Vol. 3 No. 59 A Documentary Film in Production about Steve Prefontaine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o9SPH-GNu8

Here is a 15 minute preview of a documentary in production about Coos Bay, Oregon and the people who grew up with and knew Steve Prefontaine as he was growing up.  There is also a pitch at the end to raise money to complete the project.

Thanks to Mike Solomon for bringing this to our attention.

GB

Vol. 3 No. 58 Valiery Brumel remembered in Moscow

 

George and Roy,

I really enjoy reading your blog.  Mary Ann and I had the opportunity to go to the World Track and Field Championships in Moscow this past August.  One day we were exploring a cemetery not too far from the Olympic Stadium.  We were told that Kruschev was buried there and we were searching for his gravesite.  Well, I came across something better.  How well can you read Cyrllic?

Bob Roncker

Good quote from Geoff Peitsch.
 

I can't read Cyrillic but I can read high jump form. And Brumel's style was so recognizable.

 

 

George,

getting used to tim horton's coffee houses yet? Great photo from russia you just sent.

I remember going to the big indoor meets in L.A. years ago ( sunkist invite and l.a. times meet) and watching the great Russian athletes. When I was a senior in high school competing in an invitational mile run  the sports editor of the now defunct l.a  hearld examiner introduced me to  Gerry Lindgren and Richmond Flowers...pretty cool

but back to Brumel... there was a story that during the ussr vs. usa dual meet taking place in Palo Alto  Brumel walked into the Stanford gym and the Stanford basketball team was working out and they sort of laughed at this guy wearing the CCCP outfit on his sweats....they didn't have a clue who he was....so Brumel runs onto the court and jumps and touches the basket tim with his foot!!! just to shut them up.

 Another h.s. pal saw Brumel work out one day at Orange Coast junior college in Costa Mesa and everyone was in awe watching him work out on the track...things that American jumpers wouldn't even fathom doing!!!.

Mike Solomon



Thanks to Mike Solomon and Phil Scott for reminding us
about this picture.  Phil thought it was in NYC , but the  equipment
looks rather East European.  I recall seeing the photo in
Track and Field News many years ago.  And TF&N has
their name on the pic.

Vol. 3 No. 32 Memorial Day Remembrance of Cliff Cushman and Others Who Died in War.

This article came from the University of Kansas athletics website.  We've written about Cliff Cushman and his having died in Viet Nam.  On this Memorial Day weekend we feel it's more than appropriate to remember Cliff again.   Mike Solomon, former Jayhawk runner sent this to us today.  One of our regular readers, Ernie Cunliffe was especially close to Cliff as a former Olympic team member with Cliff in Rome.  Ernie has made considerable efforts to try to get help in locating Cliff's remains, but to no avail.

One of my teammates from the University of Oklahoma also lost his life in Viet Nam.  Phil Neislar, a 440 runner from Ft. Smith, Arkansas  became a navy pilot and died on his first mission from an aircraft carrier.  His plane went into the water right after takeoff and Phil was never found.

Also to be remembered is Ron Zinn,  US team racewalker and West Point graduate who died in Viet Nam and Bill Rawson,  University of Missouri 880 runner who died in Viet Nam.     If you can think of others let us know to add to the list.

We can take names from any side of a conflict.  I'm thinking of Rudi Harbig and Karl-Ludwig "Luz" Long as well.

Best to all of you old guys who have served.

REMEMBERING TEAMMATES ON MEMORIAL DAY

Bill Dotson and Cliff Cushman were like brothers

Cliff Cushman (above) showing off his NCAA Championship ring and Bill Dotson below.

May 24, 2013

Memorial Day is for family and friends to remember the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. And the reality is these family and friends think of those who have perished every day since they have passed. That truth lays the same for Kansas’ world-class track standout Bill Dotson who was mentored by teammate and Olympian Cliff Cushman.

The two became the best of friends in their time as teammates at KU. When asked about his friend Cliff, Dotson glows. He describes a passionate man, full of life, talent and a love for others. Although soft spoken, Dotson still can’t think of a more ideal teammate and the duo became even closer after KU. In fact, just two weeks before leaving on his tour of duty in Vietnam, Cushman came to see Dotson.

That would be the last time the two saw each other as Cushman’s plane was shot down in battle. 

“It was like I missed my brother when I heard about him being shot down in Vietnam,” Dotson said. “I believe he was there only 18 days when he was shot down. He was loved and admired by everyone on the track team. He was a better person than he was an athlete. No one had anything bad to say about Cliff.” 

Cushman was a main cog in Kansas’ 1959 and 1960 NCAA Men’s Track and Field Championship teams. A native of Grand Forks, N.D., Cushman came to KU as a well-rounded star having won state titles in the long jump, high hurdles and mile. At KU, he ran the 400 hurdles for head coach Bill Easton, finishing second in the NCAA championship in 1959. His senior year, 1960, Cushman was the most outstanding performer at the Kansas Relays and later won the NCAA championship in the 400 hurdles. 

“I can still remember in my mind’s eye Cushman doing the 400-meter intermediate hurdles, which I think is the toughest event in all of track and field,” KU long-time broadcaster Max Falkenstien said. “I remember seeing that blond hair he had coming around the turns at Memorial Stadium. He was such a tremendous hurdler and sprinter combined in such a very demanding event.” 

As a captain on the KU team, Cushman mentored Dotson, a distance standout from Jamestown, Kan., who was two years behind Cushman at Kansas. Dotson literally rewrote the KU records book in distance events. Dotson, a two-time All-American and six-time Big Eight Conference champion, was a three-time American Record holder in the mile (all three times in 1962). He became the first KU and Big Eight athlete and only the fourth collegian to break the four-minute mile. To this day, only two Jayhawks have broken the four-minute mile collegiately, Dotson and Jim Ryun. 

“I remember at the (Big Eight) conference meet as a sophomore, Cliff was a senior and he’d coach me a lot,” Dotson said. “He’d say ‘just wait around until that last 330 (yards), that last lap and then just pass everybody and bring it on home. Just outrun all of them.’ And that’s what I did.” 

Following KU, Cushman went on to win the silver medal, behind U.S. teammate Glenn Davis, in the 1960 Olympics in Rome. The following year he joined the U.S. Air Force and continued training for the hurdles as well as training to become a jet-fighter pilot. Tripping over a hurdle in the U.S. trials in 1964, Cushman failed to qualify for his second Olympic games. Dotson would go on to be a part of a world-record mile-relay team and earned a spot as U.S. team member for the 1963 Pan American Games. 

“I remember another time when I was running in Madison Square Garden in New York City and I was running against some of the best milers in the world,” Dotson said. “Cliff was standing on the side of the track and he said ‘to run around on that last lap, you’re waiting on them. Why didn’t you win it?’ That was the way Cliff was, giving you that type of assurance that you can do it. He was a big brother and mentor. We were both quiet. We weren’t loud in making a lot of commotion. We let our actions speak louder than our words.” 

It was 1966 when Cushman received his orders and was sent to fight in the Vietnam War. On Sept. 25, 1966, his wife, Carolyn was notified by Air Force officials that Cushman’s plane had been shot down and he was missing in action. Cushman’s body was never recovered. 

“At the time I was with New York Life Insurance Company when he got his orders to go to Vietnam,” Dotson said. “He was crazy about flying. He used to fly those 172 Cessnas when we were in college. I’d go up with him once in a while. He was always trying to max those things out. He came to me a week or two before he went to Vietnam and wanted me to write an insurance policy, which at that time no insurance company would take for a pilot that was in the armed forces, especially if they had their orders to go to Vietnam. I experienced at that time that he knew, and the way he said it, he wasn’t coming back. He had just gotten married and his son was a few months old. He sensed he wasn’t coming back so he wanted an insurance policy. I felt really bad at that time. It kind of strikes you that you know the feeling inside of him that’s going on.” 

Many bonds teammates develop in any sport are like family, including two track standouts from North Dakota and small-town Kansas. In practice and competition they share the blood, sweat and tears of the defeats and the victories during their college careers. For Dotson these memories of Cushman are still vivid in his mind today, some 46-plus years after Cushman was declared missing in action while fighting for USA’s freedom in the Vietnam War. 

“With Cliff I always say hello every night before I fall asleep,” Dotson said. “I always remember him as one of my best buddies. In spirit or whatever, I always say hello to him and share a few thoughts just about every night. He’s always in my thoughts, especially when I fall asleep. That’s the type of friendship and energy we had between us. He’s always there.” 

Memorial Day is a time many will reflect on those who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. These individuals are not just family and friends but also teammates. 

If you know of a former Jayhawk student-athlete who fought for their country, we’d like to hear from you. 

Vol. 3 No. 17 Tim Danielson New York Times Article

Here is the link to the full story from the New York Times on the Tim Danielson murder case and trial which has yet to take place.   The writer  Jere Longman sent the link to one of our readers, Mike Solomon.

Rather than print the article directly on the blog we give you the opportunity to look it up on your own.  There will be a number of ads attached to it, and we didn't want the blog to go commercial at this time...

In the article there's a link to a youtube of Danielson winning the California State meet for the second time.  Mike Solomon is also seen in that race. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/sports/after-the-mile-the-tim-danielson-story.html?hp

Danielson in 1966 AAU championships second lane trailing Ryun and Burleson.
Richard Romo leading followed by Jim Grelle.  Who is runner outside Ryun?

Vol. 2 No. 95 Study and Train in Kenya

The following press release was sent to us by Mike Solomon, former Kansas University runner of the 1960's.   He is working with the United States  International University organizing a study and training abroad program focused toward distance runners who would like to train in Kenya but also to have an opportunity to get university credits in the process.  They will have a booth at the Chili Pepper Meet in Arkansas this weekend.  If you are planning to be there , look them up.  If you wish to contact them by email, that information is in the press release. ed.

PRESS STATEMENT

From USIU Public Relations Office: October 2012

USIU launches its Sports Exchange Program in US

United States International University (USIU) has again undertaken in an innovative study abroad program that incorporates sports and education. We have managed to combine one of the many great things that Kenya is renowned for and packaged it successfully with academics. This unique program was engineered to cater for anyone who has a passion for athletics.

On Saturday, 13^th October 2012, USIU will be present at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival to inform and educate the public on this venture.

The USIU officials who will be present during this event for registration will be:

·        George Lumbasi: USIU Head of Admissions

·        Boniface Salano: USIU Activities Coordinator

·        Kellen Njagi:  USIU International Students Officer

·        Franklin Muriithi: Sports Exchange- Kenya

They will answer any queries you will have on the USIU Sports Exchange Program. From them you will get an insight on how to integrate training like a Kenyan athlete while still being able to study.

Sports exchange students will have access to Kenya’s training facilities that are utilized by Kenya’s renowned athletes when training for international competitions such as: IAAF World Championships, IAAF World Challenges, IAAF Diamond League and Olympic Games.

These facilities include two international stadia situated within the City of Nairobi and seven high altitude training camps situated at the heart of the Great Rift Valley in Kenya.

This is a great initiative that will see American athlete enthusiasts get the best of both worlds while also gaining cultural and social diversity. Take the time to visit our USIU stand at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival and register for the sports exchange program at USIU.

USIU: www.usiu.ac.ke

SPORTS Exchange: www.sportxchange.org

Vol. 2 No. 91 Tim Danielson Jailed on Murder Charge

Otis Martin and Tim Danielson

                                                              Four HS Four Minute Milers
                                        Alan Webb, Marty Liquori, Tim Danielson, Jim Ryun


Some of you will remember Tim Danielson being the second high school miler (after Jim Ryun) to break 4:00 minutes for the one mile run.  Today that notoriety is linked to the fact that Tim was charged with the murder of his wife after an apparently botched murder-suicide attempt.  This occurred in 2011, but I wasn't aware of the events, however I did become aware that Tim can receive email from anyone who may care to write him, and he can respond by regular mail.   I am also attaching links to news reports covering the case.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2011/jun/13/sheriffs-investigating-possible-murder-attempted-s/

http://www.10news.com/news/arrest-made-in-apparent-murder-attempted-suicide

Mike Solomon, one of our readers who ran against Tim at the California State Meet in 1966 informed me that those who want to email Tim need to find the san diego country sheriff website. From there they have a place to contact inmates.
timothy danielson
# 11143930
DOB 1947