but don't tell him that. He puts 62-1¼ to lead until Dave Davis throws 62-5¾ on his last attempt. O'B will have another shot in Moscow. That high school kid, Randy Matson, is fourth behind Gary Gubner at 59-1¼.

Gene Johnson and Paul Stuber are the only high jumpers to clear seven feet and finish in that order. Veterans Joe Faust and John Thomas can do no better than 6-11 and 6-10. Of particular interest is Roy Hicks who also clears 6-10. Yes, this is the same Roy Hicks who was third in the hurdles at 13.5. (If memory serves me well, Roy Hicks was the first HS athlete to jump 7'0".  He used the Eastern roll technique, did not straddle. He attended U. of Oklahoma for about 6 weeks, but returned to his native Houston, TX and enrolled at Texas Southern.  He later ran for the US Army when he represented the US as a hurdler. ed.) 

Al Oerter is real good with the discus, but not so good with the disc. That would be the disc in his back which has slipped. For that reason Al is not in attendance today.

Jay Silvester takes the gold at 198-11½, ten feet better than Rink Babka.

Like Oerter, Hal Connolly, who is teaching in Finland, has back problems and doesn't compete. Al Hall professes his disappointment and then wins at 214-11. Second place finisher George Frenn PRs at 198-10. Like Jim Allen, Frenn is a late bloomer. After tiring of finishing last in the 100 in all comers meets 1959, he takes up the hammer. That summer he throws 75 feet. Demonstrating that perseverance pays off, he throws 156-10 in 1960, 166-10 in '61 and then improves to 187-2 last year. Now he is on the team that will compete
against the Soviet Union.



George Frenn

.



Frenn on the cover of Sports Illustrated

Three days after the AAU meet many of the competitors have gathered for the Toronto International Games. Apparently the track is notable for its long straights and tight turns as this is mentioned twice, but the distance events don't seem to be effected. Julio Marin takes the two mile in 8:46.8 and LATC milers, Jim Beatty and Jim Grelle, make up for disappointing performances at the AAU meet, with Beatty holding off Grelle by a tenth in 3:56.0. Beatty says he thinks he could have bettered the world record by two seconds had there been a pace setter in the middle laps. (3:52.4, really, Jim?) Coach Mihaly Igloi says Grelle should have started his finishing drive earlier because he had too much left.

Buddy Edelen  #1

We have another sorta, kinda world record for you. Former University of Minnesota star Buddy Edelen, who has been teaching in England for the last three years, establishes a world best of 2:14.08 in London's Polytechnic Marathon to eclipse the previous best of 2:15.15 by Japan's Tora Terasaw earlier this year. Here comes the “sorta kinda” part. Three weeks later the Brits get around to measuring the course and it comes up 103 yards short, a distance that the writer, Ross McWhirter, estimates that would take Edelen another 18 seconds. No record for you, Buddy, but nice job just the same. Wait a minute, undoubtedly the name of the writer rings a bell with the more alert among you. Yes, that is the same Ross McWhirter who, along with his twin brother, Norris , established the Guinness Book of World Records.  Three weeks later Englishman Brian Kilby would run 2hr. 14:43 at the Port Talbot  (Wales) Marathon.

The Fourth of July finds us in Eugene for the Oregon AAU meet at Hayward Field, a meet noteworthy more as a harbinger of things to come than for what is produced this day. This said, there are some good marks and close races. Morgan Groth wins the 880 over Jim Dupree 1:50 to 1:51.2. Dyrol Burleson holds off Cary Weisiger in the mile 4:00.3 to 4:01.9. Dave Davis, now a marine at Camp Pendleton, is the easy winner in the shot at 62-1. The broad jump is the story, however, as Darryl Horn, formerly of Oregon State, now representing the US Air Force, beats Ralph Boston 25-1 to 24-6½, Boston's first loss in two years. Phil Shinnick is third at 24-6.

The future is well served as Tracy Smith, who ran at Arcadia HS in Southern California this year, crushes Tom Sullivan's high school record for the steeplechase by 20 seconds when he finishes second in the open race at 9:30.5. He also places second in the prep mile in 4:13.0 for a pretty good double. Oh, the winner of that race at 4:12.9, might have a future as well. He will be a senior at Rogers High in Spokane next year. His name is Gerry Lindgren.





The youngster from Rogers High.



Lindgren would develop.  Here he is seen winning the Pac 8 XC meet in 1969 at Stanford
He and Pre had the same time 28:32.4 for 6 miles.

.

The decathlon championship is decided in Corvallis, Oregon. Much to the delight of the 1516 fans who braved cold, windy weather, Oregon State's Steve Pauly scores 7852 points to win by over 500. The real drama is the battle for second which earns a spot on the US team in Moscow. With only the 1500 remaining veteran Dave Edstrom leads Dick Emberger (Need to know more about Dick Emberger?  See below)
 by 141 points. Edstrom is a strong 1500 runner, so a place on the team appears likely. Unfortunately for Edstrom, Emberger is a great 1500 runner. When the dust has cleared Edstrom has run 4:32.6, but Emberger has pushed the limits to 4:19.2 and has earned his ticket to Russia by three points.

Tucked away in a corner of page 21 is the story of the tragedy that has befallen Brian Sternberg (covered earlier in this publication). “Brian Sternberg, claimant to the world pole vault record, lies critically injured in a Seattle hospital as the result of a trampoline accident July 2. As of July 5, the last official hospital statement before our July 8 press time, final diagnosis had not been completed. At that time the University of Washington star was paralyzed from the neck down........Brian is reported full of determination to effect a full recovery.”

This issue chronicles the efforts of several athletes who may have stayed at the dance too long. It may be time for them to hang it up before embarrassing themselves with the hopeless effort of trying to make an Olympic team. In the just reported decathlon Bill Toomey is fifth with a mere 6822, over a thousand points behind Pauly. He high jumps 5-5, throws the discus only 114-8 and can only muster 38-11 in the shot. Mike Larrabee has been around forever. His best days are behind him. He will be 30 in December. He makes the 440 final in the AAU meet, but runs last in 47.2, a whopping 2.3 seconds off the world record.


 

(A good reason for sticking with it.)


And then we have this Billy Mills fellow who has become a punching bag for three and six milers. Indeed in the AAU three mile he is eighth in a field of nine with a 14:46.0 clocking, over a minute behind the winner. Time to call it quits and get on with life, guys.

Billy Mills   Haskell Inst. 1956

(Not quite ready to give it up.)

Former U.S. Olympian and Roanoke College track athlete and swimmer recalls glory days

Richard "Dick" Emberger during his Roanoke College track days.

Forty-eight years after his Olympic debut in the decathlon, Richard "Dick" Emberger '60 still remembers the inspiring words of longtime Roanoke College coach, C. Homer Bast.
"The man who wins is the man who thinks he can," Bast once said to Emberger, a standout cross country and track athlete and swimmer for Roanoke.
But Emberger is no ordinary alumni athlete. Until this year, he was the only Roanoke graduate to compete for the United States in the Olympic Games. On July 29, Shelley Olds, a 2003 Roanoke graduate and a member of the U.S. Olympic Road Cycling Team, will take her place at the starting line at the London Olympics.
Each time Emberger watches the Olympic Games, his excitement rises and his memories return.
"You get to think back on all of the agony and ecstasy," he said via phone from his home in Escondido, Calif.
In 1964, Emberger placed 10^th in the decathlon at the summer Olympics in Tokyo. He joined the U.S. Olympic team after winning the decathlon at the Olympic trials in Los Angeles.
The decathlon covers two days and includes 10 single events, from the 100-meter and 1,500-meter races to the long jump, shot put, javelin throw and pole vault.
At Roanoke, Emberger not only shined as a cross country and track athlete, but as a swimmer, holding the College's diving record.  He also set Virginia state records in the high jump and high hurdles for both indoor and outdoor track. Emberger was inducted into Roanoke's Hall of Fame in 1971.
Still, Bast seemed to foreshadow Emberger's future track success. Though the decathlon was not an event during Emberger's Roanoke track days, Bast told the athlete that he could one day do well in this 10-event competition.
"We had talked about making the [Olympic] team," Emberger said. "That's something I think every athlete dreams about."
Emberger became a captain in the Marine Corps after graduation and eventually, he fought in the Vietnam War. He competed in his first decathlon at Mt. San Antonio College in California at the Mt. SAC Relays.
Emberger's decathlon skills improved as he competed in various military track meets while he was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California.
He scored 7,292 points and won the 1,500 meters in 4 minutes, 19.3 seconds during his Olympic debut in Tokyo. But he said it was not his best decathlon performance. It was rainy and cloudy on race day.
Even so, the Olympics was "the opportunity to pit yourself against the best athletes in the world," said Emberger, who raced on a clay track. "Sometimes you do well. Sometimes you don't."
He tried for a second shot at the Olympics in 1968, but he did not advance beyond the decathlon trials.
Nowadays, Emberger, who is 74, enjoys a slower sport -- golf. He taught high school English and physical education for 30 years in California, while also coaching high school track, swimming and water polo.
He is retired, but he works as a substitute teacher, because "I enjoy the kids," he said.
Emberger is married to Rosemary Lotuso (both are pictured to the left), whom he met at Roanoke, and the couple has two children and five grandchildren.
Emberger still keeps in touch with Bast, who lives in Salem and was a professor, coach and administrator at Roanoke for 33 years.
"I call him every month or so," Emberger said.
Released: July 19, 2012
Contact Email: gereaux@roanoke.edu

Two post publishing corrections were made on this page.  The first is that Buddy Edelen broke the previous marathon best of 2hr15 min 15 sec.  not 2hr 25 min 15 sec.   And the second correction is in the picture of Gerry Lindgren and Steve Prefontaine.  This picture was taken at the Pac 8 meet , not the NCAA meet.    Thanks to Rick Lower for catching those errors. ed.