1942: Track And Field

Regardless of the war and the absence of many star performers in the armed services, track and field athletes carried on in a brilliant manner during the 1942 season, indoors and out. Excellent demonstrations of stamina, uniformly excellent performances and spectacular finishes crowned their efforts. The war caused the cancellation of the Pan-American Games, to be staged by twenty-one republics of the Union, in Buenos Aires late in 1942. There was no international competition.

Most phenomenal of all foot-racing performances was accomplished by Gunder Haegg, a Swedish youth who shattered ten world records almost beyond belief. Running his races in Sweden, he covered one mile in 4:04.6; two miles in 8:47.8; three miles in 13:32.4; 1,500 meters in 3:45.8; 2,000 meters in 5:11.8; 3,000 meters in 8:01.2, and 5,000 meters in 13:58.2. In so doing he overshadowed the superhuman efforts of Sydney Wooderson, of England; Taisto Maki and Henry Kalarne, of Finland; Jack Lovelock, of Australia, and Archie San Romano and J. Gregory Rice, of the United States, all previous world record holders of these distances. Andersson, another Swede, finished a close second to Haegg, also beating many of the former world marks.

More than a dozen world records were improved in the United States before Haegg struck his winged stride. The two leading American stars were J. Gregory Rice, N.Y.A.C., former Notre Dame track luminary, who increased his winning streak to fifty-six races; he has not lost a race in two years. Cornelius Warmerdam, of the Olympic Club, San Francisco, vaulted over 15 ft. fourteen times in 1942 (26 times in three years), an unheard-of feat because no one had ever cleared 15 ft. before.

Another great runner, Leslie MacMitchell, N.Y.A.C., also distinguished himself by his several near-record one-mile records before he joined the U. S. Navy. Next came Gilbert Dodds, of Boston A.A., who spurred Rice on to one of the greatest races of his life at two miles and beat MacMitchell in the outdoor National A.A.U. 1,500 meter race at Randalls Island, N. Y.

The twenty-one events on the outdoor A.A.U. program were studded with thrills and surprises. Warmerdam cleared 15 ft. 2 in. over the pole vault standard. Frank Berst surpassed Pat McDonald's 56-lb. weight throw set in 1911, a toss of 39 ft. 3 in. Dodds romped to victory in the 1,500 meters run in the fast time of 3:50.2. Harold Davis scored a double victory, in the 100 and 200 meters, in 10.5 sec. and 20.9 sec., respectively. Bourland ran a clinking quarter-mile in 46.7 sec., the second fastest in the history of the title meet. John Borican, since deceased, won his first outdoor crown, the 800 meters, in 1:51.2. Rice was a third of a lap in the lead in the 5,000 meters, won in 14:39.7. Lt. Joe McCluskey scored his twenty-second national title in winning the 10,000 meters. George DeGeorge won the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Bill Cummings let go with a burst of speed to capture the high hurdles, in 14 sec., but in the 400-meter hurdles he lost out by several inches to J. W. Smith, in 52 sec., the fastest time ever turned in around two turns.

In the indoor National A.A.U. championships, Dodds made his initial appearance in New York by winning the mile in the near-record time of 4:08.7. Rice reeled off a new world record in the three-mile run, in 13:45.7, breaking records en route at 2, 2 and 2 miles. Seton Hall College broke the old mark for the two-mile relay, in 7:39.8. Blozis, who had won the shot in every meet since he was a freshman, heaved the 16-lb. ball 57 ft.  in. Cochrane won the 600 yards in 1:12.4, and Assis, a Brazilian, cornered the running broad jump at 24 ft. 7 in. The N.Y.A.C. captured the team title.

Another brilliant meet was the indoor Intercollegiate Championships, when Penn State won the team trophy from Fordham, 21 7/10 points to 20. Morcom, of New Hampshire, vaulted to 14 ft. 4 in. and high-jumped 6 ft. 4 in., and was second in the running broad jump. Campbell won the 600 yards in 1:13.4, Colgate took the mile relay in 3:21.4, and MacMitchell captured the one-mile in 4:13.7.

Penn State also swept the outdoor team title of the Intercollegiates for the first time, with Barney Ewell capturing an outdoor triple for the third year. Southern California was supreme in winning the N.C.A.A. team title.

The great indoor track and field spectacles were huge successes, beginning with the Millrose Games, in Madison Square Garden, N. Y., topped by the Wanamaker Mile, won by MacMitchell, in 4:11.3. Warmerdam gave New Yorkers their first gasping glimpse of a pole vault of 15 ft.  in. Other popular victors were Rice running two miles in 8:52.8; Jim Herbert taking the Sheppard 600 yards in 1:12.4; Sickinger winning the Millrose 880 yards in 1:55.5; Barney Elwell equalling the 60-yard in 6.1 sec.; and Wolcott topping the 60-yard high hurdles in 7.3 sec.

The New York A.C. Indoor Games featured Rice defeating Dodds at two miles, in 8:53.2. MacMitchell pounded out the Baxter Mile in 4:09.8, Diebolt of Colgate ran a slashing 500 yards in 57.1 sec. for a new world figure, and Borican equalled Hahn's old mark of 1:51.4 for the half-mile, with Beetham doing 1:51.6.

The Navy Relief Meet in the big Bronx Coliseum produced a six-event program of sparkling performances with as many new records. Cochrane cracked the 400-meter record in 47.9 sec. and the 440-yard mark in 48.2 sec. Borican covered 800 meters in 1:50 and 880 yards in 1:50.5. Georgetown's quartet smashed the one-mile relay record to 3:17.2. Seton Hall's relay team lowered the two-mile record to 7:33.9. Rice ran two miles in 8:52.9, and MacMitchell ran his mile in 4:07.8.

Spectators at the Boston A.A. meet in the Boston Arena saw Warmerdam highlight the show in making the greatest pole vault ever, 15 ft. 7 in., followed by a dozen sparkling performances by track stats. The K. of C. meet in New York staged another great indoor spectacle. The Olympic A.C. meet in San Francisco furnished many surprises in trackdom, as did the Cleveland K. of C. meet.