Vol. 4 No. 15 Two Runners Who Kicked Butt on the Stage and Screen

Two events in the past week reminded me that at least two good track athletes made it in the field of drama.   At  the 2014 Academy Awards last week,  Bruce Dern (University of Pennsylvania) was a nominee for his lead role in the film Nebraska.   He didn't win, but he will  be remembered in the running community for being a good half miler and having been very competitive in ultra marathons in the 1960's.  He made a good running movie, On the Edge, and  he once challenged the Hell's Angels to a race when they were participating on the set of Wild Angels.  More about that one later.  A brief look in the books shows also that Robin Williams ran a 1:57 880 in high school and Dana Carvey was a 4:26 miler.  The stunner is Woody Allen  who allegedly ran a 2:06 880 in high school.

Bruce Dern 2014 Academy Award nominee playing  his role in Nebraska. 

Bruce Dern as a runner  at U. of Pennsylvania about 1957

Dennis Weaver

Weaver on his Junior High football team in Joplin, MO

 

The actor Dennis Weaver (University of Oklahoma)  grabbed our attention last week when we connected to the blog of history of Michigan State Cross Country put out by Mark Harvitz of the University of Waterloo in Ontario. 
http://www.ahs.uwaterloo.ca/~mhavitz/MSUCrossCountryStudy.htm 

Weaver isn't mentioned directly in that blog, but he appears in a film of the 1946 NCAA national cross country championship held at Michigan State that year.  He can be seen clearly finishing in 59th place.  This may be the first time Weaver ever appeared  on film.   Weaver was more than a cross country runner.  He finished 6th at the US Olympic Trials in 1948 as a decathlete. 

John Bork Jr.,  1961 NCAA 880 Champion for Western Michigan knew Bruce Dern in the 1960's when Dern patronized the store where John sold running shoes.  John relates this story.

Dear George:

I saw Nebraska with Bruce Dern about 4 weeks ago and  loved it!

I knew Bruce from the LA running scene in the late 60's.

At that time Bruce had progressed from #3 in the 880 in his college days back East......... and was running road races.

( In his collegiate career, he was about a 1:49 or 1:50 runner ranked #3 just behind Tom Courtney and Arnie Sowell.) Editor's note.  Several readers have questioned the veracity of these times.  So we will leave them to your judgement until there is further confirmation. 

Thanks to Pete Brown and Ernie Cunliffe for holding my feet to the fire on Dern's 880 times.   Ernie sent this along. 

Found a Runners World article that mentions Dern ran a 1:55.8 880 in high school, which I believe
would have been 1954 track season.   He mentions that he did not improve his times his freshman
year at Penn.   Also, he mentions that he often ran against Courtney, Sowell, Spurrier, and Delany
when he was at Penn but finished well behind them all the time.  Ernie Cunliffe

"Our readers are our best editors.  Our mothers are our best critics."    ed. 

  

He was only working as a movie extra back then but shortly thereafter; got a role in the Peter Fonda Hells Angels film Wild Angels (directed by Roger Corman).   He played " the loser" who dies in the movie.

 Leonard Matlin called the movie  'OK  after about 24 beers'.  It was the 16th biggest grossing film in the US in 1966 and led to Peter Fonda's conception of 'Easy Rider'  three years later.  ed. 

At the end of each filming day Dern  would put on his running gear and go out for a long run which really intrigued the "Hells Angel's" who took part in this film.  They struck up a relationship with Bruce because they thought his running was "Cool" and a million miles from riding a "chopper".  So, Bruce challenged them to a race. They could pick any of their guys to ride a bicycle for 7 miles against Bruce running on foot.

 

Cagey Bruce planned a course starting at the bottom of Sunset Blvd. where it meets Pacific Coast Highway and goes steeply up intoPacific Palisades.  Naturally Bruce built up a huge lead over the first 4-5 miles of the  uphill section and won easily. They thought this was so cool and built him his own "Chopper" as a gift.  I wonder what Bruce would have owed had he lost? ed.

The quote I most remember Bruce for was made one day at the store while we  were discussing LAPD. They had a running team, whose members also came in and bought Tiger Cortez, Bostons and Marathons. but, we were talking about LA "Cops". At one point Bruce, said sincerely, , "Well" I respect the Pig!"

I probably haven't seen Bruce since 1970 but, watched his movie career from afar.

The roles he got usually fit his "persona" quite well.

John.

 

 http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=48376#p802426

Bruce apparently was asked to leave the U. Penn track team, (see link above), because he let his hair grow long and the crowd at Madison Square Garden started yelling, "Go Elvis Go." while he was running a leg on the two mile relay.  The coach Ken Doherty thought this brought undeserved attention  to the U. Penn team and made an ultimatum to cut his hair or leave the team.  Bruce chose the latter.  Doherty was later interview about it and thought that the ultimatum was more about Bruce needing to make a choice and focus on his running or his acting.   Bruce obviously made the right choice.  This story was found on a discussion thread on Track and Field News.  Later in his career Bruce made a running film On the Edge about a long distance runner participating in the Dipsea race on the west coast.

Go Elvis Go!

Dern's filmography can be seen at :  http://www.starpulse.com/Actors/Dern,_Bruce/Biography/
 On the Edge  released in 1985 is left off the list.  Here is a review of that film by Roger Ebert.  http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/on-the-edge-1986
Look for Marty Liquori as a TV announcer, Gary Bjorkland as one of the runners, and Walt Stack as himself.  

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHr4XtxViOY  trailer for On the Edge.  

Things I've Said and Probably Shouldn't Have with Christopheer Fryer and Robert Crane is his autobiography.


Dern and Weaver never  shared the tv screen on Gunsmoke , as Dern appeared in several episodes after Weaver had left the series in 1961.   A short tribute to  Dern's film roles can be seen at the following youtube clip with an intro by Quentin Tarantino.    
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hDr_bWDV1U





Dennis Weaver with Gunsmoke co-star Amanda Blake

Billy D. Weaver became Dennis Weaver when he applied for an Actor's Equity card and found that there was already an actor named Bill Weaver,  so he used his middle name from that time.

After serving as a Navy pilot in WWII Dennis Weaver became a drama major and a track and field and cross country athlete for the University of Oklahoma.  He finished 59th in the NCAA cross country nationals in 1948  one place ahead of Michigan State's Walter Mack.   Mack was a returning WWII veteran who had a severe foot wound from a battle at New Britain in the South Pacific.  Irony ran the table with Mack the foot wounded veteran finishing just behind  Weaver who  would gain fame as a gimpy deputy sheriff on the popular series Gunsmoke.  

Weaver topped his cross country performances with his decathlon work under the eyes of coach John Jacobs. (see photo note the oil can)  He was  road trip roommate  with Bill Carroll who succeeded coach Jacobs.  On several occasions Dennis hooked up with the U. of Oklahoma track and field team escorting them around a film studio when the team was in Los Angeles.  He also came to the OU- Kansas dual meet when I was a freshman in 1962.     Weaver ended his career at the University of Oklahoma shortly after graduating in 1948.   His last meet was the US Olympic trials in Bloomfield, NJ.   There he met one of his former teammates, Lonnie Chapman who was already in New York attempting to make it in the theater.  Dennis, also a drama major, roamed the streets of New York with Chapman walking past theaters seeing the sights and even rehearsing for an audition later in the week.   Weaver recounts in an interview on youtube   that the next day his legs were dead, and by the time the two day decathlon event was over , he had finished in 6th place.  He thought he should have done better but looking down the road toward his acting  career took him out of the sports spotlight.  He did have the fastest time in the 1500 meters in that meet and tied in the pole vault.  There is a five part series of interviews with Weaver about his life and career.  At the end of the first segment, he relates the story about the Olympic Trials.    It can be found at the 25 min. 35 sec. point of the interview.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hDr_bWDV1U  The series of episodes though long, is well worth watching if you are a interested in his work, in the early days of television, and his roles in film.   In the second segment there is a particularly interesting account he gives of working with Orson Wells in A Touch of Evil.


Dennis Weaver passed away in 2005 at the age of 81.  For years he had been an environmental activist.    He was the feature actor in Steven Spielberg's first film  Duel.  All the World's a Stage is his autobiography.  A tribute to his life can be seen at http://www.dennisweaver.com/
 

Vol. 4 No. 14 Miles Eisenman Oklahoma State RIP

 

Miles Eisenman,  Oklahoma State Aggie Distance Runner recently passed away.  He was one of the top distance runners of his day in the Big 8 Conference and at the national level  .  Miles was a  contemporary of Billy Mills, Gail Hodgson, Bill Dotson and many others. His best finish in the NCAA Cross Country nationals was 12th in 1959.

The following is the obituary for Mr. Eisenman from the Napa Valley Register.
Miles Alan Eisenman  of Calistoga California, passed away at home on February 26, 2014 surrounded by family. His wife Karen Eisenman of almost 50 years, was by his side as the winds howled and the lightening and thunder escorted Miles to Heaven. Miles was born in Portland Oregon, July 9, 1938 to the late Walter and Edythe Eisenman. They soon relocated to Monolith, California where he and his siblings lived until moving to Tehachapi where he graduated high school. His budding high school running career culminated in a 1956 State Meet appearance gaining him an audience with legendary Bakersfield Junior College coach John Collins. As a Bakersfield JC Renegade, Miles helped his team earn a National JC Championship defeating perennial champion Mt. Sac and rewriting the Bakersfield distance record books. Miles went on to run for Coach Ralph Higgins at Oklahoma State University earning All American status in 1959 in Track and Cross Country. His running career culminated in an appearance at the 1960 USA Olympic Track and Field Trials at Stanford, California. Miles came back to California after graduating from OSU with a degree in Zoology, to obtain his Master of Theology degree from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley. This is where he met and married his wife Karen and began their 50 years together. They relocated to Calistoga where he pastored several small churches, established a landscape business, and where Miles and Karen raised their three daughters. Throughout his life, Miles generously shared his knowledge of the Bible, the outdoors, and running. 

Vol. 4 No. 13 Wanna Be a Spartan? Michigan State XC History

Walter C. Mack  Endowment  

Navy photo source: Glendale News Press (retrieved 5 May 2011).

Running photo source: MSU Archives and Historic Collections.
Photos appear on Michigan State Cross Country Study

If you have children or grandchildren looking for a way to college and a bit of financial aid,  here is an opportunity for a MSU undergrad student majoring in  kinesiology and also pursuing a teaching  degree.  If they are willing to attend Michigan State University,  which I hear is a pretty good school, they might want to check out the link below.   Walter C. Mack was an Olympic aspirant in 1940, lost his chance with WWII and a combat injury, but still returned and ran for MSU in cross county and track after the war and was an All-American.  He became a teacher in Southern California and coached at John Muir HS in Pasadena and Cal Tech.  Pete Brown who was one of Walter's students at Eliot Jr High School sent us this announcement.  Pete recalled that Walter Mack used to show cross country films in his history classes at Muir.  He managed to send two southern California runners to Michigan State, but those lads had a really hard time with the harsh conditions brought on by the Midwest temperate climate. 

http://education.msu.edu/development/endowed-funds/endowments/mack.asp

The Glendale Times carried Walter Mack's Obituary in 2010.

Walter C. Mack

February 02, 2011nt fight against Alzheimer’s disease and congestive heart failure on August 1, 2010, at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank. He was born February, 8, 1920 in Buffalo, N.Y.

Mack was a popular teacher in the Pasadena school system for 36 years before retiring in 1985. During his retirement, Mack and his wife, Patricia, lived in Northwest Glendale.
After graduating from Lafayette High School in Buffalo, Mack attended Michigan State University. He was selected All American in both track and cross country during his sophomore and junior years.
Shortly after Pearl Harbor Day, Mack enlisted in the Navy. He was trained as a pharmacist mate and then volunteered to serve in Marine Corps. During action in the South Pacific, Mack was wounded while rendering medical aid to fellow Marines on New Britain Island and received the Purple Heart medal.

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After recovering from his wounds, Mack returned to Michigan State and resumed running track and cross country. He again was selected All American in both sports during his final two years before graduation.

Mack later earned his master’s degree from Columbia University. He continued graduate work at the University of California at Berkeley before beginning his teaching career in Pasadena in 1952.
Mack spent much of his teaching career at John Muir High School where he taught advanced world history. His essay tests became known throughout the school as the “Mack Attack”. To make his course more interesting, Mack presented to his classes photos and stories he collected during three trips around the world.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Patricia Harris Mack, a retired teacher at Glendale High School; sister and brother-in-law, Grace and Stan Padd; several nieces and nephews; and hundreds of former students.

AS THE WORLD TURNS:

Distance runner Walter Mack was my teacher at Eliot Jr HS in 1952. According to MSU site he was a Navy Corpsman at New Britain, the same place one of my closest friends in the world, a Marine who was wounded by a Japanese machine gun and nearly killed on Jan 2, 1944.

 

Ed Bearss’ life was saved by a Navy Corpsman and a lieutenant who crawled out under fire and pulled him out of harms way. It might have been Walter Mack for all I know. I’d love to find out. Neither man received any commendation for the heroic act.

 

Ed was in the US Navy Hospital in San Diego for 26 months recovering. I talked to him just this morning, at age 90 he remains a history icon, traveling all over the country giving speeches and leading tours. He has written many books, primarily on American military history. Read his bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Bearss . Ed and I have traveled all over together, from Guadalcanal to the Rhine and back roads of North America, over and over, by van, bus, small ship and riverboat.

 

I cannot remember what Mack taught, but probably history. That was my interest then as now. Cross country was  big at MSU, and he must have been pretty good as he made All American, and he used to show 8mm films of him running in indoor meets back east. He would babble about it and, sad to say, I didn’t have much interest in those grainy films and cross country at age 13.

Pete Brown

 

Michigan State Cross Country Website

 Mark Havitz, professor at the University of Waterloo in Ontario has created a great website of Michigan State Track and Cross Country History that has a lot of great archival photos and even some video of 1940's era NCAA Cross Country Championships that were held in East Lansing, MI. 
That site can be found at:

http://www.ahs.uwaterloo.ca/~mhavitz/MSUCrossCountryStudy.htm

Vol. 4 No. 12 Two Great Track and Field, and Cross Country Websites

Things to do on a snowy day.   I'm sitting under eight inches of wet snow that fell yesterday and last night.   Courtenay, British Columbia where I roost, is basically shut down for the day.  What to do?

My suggestion to all readers around the world is to look at these two websites.  They are admittedly heavily laden with American distance running content, but there is also a good bit on international cross country.    The   Running Entertainment/Running Shots site is primarily photographic,  and when I say photographic I should also say again 'heavily laden' with photos.  There are 46 pages with multiple pictures on each page.  It is not chronological.  At least each page stays in one time period or highlights only one or two individuals.      The second site is done by Penn State Track and Field alumni and is heavily into events (modern and old) centered around that track and field program.  But there is some very good historic content and it tops all sites I've seen  with its sense of humor.    Here are the links.

Running Shots
http://runningentertainment.com/runningshots35.html
This link will open on US NCAA cross country going back to the 1930's.  But if you scroll to the bottom you will see where to click to get the other 45 pages.

Penn State Track and Field Alumni Golf  (don't be put off by the word  'golf'.  It's what old Penn State runners do when they get together.
http://psutafalumnigolf.blogspot.ca/

Happy Reading,
George Brose

Vol. 4 No. 11 The Passing of Another Legend Mike Ryan

Mike Ryan winning the NCAA meet at Van Cortlandt Park

Mike in his Wilcox HS uniform

Feb. 21, 2014
Today we just learned of the passing of Mike Ryan who once held the high school two mile record at 9:10 until Gerry Lindgren broke it two weeks later running 9:00.  Mike went on to Stanford and then transferred to the US Air Force Academy after his freshman year.   In three years '67, '68, '69  Mike finished  3rd, 1st, and 2nd at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.  His victory was at Van Cortlandt Park NYC in a collegiate record on that course of 29:16.      In '69 he was sandwiched between Lindgren and Prefontaine.  He had worked for many years as a district attorney in Bakersfield, CA.   Mike had been suffering from cardiac problems for several years.  His spirit and determination will long be remembered by those who knew him.   In the late 1970's while serving in the Air Force at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH, he trained with the Kettering Striders.  I remember going to the All Ohio meet, and he was there with the team.  His best days were long behind him, but he was still giving it everything he had.  A friend was out on the course near the 4 mile mark and we were both struggling up the hill when his friend, knowing Ryan's psyche and toughness, yelled at him going up that hill,  "Ryan, use your teeth!"

Below is some of the correspondence talking about his exploits from several of his friends and acquaintances.

George-

While e-mail is amazing, it does have it’s downfalls…. I had tried to cc: you on a couple of other e-mails I received earlier today, but apparently failed because I hit the wrong button on my I-phone. Anyway, the unfortunate reason to bring this race up, is that last night Mike Ryan passed away, after a long struggle with cardiac problems. Jack Leydig at WVTC (West Valley Track Club)   in the bay area had informed me. 

 

I actually got to the academy a few weeks after Ryan graduated, with no plans to ever run after high school! Those legendary workouts of his were told to us by John Jones ,who also hailed from your area of Ohio. John was the class of 71, and has also passed away (An All- American with a 27:48 6 mile PR).

 

Take care-

 

 

Rick

 

 As a High schooler at Wilcox HS in Calif,Mike Ryan held the national two mile record for 20 days in December 63' at 9:09(broke Jim Ryun's record of 9:11), until Lindgren dropped it to 9:00 on 12/27/63; soon after that Lindgren put it out of reach, when running against Ron Clarke indoors(8:40)

 

>> Some very sad news....
>>
>> I just received an e-mail from Katie Ryan (Mike's wife) who let me know that he passed away last night from cardiac arrest at a Bakersfield hospital.  He has not been well for some time and has been unable to attend our Old Farts reunions since he was unable to travel comfortably.
>>
>> Mike finished second in the 1969(?) NCAA Cross-Country Championships to Gerry Lindgren by only a few seconds and broke 9 minutes for 2 miles while attending Wilcox High School in Santa Clara in the 60's.  He went to college at the Air Force Academy in Colorado and has been living in Bakersfield for many years.
>>
>> Mike ran for West Valley TC briefly in the early 1970's, and participated in the National AAU X-C Championships as I recall.
>>
>> Jack

 

Thanks for forwarding-while I only met Mike a few times, he was a god to the USAFA runners like me who followed, and were inspired by his fearless attitude.

> I remember running into him in the locker room after we both ran in the 72' AAU XC race at Washington Park in Chicago after I had transferred out of the academy, worried that he might snub me for not staying for all 4 yrs.
> He was very supportive, which made my day!
> Jack, I cc:Ed George for his blog.
> Rick

 

 Mike helped West Valley TC to a 4th place finish in the '72 AAU XC in Chicago, finishing an "out of shape" 50th.  We had finished 2nd to Florida TC the year before in San Diego with a much stronger team.  I'm not surprised that Mike supported your decision.  He had made a similar choice after transferring to the Air Force Academy from his freshman year at Stanford.  Mike and I were very close friends over the years, although we seldom saw each other.  Last time we met was about 15 years ago in San Mateo when he was in the area and we went on a hike together.  But we kept in touch consistently via e-mail or phone.  A great man who will be very much missed.

Jack

 

http://runningentertainment.com/runningshots35.html  While looking for more information about Mike Ryan, we found this link in letsrun.com showing fotos of individual NCAA XC champions in the first 40 or so years of that annual race.  In a time of mourning, some things nostalgic can help.  George Brose  George & Steve,    Thanks for letting us all know about the passing of Mike Ryan.  I met him several times including a day at Fairmont East HS during a Kettering Striders practice.  He was working at WPAFB and running with the Striders.  Steve, you suggested that Mike and I do a workout together, not an easy task for me.  We decided to do 10 x 220 in 26 seconds with a 220 jog.  That was a very legitimate workout but was made much more diffiult by Mike whose intrepretation of a 220 jog was very different from mine.  Nevertheless, we ran all 10 and they were in 26 seconds.  I almost died during that workout but was mighty please to have finished it.  Years later I ran into Mike and we discussed that day.  Amazingly he said I almost killed him with those 26 second furlongs.  It really made me feel good that I challenged a great such as Mike Ryan.  I know that he more than challenged me as it took the rest of the day for me to recover.  He was a very good person, extremely motivated and high charged.  I am truly saddened by his passing.     Bill Schnier   From:Don Betowski

 

George,

Mike was a teammate of a good friend of mine, John Jones.  They ran together at the AFA.  John was stationed at Minot, ND after graduating.  That must be the coldest place in the US, so John did not get too much taining in while there.  However, he always tried to go to  the Drake relays.  One year he finished 5th in the 6 mile to Frank Shorter.  I believe at that time it was the 5th fastest time in the US at 27:48.  I knew John, when he was a grad student at UCSB, and we trained together on Saturdays.  Like Mike, John died much too soon, as he had a massive heart attack about 10 years ago.

Vol. 4 No. 10 Death of Pytor Bolotnikov

We were recently informed of the passing of the Russian Olympic champion Pytor Bolotnikov, winner of the 1960 Olympic 10,000 meters.  Born in 1930, he was orphaned by WWII and was on his own at the age of 14.  He became an electrician ,  moved to Moscow, and to the good fortune of the Track and Field world, he was drafted into the Russian army where he discovered a liking for distance running and received his first coaching.  By 1952 he was third in the Russian armed forces 10,000 meters.    He was Russia's number two man at Melbourne in 1956 placing 16thin in the 10,000 and 9th in the 5,000 behind Vladmir Kuts who took both races for the Soviets.

The highlight of Bolotnikov's career was his dominating victory at Rome in the 10,000, dominating the field with a last lap 57.4 seconds run winning in 28:32.2.  Later in his career he would break the world record for 10,000 twice in 28:18.8 and 28:18.2.    source:  racingpast.ca   

Where is Bolotnikov's hometown?   Several references list his birthplace at Zinovkino in Moldova, but there three Zinovkino's in geographical references, none of which is remotely near Moldova.  If anyone has a better command of Russian geography and language,  please help us out.


"He was a strong runner.  It almost appeared he ran in place rotating the earth underneath him."
Richard Trace

IAAF
The athletics world is mourning the death of Russian long distance great Pyotr Bolotnikov at the age of 83 on Dec. 20, 2013
Born 8 March, 1930, in the Mordovian town of Zinovkino, Bolotnikov got the first of his 13 USSR national titles in 1957 when he won the 10,000m, causing a stir when he beat his fellow Soviet legend Vladimir Kuts, who was the world record-holder at the time.
At the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Bolotnikov hit the front with 700 metres to go and uncorked a last lap of 57.4 before crossing the line in an Olympic record of 28:32.2, less than two seconds outside Kuts’ world record of 28:30.4.
He was to improve that mark to 28:18.8 later in 1960 at the USSR Team Championships in Kiev and reduced the world record further to 28:18.2 at the 1962 USSR Championships in Moscow.
He won the 1962 European 10,000m title but was surprisingly beaten into third place in the 5000m in Belgrade.
Bolotnikov retired from international athletics in 1965 and became a well-known coach in the former USSR.   source    iaaf.org

Vol 4. No. 9 First Round- Olympic Trials 1964 July 3, 4

 First 1964 Olympic Trials            

 

     It is July 3 and 4. A week has past since the AAU Championship at Rutgers and now we are 48 miles up I-95 at Randall's Island in New York City. First place and you are on the Olympic team. Second through sixth placers get another chance at the Los Angeles Trials in September. Finish seventh and welcome to summer vacation.

Broad Jump

      One competitor who wishes the Olympics were this weekend is reigning Olympic champion Ralph Boston who has the greatest day in the history of broad jumping. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Downing Stadium pit is outside the oval, a mere ten feet from the stands, and there is an aiding wind for most jumps. These factors result in a spectacular show. Igor Ter-Ovanesyan's world record is 27-3½. Boston betters that twice today. A 27-5½ jump on his last attempt is the longest in history. Unfortunately it is negated for record recognition by a significant wind of 15.2 mph. His previous 27-4 is aided by a wind of 5.8 mph. He also has a windy jump of 26-10½. Boston's best legal jumps are 26-8½ on his first two efforts. His average for the series of six jumps is an amazing 26-11. Ralph is ready.



Bill Miller   McMurry St.
You can click on this article to enlarge it to readability

      Darrell Horn is also having a pretty good day. He is second at 26-11¾w (13.2 mph). Needless to say he is excited as he hadn't bettered 26 feet until last week at the AAU meet. Also earning the right to return for the final trials are Bill Miller 26-6¾w, Charlie Mays 26-4w, Gail Hopkins 26-2¼w and Phil Shinnick with a legal 26-1½.

In searching for a picture of Phil Shinnick

Phil Shinnick

 

we found the following reportage from a Seattle TV station KOMO about his disallowed world record set in 1963 at the Modesto Relays.

  http://www.komonews.com/news/vault/Joes-Vault-Two-amazing-Husky-leaps-213135541.html
 

 100 Meters

     The 100 is also held on Saturday. Bob Hayes was injured in the AAU meet. He is here but if he decides not to run he will be advanced to next month's final meet. With no incentive to compete, he decides not to. This creates a great opportunity for the other competitors, a chance to lock up a spot on the team right now.

Bob Hayes will decide to take a pass on this meet

 

     The heats are won by Nebraska freshman Charlie Greene and Trenton Jackson of Illinois. No one of note is eliminated. Greene shows he is the class of the field in the final. At 90 meters he has a meter on Jackson and his spot on Olympic team is assured. Or so it would seem, for at this point his hamstring pulls and he plummets to the ground in agony. The fact that he crosses the finish line matters little as Jackson and Gerry Ashworth go by. Jackson is on the team. He and Ashworth are timed in 10.1. Greene, Mel Pender and Bernie Rivers finish in that order in 10.2. Darrel Newman and Richard Stebbins tie for sixth at 10.3 and both will run in Los Angeles. The severity of Greene's injury is not known. By the evening he is walking normally.

Charlie Greene

For more on Charlie Greene see this article from Seattle Post Intelligencer,  2005
 http://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Where-Are-They-Now-Charlie-Greene-took-skills-1276861.php

 

   400 IH
   The heats and final of the 400 intermediate hurdles are both run on Saturday. Rex Cawley and Jay Luck win their heats and are in the blocks for the final an hour and 45 minutes later. So are Willie Atterberry, Chris Stauffer, Billy Hardin, Tom Wyatt, John Bethea and Vince McArdle. Less than a minute after the starter's pistol is fired one will be on the team, five others will have a chance next month and two will be free to engage in other pursuits.

 

 

Rex Cawley

     Hardin is taking no prisoners. He is out fast and takes a commanding lead. Well, until the eighth hurdle, which he hits, just as Luck and Cawley go by. By the ninth hurdle the race belongs to Luck. He opens his margin over Cawley and hits the tape in 49.4, a PR by eight tenths.  Cawley's 49.8 is his best of the year, but not good enough this day. Stauffer takes third in a PR of 50.1, edging Hardin by a tenth. Bethea, Wyatt and Atterberry are timed in 50.5, but Willie is odd man out. He speaks of a European tour, but says that if that doesn't happen, he will retire.

 

    Javelin
 The inconsistency of javelin throwing is exemplified by the fact that of the eleven 250 foot throwers that are in the field, none throw that far. Only three of those eleven place in the top six which warrant entry in the Los Angeles meet. The surprise winner is Jim Stevenson, a junior at Penn State, who throws 242-8.

James Stevenson

Favorite Frank Covelli barely qualifies for Los Angeles in sixth place at 237-7.

Frank Covelli

 

 

     110HH
The 110 meter high hurdles matches Blaine Lindgren with Hayes Jones for the fourth time this year. Lindgren won the first two but Hayes took last week's AAU dual. The rest of the field is composed of veterans Willie May, Elias Gilbert and Russ Rogers and youngsters Willie Davenport, Jerry Cerulla and Bobby May.

 

Lindgren and Jones in one of the Russian duals

 




Willie Davenport                   Elias Gilbert


Jerry Cerulla Utah State

                                         

     Jones gets one of his lightening quick starts and is out early. Just at the midway point where Lindgren traditionally starts to close....he doesn't. Jones pulls away for a decisive win 13.4 to Lindgren's 13.7. The rest of the field is timed in 13.9 except Willie May who runs 14.0. 



 

     Jones reacts with surprise at his time because he feels he isn't in shape yet. “Guess I ran so fast because I was scared.” 

 

    Hammer
 Twenty five hundred fans watch the hammer throw which is held outside the stadium. Hal Connolly's dominance is evident from the get go. His 214-9 on his first attempt is enough to win and yet is his poorest effort of the day. When the dust has settled, Connolly's best throw of 225-4 is third on this year's world list. The two marks better than today's also belong to him. It is no surprise that Hal Connolly is on the Olympic team. Al Hall's 208-9 puts him three inches ahead of Ed Burke. No one else throws 200 feet.

 

     5000 Meters
Maybe Bob Schul isn't considered the shoo-in in the 5000 that Connolly is in the hammer, but the Miami of Ohio runner has blossomed this year. His withering closing speed gives him the last lap advantage that wins off any pace. That is the problem that faces Joe Lynch, Kenny Moore, Oscar Moore, Bill Dellinger, Gerry Lindgren, Jim Beatty, Jim Keefe, Billy Mills and Doug Brown. What can you do when the other guy is just flat out faster? 

Schul waiting to do the inevitable

   

     Once again Gerry Lindgren goes to the front, leading through the mile in 4:29.3. Though he keeps the lead, the next mile slows to 4:42.5 and the inevitable just becomes more so. The once indomitable Beatty drops out on the tenth lap. Lindgren, Dellinger and Schul separate from the rest in the third mile. With 700 meters left Schul is taking no chances. He moves into the lead. Lindgren's courage can't be questioned. He is even with a lap remaining. On the backstretch the veteran Dellinger throws caution to the wind and takes the lead. This is an all or nothing situation. Win and you are on the team. Finish second or sixth and it doesn't matter. The former Oregon star starts his flat out finish too early, but what other choice does he have? 

 

     Into the straight they come and Schul switches to that gear that no one else has. With 80 meters left he moves past Dellinger and pulls away for the win in 14:10.8. Dellinger's gamble almost pays off but he comes up just short at 14:11.4 while Lindgren's 14:13.8 leaves him 20 meters behind. 

 

     Beatty hopes his season isn't through. He says that he was forced to drop out because of pain in the ball of his right foot, the same spot he had 22 stitches last winter. He says, “I plan to ask the committee for a another chance to make the Olympic team in Los Angeles”.

 

    High Jump
 In the high jump John Thomas turns the tables on Ed Carruthers and John Rambo both of whom beat him last week. Thomas clears 7-1 to cement his spot on the team. Rambo gets over 7-0. Otis Burrell is third at 6-11. Then it gets crowded. Six jumpers are bunched at 6-9. Lew Hoyt, Carruthers and Gene Zubrinsky tie for fourth and live to try again in LA. Paul Stuber, Gene Johnson and Richard Ross are left behind on misses or attempts. This has to be especially painful for Stuber. He is out because he took a successful jump at 6-3 and therefore has one extra and unnecessary attempt.

Shot Put

Randy Matson

Matson and Long

    
Saturday's other final is the shot put. Dallas Long lost to Randy Matson, a still wet behind the ears kid, last week in the AAU Championship. He is mad as hell and not going to take it any more. Indeed he doesn't. A sense of decorum settles on the shot put world as the record holder drops the iron ball 64-9¼ from the toe board and leaves the young whippersnapper exactly two feet behind. Parry O'Brien is third at 62-6. Dave Davis, Gary Gubner and John McGrath also qualify for the Los Angeles trials. 

 

DAY TWO

400 Meters

Mike Larabee

Forrest Beaty

     Now it is Sunday. A request to run 400 heats and the final on different days, as they will be in the Olympics, has been turned down by the Olympic Committee. The first heat sees Mike Larrabee edging Ulis Williams, both running 46.0.  Theron Lewis and Bill Boyle also qualify for the final. Sadly, Adolph Plummer says it is the end of his career. He is hampered by arthritis in his knee. Last coming off the curve, he nearly stops before jogging across the line in 55.9. He says, “There goes ten years of life down the drain in one race”. Olan Cassell and Jim Heath both run 46.2 to finish 1-2 in the second heat while Bob Tobler and Forrest Beaty are the other qualifiers.

Ulis Williams

 

      Mike Larrabee nearly withdraws because his pancreas injury is so painful. He is supposed to eat every two hours but with the trials the same day he has to pass up eating between races. He is in pain as he settles into his blocks for the final.

Bob Tobler

 

     Cassell in lane six makes up the stagger on Larrabee and Lewis in the outside lanes in 50 yards. He leads the entire way just holding off the hard finishing Williams 45.9 to 46.0. Lewis (46.1), Boyle (46.2) and Tobler (46.3) all finish ahead of Larrabee who guts out a 46.6 to edge Heath (46.7) for the final spot in the Los Angeles trials.

3000 Meters Steeplechase

 

Jeff Fishback

     Jeff Fishback is having a heck of a season in the steeplechase. Today he moves to second on the all time US list with a strong 8:40.4. George Young is the US record holder but those credentials don't help him today as he finishes in 8:45.8. Just a step back is Oregon's Mike Lehner whose 8:46.0 bests the 8:47.8 of NCAA champ Vic Zwolak. Bill Silverberg of Kansas surprises in fifth with a PR of 8:50.8. Ron Davis deprives Mike Manley of the last qualifying spot 8:57.6 to 8:58.8, both personal bests.

Discus

      Al Oerter is nearly as dominant in the discus as Connolly is in the hammer. Once again he is a man among boys, granted, very large boys. He has four throws better than the competition and wins easily with a mark of 201-11. Dave Weill is the distant runner up at 193-0. Also taking another shot at it next month will be Jay Silvester, Rink Babka, Glenn Passey and Larry Kennedy.  The latter edges John McGrath for the last qualifying spot by three inches. Not to worry. We'll see big John in LA because he qualified yesterday in the shot.

 

     Having to put his reputation on the line in every meet isn't wearing on Oerter at all. He loves the competition. “I'm throwing better than ever and I think I can improve still further, say 215 to 220 feet.”

Al Oerter

 

 

Larry Kennedy

     If he wins his third gold medal in October will he call it quits? “Absolutely not. I've often said that I would like to try for five gold medals. I honestly think it is possible.” 

 

  200 Meters

      Bob Hayes' injury has caused him to scratch from the 200. No mention is made whether he will be advanced to the Los Angeles trials in this event as he will be in the 100.

 

     Richard Stebbins is out fast in the first heat and holds on to win in 20.9. Henry Carr eases through the finish in 21.2. John Moon and Bernie Rivers also make the final. Paul Drayton's 20.8 takes the second heat ahead of Larry Dunn, Earl Horner and Don Webster.

 

     The final sees Stebbins once again the leader coming off the curve, but here comes Henry Carr. The Arizona State star shows no sign of his recent injury in easing past Stebbins to win 20.7 to 20.8. Earning the right to run in LA are Drayton (21.0), Dunn (21.0), Webster (21.1) and Moon (21.2).

Pole Vault

 

Fred Hansen

     After the AAU meet, history's first 17 foot pole vaulter, John Pennel, said that he had most of his problems ironed out. He is over his wrist, back and foot injuries. John has been working on not planting his pole too soon and feels he is ready for 17 feet once again. Well, 17 doesn't happen, but 16-6 does and that is enough to stamp his ticket to Tokyo. Dave Tork, Billy Pemelton, Ron Morris, Fred Hansen and Gerald Pratt are over 16-2 and finish in that order.

800 Meters

Jerry Siebert
 

      Fittingly, Saturday's 800 heats are won by AAU champ Jerry Siebert and NCAA champ Morgan Groth. The rest of the field for Sunday's final includes Jim Dupree, Tom Farrell, Barry Sugden, Fran Smith, Ted Nelson and Darnell Mitchell.

Tom Farrell  #10

Farrell and Dupree a      re out early, but by the 200 Siebert has taken over only to be passed by Dupree at the bell, reached in 52.8. Down the backstretch Sugden makes his move and leads into the curve. Farrell, a big kicker, has moved from last to fourth. Siebert and Groth both move strongly in the homestretch. Siebert has the lead. Groth is gaining, but runs out of time. Siebert holds on to win in 1:47.2 with Groth inches behind in the same time. Sugden takes third in 1:47.3 with Farrell fourth in 1:47.5. Mitchell and Smith take the coveted final two spots for the LA Trials, both running 1:47.7. Nelson runs 1:48.2. Dupree fade badly and finishes last in 1:49.7. Though not making the Olympic team today, Groth, Sugden, Farrell, Smith and Nelson have to be pleased. They all have run personal bests.

Morgan Groth

 

      Siebert is relieved at having his Olympic selection assured. He says, “I'm happy with my time, but I am not in the shape I was in Rome. I will devote as much time as grad school will allow me. Coach (Brutus) Hamilton is kind of a genius for getting guys in shape.”

Triple Jump

Ira Davis

     The triple jump is conducted on the  same runway as the broad jump but the pit is at the other end. The prevailing wind that aided the broad jumpers is a detriment for the triple jumpers. Ira Davis placed fourth in the 1960 Rome Olympics, but has competed only a dozen times in the last four years. It doesn't seem that the relatively long lay off has hurt him. Today he nabs the one available spot on the Olympic team with a jump of 52-10¾, edging Darrell Horn by 4½ inches. Horn, the only athlete to qualify in both the broad jump and the triple jump, isn't despondent. “I had one great jump, 53-7, and fouled by three inches. This is only the fourth meet this year in which I have competed in the triple jump. I am going to concentrate on it before Los Angeles. Charlie Craig (51-10) and Bill Sharpe (50-8 ½) are third and fourth. Les Bond is the loser in the game of musical chairs in qualifying for the LA meet. His 50-0 leaves him in seventh, so close, yet so far away from the 50-1¾ of Todd Gaskell and the 50-1½ of Art Walker.

 

      It would seen that time and effort could be saved by skipping the heats of the 1500 and just running the final. Ted Nelson and Morgan Groth qualified in both the 800 and 1500, but have chosen to run only the 800, leaving only 11 in the field. Four qualify in each of Saturday's heats meaning that these races are run to eliminate one in the first heat and two in the second. 

 

     1500 Meters

Archie San Romani takes the first heat in 3:49.0. Bob Day, Jim Ryun and Tom O'Hara also qualify. Ben Tucker, two seconds behind O'Hara, is eliminated. Dyrol Burleson loafs to a leisurely 3:54.7 win in the second heat. He is followed by a pack of Jim Grelle, Cary Weisiger, John Camien and Robin Lingle. Lingle is timed in 3:54.9, the same as Weisiger and Camien, but all that earns him is a seat in the stands for the final.

 

      On Sunday this is the race that we have come to see, O'Hara vs. Burleson with the winner making the team. Burleson has always beaten O'Hara, but the streak came to an end last week at the AAU meet where O'Hara scored a resounding victory in running the third fastest 1500 in history, a US record 3:38.1. Burleson was quoted as saying he got cocky before that race and had done three hard workouts that week. This week he has worked lightly and “laid around my air conditioned hotel room”.

 

     O'Hara leads a tightly packed field through a 60.8 opening lap, but in the second go around apparently everyone has decided they are kickers. O'Hara allows the pace to dawdle and no one seems to have an alternate strategy. The 800 is reached in 2:07.2. The tempo picks up on the third lap. The 1200 goes by in 3:07.5 and the real race is on. O'Hara's win last week was based on being on the pole at the start of the last lap and, indeed, that's where he is with 300 remaining. Weisiger is well back but the rest of the field is within three tenths at this point. They all are sprinters now. Burleson tells the story, “On the backstretch of the final lap I hit trouble when that tremendous high school runner, Jim Ryun, moved up with Tom. I was getting ready to sprint the final 220 and it appeared that I would have to go wide to get around them. Suddenly a gap opened up between Ryun and O'Hara which enabled me to shoot through.” And shoot through he does. He has inches on O'Hara at the top of the final straight which he stretches to five feet at the finish, winning in 3:45.4 with O'Hara two tenths back. Grelle nips Ryun for third, 3:46.1 for both. San Romani is fifth in 3:46.4. The all important sixth spot goes to Day in 3:46.6 as he holds off the late charge of Weisiger by a tenth. 

 

      Burleson runs the final lap in 52.5. O'Hara experiences the frustration of finishing in 52.9 and getting beat. Grelle runs 53.2. Ryun's 53.3 comes up short, but isn't bad for a high school kid. The time for Weisiger's final lap isn't mentioned but it may have been the fastest of all. Burleson's last 300 went off in 37.8. If the splits given for Weisiger are correct (1200 in 3:09.9 and 1500 in 3:46.7), he ran 36.8 for his last 300. One wonders whether this is possible.

 

      Editor's note: A special shout out has to go to Pete Brown of Plano, Texas who has saved the day for the OUTV crew. When a frantic search for the first seven issues of the 1964 Track and Field News in our offices high atop the Once Upon a Time in the Vest Building resulted in failure, Pete came to our aid once again and provided the needed issues. We are in your debt, Pete. All of us from the entire board of directors, CEO, CFO, president, multiple vice presidents, editors and reporters down to the lowliest interns raise our glasses high in salute to you and your service to the cause. Thank you, Pete.