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.

1941: Track And Field

Even though the great international conflict caused the cancellation of the 1940 Olympic Games, a new international competition is now being organized known as the Pan-American Games, to be held for the first time in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 21 to Dec. 6, 1942. These games will be staged every four years in the years between the Olympiads. Avery Brundage, president of the United States of America Sports Federation, who is also president of the American Olympic Committee, announced that the Pan-American Games are being planned with Carlos Mihanovich, of Buenos Aires, a member of the Argentina Confederation of Sports. Athletes from Canada, Haiti, Trinidad, Jamaica, Cuba, Mexico and each of the twenty-one republics in the Pan-American Union will compete. The full cooperation of the United States Government has been promised by Secretary of State Cordell Hull because of its vital interest in the games further to improve relations between the United States and Pan-American nations.

The absence of the Olympics in 1940 did not lessen a stimulus for track and field in 1941, as might have been expected. On the contrary, there was an improvement in performances that kept the sport racing along at breakneck speed. Forgetting the lack of international competitions, the United States experienced a brilliant track and field year and its athletes outdid themselves in setting many new records. Performances were witnessed by a greater number of spectators in huge arenas and stadiums.

The spike shoe idol of the United States is Gregory Rice, who was awarded the N. Y. Track Writers Association Trophy for 1941, to add to his 1940 Association award. He won nine straight races indoors, including new world records at two and three miles. He followed up his new two-mile mark of 8:53.4 in the New York A. C. Indoor Games by a faster record of 8:51.1 in the Chicago Daily News annual meet in Chicago, the fastest two miles ever run by man indoors or out. His new world time for three miles in 13 min. 51 sec. was made in the National A.A.U. indoor championships.

Close on the heels of Rice for the 1941 track crown was Leslie MacMitchell, age 21, by virtue of his remarkable progress during the year, equaling Glenn Cunningham's and Chuck Fenske's competitive indoor standard of 4:07.4, in the Baxter Mile. His claim to top honors in the mile is backed up by his dashing victories in five feature one-mile races during the 1941 indoor season and his spectacular wins of the I.C. 4-A., N.C.A.A., and A.A.U. one-mile crowns. He beat stronger competition in the mile than Rice experienced in the two-mile, and with demonstrations of greater versatility. MacMitchell is now being primed for a 4:04 mile or better under record-breaking conditions during 1942, according to Emil Von Elling, his N.Y.U. coach and Bob Giegengack, Fordham coach.

As is usually the case, the far West is again entitled to sectional honors in trackdom because of the superiority of its representatives in six events of the National A.A.U. championships in Philadelphia. California's stellar athletes set such new world records as Cornelius Warmerdam's 15 ft. 5 in. in the pole vault, after clearing over 15 feet seven times in four meets; 6 ft. 11 in. by Lester Steers in the high jump; Grover Klemmer equaling Ben Eastman's quarter-mile in 46.4 sec.; an American record of 174 ft. 8 in. by Archie Harris in the discus throw; an American native record of 234 ft. 3 in. by Bob Peoples in the javelin throw; and a world record two-mile relay in 7:35.5 by a California quartet.

Added to those great performances, Klemmer also broke the 400-meter world record with a dashing 46 sec., and he ran on two Golden Bear relay teams that cracked the one-mile standard with 3:09.4 and the two-mile with 7:34.5. Jesse Owens' 100-meter mark was equaled by Harold Davis in 10.2 sec. Fred Wal-cott did the high hurdles in 13.7 sec. to equal Forrest Towne's 110-meter and 120-yard records in the same race. Two Westerners were disappointed when wind invalidated their performances — a 9.2 sec. 100-yard dash by Carlton Terry, of Texas, and a 20.2 sec. 220-yard dash by Harold Davis, of Salinas College.

Many world indoor marks were eclipsed. John Borican speeded to a new record of 1:10.2 for 600 yards. Al Blozis, of Georgetown, put the 16-lb. shot 56 ft. 2 in., also winning every indoor and outdoor title he sought. Joe McCluskey, N.Y.A.C., galloped to a new world indoor record in the two-mile steeplechase in 9 min. 35.4 sec.

Earl Meadows, 1936 Olympic champion, went to new heights of 14 ft. 7 in. in the pole vault and predicted that vaulters would some day clear 16 ft. and possibly 17 ft. with the aid of a new take-off box he has designed. Bob Wright, of Ohio State, is credited with a new indoor mark of 7.3 sec. in the 60-yard high hurdles, clearing five hurdles instead of the customary four for the distance.

Bobby Ginn, a 124-pound sophomore of the University of Nebraska, is a youngster who has the makings of a second Wooderson or Lovelock. He flashed a 4:10.1 one-mile in the California-Nebraska dual meet, at Berkeley, Calif. Liebowitz, of Idaho, is credited with the fastest outdoor mile of the season, in 4:09.3, in a local conference meet, in his college town, Moscow, Idaho.

Sparkling performances predominated during the annual I.C.4-A. outdoor championships in Triborough Stadium, Randalls Island, N. Y. An eight-man team representing New York University led by the peerless Leslie MacMitchell won the team trophy. MacMitchell not only won the one-mile title, but he also ran his fastest half-mile, in 1:53, for his first 880-yard victory, and carried the baton on the second leg of the winning one-mile relay. Norman Ewell, of Penn State, won both the 100- and 220-yard dashes and the running broad jump.

Among women entrants, keen competition marked the National A.A.U. track and field championships at Ocean City, N. J. The glamor performance of the meet was the 200-meter dash by Jane Lane, an 18-year-old senior at Wilberforce University, in 25.2 sec., beating Stella Walsh, one-time Polish Olympic ace, a second under her championship mark. Miss Lane also won the 100-meter title. Miss Walsh won high individual scoring honors with 28 points, winning the discus, broad jump, and second in the 200-meter. Tuskegee (Ala.) Institute scored 112 points to win the championship team title.

1940: Track And Field

Probably because 1940 was supposed to be an Olympic year, extraordinary feats that were anticipated actually became a reality. The triple cancellation of the Games, first announced to be held in Rome, then Tokyo, and later Finland, removed from competition many stellar American performers who might have scaled the Olympic heights. Not only did this leading branch of amateur sport experience a severe setback in the international scene in 1940, but it is now feared that the present world conflict will greatly curtail foreign competition in the future. There is doubt whether the Olympics can be held in 1944, because neither Finland nor Britain will have recovered sufficiently to hold the Games.

In the United States track and field sports ascended to new high levels, not only in setting up new records but in a greater following as well. From the most conservative opinions of sports authorities it is estimated that 4,000,000 persons witnessed these events during 1940. The total expenditure for admissions, coaches' salaries, equipment, prizes, etc., is considered to be about $12,000,000 for the year.

What is looked upon as the greatest step to develop a nation of physically-fit young men and women through participation in sports is the appointment of Paul V. McNutt as co-ordinator of all health, sports, recreation and other related fields of activity in the interest of national defense. Also, a complete survey of the physical resources of the United States is provided for in a bill introduced in the House of Representatives.

A new and glowing chapter for the record book of 1940 was created by American athletes. Their stellar performances during the year prove conclusively that they would have carried off top honors if the 1940 Olympic Games had been held. Further proof is found in the compilation by Daniel J. Ferris, secretary-treasurer of the A.A.U., that the almost unbelievable number of fifteen of seventeen events were improved upon during the year, and that only the discus throw and the javelin throw were not surpassed. Because of the phenomenal successes of newcomers, only three athletes led in their respective specialties both years (1939 and 1940) — Fred Wolcott showed an improvement in the 120-yard hurdles; Les Steers created a new record in the high jump, and Phil Fox fell behind his best previous mark in the discus throw.

It may truthfully be said that the cream of American athletes staged their own 'United States Olympics' in spectacular manner during the national A.A.U. outdoor championships, at Fresno, Calif. Topped by the new world record of Cornelius Warmerdam in the pole vault, of 15 ft. 1 1/8 in., Wolcott tied the 200-meter hurdle mark of 22.6 sec. established by Jesse Owens, in 1935. Four new American records were also set up: 200 meters in 20.4 sec. by Harold Davis; 110-meter hurdles in 13.9 sec. by Wolcott; 400-meter hurdles in 51.6 sec. by Carl McBain; and 1,500 meters in 3 min. 47.9 sec. by Walter Mehl, only one-tenth of a second slower than the world record of Jack Lovelock, of New Zealand.

During 1940 eight national A.A.U. meter records were surpassed and two equalled, including those of world and American listings: 100-meter run in 10.3 sec. by Davis; high jump of 6 ft. 8 3/4 in. by Steers; 5,000-meter run in 14 min. 33.4 sec. by Gregory Rice; 1,600-meter relay mark of 3 min. 15 sec. tied by the New York A.C. team. Double victory laurels went to Davis in capturing the 100- and 200-meter events, and William Brown in winning the broad jump and the hop, step and jump.

Track and field sports indoors also surpassed those of previous years in both the number of spectators and competitors, as well as in record-making performances. The most spectacular turn of events was the passing of the one-mile run crown from Glenn Cunningham to Charles Fenske, who won eight of the nine publicized indoor mile classics during the season. Another great performer in track was Gregory Rice, who established a new world mark indoors for 2 miles, in 8 min. 56.2 sec.

Never before have such sparkling performances featured the national A.A.U. championships, when eight records fell in the seventeen events. What was considered the outstanding performance of this big annual meet was the 3-mile run by Gregory Rice, of Notre Dame, who raced to a new world indoor mark of 13 min. 55.9 sec., thereby erasing the 15-year-old record of Willie Ritola, the Finn. Rice showed his fleet heels to such stellar performers as Walter Mehl and Don Lash, both of whom are champions and record holders.

Among those who set new world marks were: Al. Bolzis, shot put, 55 ft. 8 3/4 in.; Allen Tolmich, 70-yard hurdles, 8.4 sec.; Seton Hall's freshman relay team, one mile, 1 min. 32 sec. Four new meet records: Fenske, one mile, 4 min. 8.8 sec.; Charles Belcher, 600 yards, 1 min. 11.6 sec.; Earl Meadows, pole vault, 14 ft. 3 3/8 in.; Barney Ewell and Mozel Ellerbee equalled the old figures of 6.2 sec. for the 60-yard dash. An old-timer in competition, Joe McCluskey won the 2-mile steeplechase, his twenty-first national title.

Faster track performances indoors have been the result of new construction methods, particularly on the especially built large indoor oval at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H., the scene of many new world marks. It was there that Glenn Cunningham came nearest to running the 'perfect' four-minute mile, which he covered in 4 min. 4.4 sec. The eight new indoor world marks established on the Dartmouth track in 1940 (and those made in previous years) are to be recognized by the A.A.U. as having been made on the large Dartmouth oval, aside from accepted records set on other indoor tracks measuring 8 to 10 laps to the mile. The 1940 Dartmouth records are: John Woodruff, 880 yards in 1 min. 47.4 sec.; 800 meters in 1 min. 47 sec. James Herbert, 440 yards in 48.4 sec.; 400 meters in 47.9 sec. John Borican, 3/4-mile in 3 min. 0.5 sec. New York Univ. relay teams, 880-yard relay in 1 min. 27.7 sec.; one-mile and 1,600-meter relays in 3 min. 15 sec.

Of the several large outdoor collegiate classics, the Princeton Track Meet was the scene of breath-taking competition, particularly when Fred Wolcott stepped over the 220-yard low hurdles in 22.5 sec. A spectacular new outdoor mark was set by Rice in his victory over Taisto Maki, of Finland, in a 3,000-meter race in Minneapolis, in 2 min. 18.9 sec., breaking the American record by 7.5 sec. Paul Moore, of Stanford, another great collegian, covered the three-quarter-mile route in 2 min. 58.7 sec., clipping nearly 2 sec. off the official world mark set by Jules LaDoumegue, of France, in 1931. Moore also bettered the world mark of 2 min. 59.5 sec. set by Sidney Wooderson, in London, in 1939.

The 1940 convention of the A.A.U. ruled that track events outdoors and indoors will be measured by yards instead of meters after ten years of metric measurements, although in field events yards have always been used. The convention voted to form a new organization, to be known as the American Confederation of Sports, which will supplant the American Olympic Committee. The convention announced the possibility of staging Pan-American Games (two years after the Olympic Games) patterned after the Olympics, with the first Games in Buenos Aires, in 1942.

The decathlon and the pentathlon, two events that call for Herculean effort, brought out two new champions in the national A.A.U. title events in 1940. Bill Watson, an alumnus of the Univ. of Michigan, led in the ten-event fixture over Lee Todd, ex-Univ. of Colorado athlete. The pentathlon title was captured by Harry March, of the Washington A.A. Bill Gilligan, of the Boston A.A., took second honors.

Just as in other sports, women are making noteworthy progress in track and field events, both in excellent performances and in the number of competitors. Indeed, their records in the sprints are within a second or two of the records of men. Entries from eleven states competed in the national A.A.U. women's track and field championships, at Ocean City, N. J. Miss Stella Walsh, of the Polish Olympic Club, of Cleveland, a perennial fixture in track events for nearly fifteen years, was the high point scorer of the meet. Miss Walsh won 28 points by capturing the 200-meter race, the broad jump and second in the 100-meter dash. There were two double winners, Miss Jane Lane in the 50- and 100-meter dash, and Miss Catherine Fellmuth in the discus and 8-lb. shot, repeating her triumphs of the previous year.

1939: Track And Field

More new records were made in track than in field events, both in United States and abroad, and ironically, it was a young Finnish runner named Taisto Maki who contributed the greatest glamour to the sport of foot-racing in 1939. Maki overshadowed the supreme running ability of another great Finn, Paavo Nurmi, whose track exploits of more than a decade ago are still fresh in the memory of track fans.

Besides the phenomenal Maki, who set new world records for time in five events, other conspicuous figures in the track world were Sydney Wooderson, the diminutive London bank clerk, who created a new world record and a new British mark; Rudolf Harbig, the speedy German middle distance runner, who bettered two world records; Chuck Fenske, who won the outdoor Princeton mile; an American relay team which made a new 3,200-meter record: John Borican who made new American indoor marks (not recognized in international competition) in three races; and the Fordham relay team which won the one-mile relay race. In the field events, a German hammer world record by Lutz, and an American indoor pole vault mark round out the stellar accomplishments of the spiked shoe army.

To Maki go the golden laurels, for the Mercury-winged Finn's two-mile record of 8 min. 53.2 sec., slashing 2.8 sec. from the world mark; his three miles in 13 min. 32.4 sec.; 5.000 meters in 14 min. 8.8 sec.; six miles in 28 min. 55.6 sec.; and 10,000 meters in 29 min. 52.2 sec. thereby slicing 8.2 to 13.2 seconds from recent records made by Olympic champions.

Wooderson's new British one-mile record of 4 min. 7.4 sec., the year's fastest, was followed by a new world record for the three-quarter-mile, in 2 min. 59.5 sec. which set him up to assault the one-mile world record in Palmer Stadium, Princeton, N. J., ten days later. It was in this race that the unavoidable crowding by Blaine Rideout caused the bump that jarred the athletic world. Pictures of the incident show that Wooderson was cut short one stride, which made little or no difference in his running the race. Sports authorities agreed that his slow pace up to that time prevented a new world record and favored his American rivals to win in the sprint to the finish, such as they did, in the off-record time 4 min. 11 sec., won by Chuck Fenske, of Wisconsin. Since Wooderson had not lost a race abroad in three years, and had smashed four world records in twenty-two months, he was favored to win in new world record time, while Fenske was considered to be a long shot. Cunningham took second; San Romani, third; Rideout, fourth; Wooderson, fifth and last.

The two dazzling records made by Harbig were his 400 meters in 46 sec., and his unheard-of time of 1 min. 46.6 sec. for 800 meters, 3 seconds better than Elroy Robinson's (U. S.) previous world time.

Fenske also came to the fore in establishing new world time (outdoor) for 1,000 yards, in 2 min. 9.3 sec., but this is a distance that is not recognized by the International Federation. Likewise, the Federation does not recognize indoor records, thereby causing John Borican, an American, to forfeit recognition in his 800 meters in 1 min. 49.2 sec.; 880 yards in 1 min. 49.2 sec.; and 1,000 yards in 2 min. 8.8 sec. The same applies to the new one-mile relay mark of 3 min. 15.2 sec. by a Fordham team, and the pole vault record of 14 ft. 6 in. by Cornelius Warmerdam. Lutz surpassed the world hammer throw mark of Paddy Ryan (U. S.) made in 1913, tossing the iron sphere 193 ft. 9 in., more than four feet better than the powerful American.

In an effort to check and compare the performances of athletes in various meets in the United States and abroad, the Amateur Athletic Union made a list on a performance basis, a sort of 'Paper Olympics of 1939,' scored on the unofficial method. Giving a vivid picture of how various nations' athletes compare, it showed that the United States outscored the others, with 209 points against 108 for Finland, 74 for Germany, 28 for Norway, and so on down the list.

A team of ten leading American athletes carried off the major honors in the International Meet in London, against fifteen nations, winning eight first places out of fourteen events. Roy Cochrane (U. S.) won the 440-yard hurdles in 52.7 sec., establishing a new British record; Clyde Jeffrey (U. S.) distinguished himself by winning both the 100-and 200-yard dashes. Bill Watson (U. S.) was the high point scorer of the day, breaking the English shot put record with a heave of 52 ft. 8 in.; the broad jump with a leap of 24 ft. 6 in.; and scoring third in the discus. Charles Beetham (U. S.) tied the British record of 2 min. 11 sec. for the 1,000-yard race in Glasgow. The third British record broken in the International Meet was the 3-mile run, by Maki, in 13 min. 59.4 sec.

In the A. A. U. outdoor national championships, four new records were established; and only seven of the eighteen defending title-holders regained their crowns, with the Olympic Club capturing the team title from the N. Y. A. C. Joe Scott, of Western Reserve, won the decathlon title in the difficult test of ten events; and John Borican, of the Shore A. C., led his rivals in the pentathlon championship. In the indoor championships, five new meet records and one citizen record went to superior athletes, and the N. Y. A. C. regained the team title.

The two major collegiate track fixtures, the Penn Relays and the Drake Relays, were held at Philadelphia and Des Moines.

WORLD'S BEST TRACK AND FIELD PERFORMANCES FOR 1939.

100-Yard Dash: Geer, United States; Ellerbe, United States; M. Robinson, United States; Dunn, Australia (9.5 sec. all).

100-Meter Run: Jeffrey, United States; Ellerbe, United States (10.2 sec. both).

200-Meter Run: Jeffrey, United States (20.7 sec.).

400-Meter Run: Harbig, Germany (46.0 sec.; World Record).

800-Meter Run: Harbig, Germany (1 min. 46.6 sec.; World Record).

1,500-Meter Run: Anderson, Sweden (3 min. 48.8 sec.).

One-Mile Run: Wooderson, Great Britain (4 min. 07.4 sec.).

Two-Mile Run: Maki, Finland (8 min. 53.2 sec.; World Record).

Three-Mile Run: Maki, Finland (13 min. 42.4 sec.; World Record).

5,000-Meter Run: Maki, Finland (14 min. 08.8 sec.; World Record).

Six-Mile Run: Maki, Finland (28 min. 55.6 sec.; World Record).

10,000-Meter Run; Maki, Finland (29 min. 52.3 sec.; World Record).

3,200-Meter Relay Race: United States (Schwartzkopf, Cochrane, B. Rideout, Beetham), (7 min. 35.2 sec.).

110-Meter Hurdles: Wolcott, United States (14.1 sec.).

400-Meter Hurdles: Hoelling, Germany (51.6 sec.).

High Jump: Steers, United States (6 ft. 8 in.).

Broad Jump: Kin, Japan (25 ft. 8 in.).

Pole Vault: Meadows, United States (14 ft. 7 in.).

Hop, Step, and Jump: Strom, Norway (51 ft. 10 in.).

Discus: Fox, United States (172 ft. 4 in.).

Shot Put: Hackney, United States (55 ft. 11 in.).

Javelin: M. Jarvinen, Finland (250 ft. 11 in.).

Hammer Throw: Lutz, Germany (193 ft. 9 in.; World Record).

1938: Track And Field

Not only are Americans becoming more track-minded, judging from the packed stands during the big meets in 1938, but the performers in the various events have merited this popular approval by their dazzling speed in running races and their prowess in the field events. Of the fifty-seven records broken during the year, the superhuman one-mile run of Glenn Cunningham, in 4 min. 4.4 sec., is by far the most glamorous performance of 1938. The race, run on the fast indoor track at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H., on March 3, will not be approved by the International Amateur Athletic Federation, as only outdoor marks are recognized, although it is an accepted American record. A new world record is that of the 440-yard relay team of the University of Southern California timed in 40.5 sec. America's leading record-wrecker was Ben Johnson, of Columbia, who accounted for eight new dash marks.

Sixty-five of the foremost American athletes toured several European countries during 1938, establishing many new foreign records. In winning 14 of the 20 events in the dual meet with Germany in the Berlin stadium, American athletes made a new German record in the 400-meter relay and toppled two 1936 Olympic champions, Ryan defeating Woelke in the shot put, and Malott besting Harbig in the 400-meters run. In the international meet in London, ten Americans won seven of the 14 events, besides scoring two seconds, a third and a fourth. Patterson's 440-yard high hurdle mark of 53 seconds was the outstanding performance of the meet.

Many leading performers assembled for the outdoor national A. A. U. championships, at Buffalo, N. Y., July 2-3, and even though the track was muddy following heavy rains, a few excellent performances were made and a new record was established, that of Hank Cieman in the 3,000-meter walking race, in 13 min. 39.9 sec. Glenn Cunningham's 1,500 meters in 3 min. 52.5 sec. was the stellar performance of the meet.

Several exhibitions of remarkable running were given during the indoor national A. A. U. championships, in Madison Square Garden, when six new meet records were established and one record tied. Ben Johnson, of Columbia, equalled the American indoor and meet record in the 60 meters, in 6.6 sec.; James Herbert, New York, 600 meters, 1 min. 20.3 sec., a world and meet record; Cunningham, 1,500 meters, 3 min. 48.4 sec., a world and meet record; the N. Y. U. 1,600-meter relay team mark of 3 min. 19.4 sec. is a new meet record; Don Lash, of Indiana, 5,000 meters in 14 min. 39 sec., an American citizen and meet record; Allan Tolmich, Wayne University, ran a heat on the 65-meter hurdle race in 8.5 sec., a world and meet record, and Frank Ryan, of Columbia, put the 16-lb. shot 52 ft. 8¼ in. to a new meet record. The New York Athletic Club retained the team title with 23 points; Columbia was second in the point score.

New impetus was given to the annual indoor championships of the Intercollegiate A.A.A.A., staged for the first time in Madison Square Garden. The four record-breakers were Ted Day, of Yale, 60-yard high hurdles, 7.4 sec.; Howard Borck, Manhattan, 600-yard run, 1 min. 12 sec.; Artie Byrnes, Manhattan, high jump, 6 ft. 6 in., and Anson Perina, Princeton, broad jump, 24 ft. 2 in. In the outdoor intercollegiates, at Randalls Island, N. Y., the University of Southern California captured the team title for the eighth time, with 47½ points, twice the score of Michigan State, with 24 points. Although the meet was held during a rain storm, three new marks were made: Howard Borck, Manhattan, one-mile run, 4.13.9; Joe Mochair, Manhattan, two miles, 9 min. 21.2 sec., and Delos Thurber, U.S.C., high jump, 6 ft.  in.

In schoolboy athletics, the Public Schools Athletic League of New York has the most complete training and development system in the United States having jurisdiction over 270 elementary, junior high, vocational and senior high schools in which 212,600 boys are identified with track and field events. The new records made during the year, which compare favorably with senior competitions, are the indoor marks of Leslie McMitchell, of George Washington High School, 1000 yards, in 2 min. 20.9 sec., and the 1,200-yard relay team of Evander Childs High School, 2 min. 16.1 sec. Outdoors the new records were: Carl Fields, Boys High School, 440-yard run., 50 sec.; Robert Williams, Stuyvesant High School, 1,000-yard run, 2 min. 20.9 sec.; Leslie McMitchell, 1-mile, 4 min. 23.2 sec.; Francis McCaffery, Evander Childs High School, 120-yard high hurdles, 16 sec.; and George Freas, Evander Childs High School, pole vault, 12 ft. 6 in.

In women's athletics, the outdoor national championship of the A. A. U., at New Haven, saw six new women performers take their places in the eleven events on the program. The only double winner was Lulu Hymes, of Tuskegee, in the 100 meters, in 12.4 sec., and the running broad jump, 17 ft. 2 in., besides competing on the winning 400-meters relay team in 52 sec. She was awarded the trophy for being the outstanding performer in the meet. The Tuskegee Institute of Alabama retained its team title, scoring 30 points to 13 for the German-American A. C. The Mercury A. C. of New York won the senior metropolitan A. A. U. title.