SO SORRY TO HEAR OF THE RECENT PASSING OF THE FAMED OLYMPIC CHAMPION
AND WORLD RECORD-BREAKER VINCENT – BUT ALWAYS JUST KNOWN AS GEORGE RHODEN …
He was one of the heroes of my early days of becoming a track enthusiast.
A Jamaican at Morgan State University of Baltimore, he was
NCAA 400 champion (as one of the very earliest NCAA international champions)
Penn Relays excellent, a major star on the indoor circuit, which filled
big arenas like Madison Square Garden regularly, and more…
But even more remarkable was his Olympic 400 triumph at Helsinki in 1952
and as star of the Jamaica WR-setting 4×400 (beating Team USA)
in 1952 Oly Games.
He lowered the WR in the 400 to 45.8 in a famous 1950 race in Eskilstuna, Sweden,
Remember reading that AP story in the NY Times and saying, “Wow!!! “
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And here are my personal memories…
As a kid, I’d go to meets (with big brother Marty) and often ask the stars if I could snap their photos…
At the Seton Hall Relays at Newark Schools Stadium, I well remember asking,
“Mr. Rhoden, may I take your photo?”
and he very happily obliged by getting into the “set” position.
One of his famous teammates at Morgan State was the renowned Bob Tyler of Asbury Pk.
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When he and his famous Jamaica teammates, Herb McKenley, Arthur Wint
and Leslie Laing won the 4×400 at Helsinki in 1952; that Jamaica team was coached
by one of my early guiding lights, the great Coach Joe Yancey of the NY Pioneer Club,
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After the 1952 Olympics, with the “old” Shore AC fading away
(likely because of diminishing finances), it was “old” Shore AC
founding father Mr. James Wisner, who formulated the
celebrated and famed “Dream Team” (4×400) of all Oly. gold medalists,
now running for the Grand St Boys Club of NYC…
That team was Mal Whitfield, Andy Stanfield, Herb McKenley….and George Rhoden..
Through one glorious winter, they broke every indoor 4×400 record in the books.
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In 1971, when we organized a Shore AC team trip to Scandinavia,
I always wanted to bring the group to Eskilstuna, Sweden,
in remembrance of George Rhoden’s famous 45.8 there…
Well, we couldn’t work that out, but we still had a great time in
Denmark, Norway, and Finland !!
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Here (below) is the George Rhoden obituary…
Hope you are okay with this story of past personal adventures…
Best to all,
Elliott Denman
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August 26, 2024
JAAA mourns passing of double Olympian George Rhoden
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Following the passing of double Olympic gold medallist George Rhoden, the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) has honoured the veteran athlete, calling him “one of the building blocks of our sport in Jamaica.”
In a statement to the media on Monday, the JAAA expressed its grief saying it is “in mourning as we learn of the passing of double Olympic gold medallist George Rhoden.”“George Rhoden was one of the building blocks of our sport in Jamaica. He demonstrated true grit and determination in every single one of his races and was a dependable team member,” said Garth Gayle, President of the JAAA. “He would grind out every event, giving everything for his team and his country. His performances in 1952 will always be remembered as they laid the groundwork for the strong track and field nation we are today.”
Rhoden, who won the 400m and was a member of the Golden Quartet that won the 4x400m at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952, passed away in the United States over the weekend.
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One of the finest and most prolific writers in our sport, Elliott Denman has written about our sport since 1956, when he represented the US in 1956 Olympic Games at the 50k race walk, the longest event on the Olympic schedule. A close observer of the sport, Elliott writes about all of our sport, combining the skills of a well honed writer with the style of ee Cummings. We are quite fortunate to have Elliott Denman as a friend and advisor.
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