Walt Murphy is one of the finest track statisticians that I know. Walt does #ThisDayinTrack&FieldHistory, an excellent daily service that provides true geek stories about our sport. You can check out the service for FREE with a free one-month trial subscription! (email: [email protected] ) for the entire daily service. We will post a few historic moments each day, beginning February 1, 2024.
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This Day in Track & Field–April 30
1921—Illinois’ Harold Osborn Finished in a four-way tie for first place in the High Jump at the Penn Relays. He also won the Triple Jump (46-9 ½ [14.26]). He would win Olympic gold in the High Jump and the Decathlon in Paris 1924.
Earl Eby, the silver medalist in the 800-meter at the 1920 Olympics, anchored Penn to its 2nd-straight win in the Sprint Medley(3:31.8).
Penn’s George Bronder set a Relays Record of 183-1/4(55.79+) in the Javelin and won six consecutive U.S. titles from 1914 to 1919.
For Subscribers: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/05/01/98679617.html?pageNumber=102
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Osborn
1927—M.I.T.’s Henry Steinbrenner, whose son George (a hurdler at Williams College) would become the owner of the New York Yankees, won the 120y-Hurdles at the Penn Relays in 15.4.
The Steinbrenner Family Heritage Award was established in 2001 to recognize multi-generational families’ support and dedication to the Penn Relays.
For Subscribers: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/05/01/96644411.html?pageNumber=137
1932—Fordham’s Joe McCluskey set an American Record of 9:28.6 in the Steeplechase at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia. It was the 2nd of McCluskey’s three wins in the event at Penn (1931-1933). He would lower the mark to 9:14.5 in July.
A nine-time U.S. steeple champion, McCluskey won the bronze medal at the 1932 Olympics (after being forced to run an extra lap when officials misjudged the finish) and remained active in Masters competition (in many events) until age 85. (I used to watch him practicing for the long jump at my local track in Forest Park-Queens!) He was elected to the National Hall of Fame in 1996.
Manhattan College won for the first time at Penn, setting an American record of 10:14.0 in the Distance Medley with a lineup of Bill McGeogh(50.6), Joe Burns(1:54.4), Jackie Ryan(3:09.8), and Frank Crowley(4:19.2).
Bill Carr’s 48.2 anchor split helped Penn smash the previous relay record of 3:18.0 in the Mile Relay, a record set by another Penn squad 17 years earlier, with its winning time of 3:15.4. Carr had run the lead-off leg on Penn’s winning team in 1931. He would win the gold medal in the 400-meter (and set a World Record of 46.2) at the L.A. Olympics later in the year. e was named to the National Hall of Fame in 2008.
Penn’sGeorge Munger won the Decathlon(7324.599) and had a Hall-of-Fame career as Penn’s footbaPenn’sch. The annual C llege Football Coach of the Year Award bears Munger’s nameMunger’sbscribers: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/04/30/100726376.html
McCluskey
Hall of Fame Bio(1996): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/joe-mccluskey
Wiki Bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_McCluskey
NY Times Obituary(2002): http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/01/sports/joe-mccluskey-91-track-medalist-dies.html
HOF Bio-Carr(2008): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/bill-carr
Munger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Munger_(American_football)
