by RBR Admin
Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com)
This Day in Track & Field–June 20
1936—World Records were set by Georgia’s Forrest “Spec” Towns in the 110-meter hurdles(14.1 in his heat/6-19) and Cal’s Archie Williams in the 400 (46.1) at the NCAA Championships in Chicago (June 19-20). The wind in Towns’ race was +2.4, but the +2.0 limit wasn’t adopted until later in the year!
Ohio State’s Jesse Owens was a 4-time winner for the 2nd year in a row, finishing first again in the 100 (10.2), 200 (21.3), 220y-hurdles (23.1), and the Long Jump (25-10 ¾ [7.89]). He was timed en-route in the 100 at 9.4 for 100-yards to equal the World Record he already shared with fellow American Frank Wykoff and South Africa’s Danie Joubert.
All 3 went on to Olympic glory later in the year in Berlin, Towns and Williams winning their specialties, and Owens, of course, becoming an instant legend by winning golds in the 100, 200, Long Jump, and 4×100 relay. And all are members of the Hall of Fame.
A day after finishing 3rd in the 1500, Indiana’s Don Lash won the 5000 (event increased from 2-miles)
USC repeated as the team champion with 103-1/3 points. Ohio State was 2nd(73).
NY Times(for subscribers):
WR Progression(110h): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_110_metres_hurdles_world_record_progression
WR Progression(400): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_400_metres_world_record_progression
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1936.pdf
Owens:
1941–Indiana’s Archie Harris won his 2nd title in the Discus on the first day of the NCAA Championships (6-20/21) at Stanford with a World Record throw of 174-8 ¾ (53.26).
2nd was Georgetown’s Al Blozis (164-4 7/8 [50.10]), who beat Harris to win the Shot Put(54-10 ½ [16.725?] to 51-4 [15.645]).
Other winners included Penn State’s Barney Ewell (100y-9.6/220y-21.1), NYU’s Leslie McMitchell (Mile-4:10.4), Indiana’s Fred Wilt (2-mile/9:14.4), Oregon’s Les Steers (High Jump/6-10 7/8 [2.105?]). USC won its 7th-straight team title over Indiana (81-1/2 to 50).
NY Times(for subscribers)
Day 1: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1941/06/21/87629995.html?pageNumber=14
Day 2: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1941/06/22/87631218.html?pageNumber=101
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_discus_world_record_progression
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1941.pdf
1942–Among the winners at the AAU Championships (6-19/20), which were held at Downing Stadium on NY’s Randall’s Island, were Hal Davis (100-10.5, 200[straight]-20.9; Gil Dodds (1500-3:50.2), Greg Rice (5000-14:39.7/5th of his 6 titles); and the great Cornelius Warmerdam, who cleared 15-2 1/2 (4.63+) to capture the 4th of his six U.S. titles.
With World War II still raging, the cover of the meet’s program featured several Walt Disney characters jumping over hurdles that are in the shape of the letter “V,” which stood for victory. Gate receipts from the event were given to the Army Emergency Relief fund.
http://www.unz.org/Pub/Yank-1942jul01-00023 (Check the non-Disney cartoon at the bottom)
1953–USC’s Sim Iness won his 2nd NCAA Discus title in Lincoln, Nebraska, throwing 190’-7/8” (57.93m) to break Fortune Gordien’s 4-year old World Record of 186-11(56.97m). USC won its 5th-straight team title with 80 points, almost double that of runnerup Illinois’ 41. Other winners included Iness’s USC teammate, Parry O’Brien, who won his 2nd title in the Shot Put (58-7 1/4[17.86]).
NY Times(for subscribers): https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1953/06/21/92719797.html?pageNumber=167
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_discus_world_record_progression
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1953.pdf
1958—Glenn Davis set a World Record of 49.9 in the 440y-Hurdles on the opening day of the U.S. Championships in Bakersfield, California. The previous mark of 50.5 was set by Josh Culbreath in 1957.
A 2nd WR was set in the Hammer by Hal Connolly, who threw 225-4 (68.68) to better his own previous mark of 224-10 (68.54), set in 1956.
Dyrol Burleson, a senior at Cottage Gove High School in Oregon, ran 4:12.2 in his heat of the Mile to break his own U.S. prep record of 4:13.2 that he had set in April.
He ran five of the six fastest high school miles in history during the 1958 season: 4:12.2, 4:13.2, 4:16.2, 4:16.5, 4:16.9.
“Burly” went on to have a Hall-of-Fame career that included 3 NCAA titles while at the University of Oregon, 2 Olympic finals in the 1500, and American Records in the 1500 and mile.
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78176
https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/dyrol-burleson
1959–The U.S. Championships were held at altitude (5,340’) in Boulder, Colorado. Kansas’ Charlie Tidwell beat Eastern Michigan’s Hayes Jones in the 220-hurdles (on a turn) and ran 22.6 to break his own American Record. Jones had beaten Tidwell at the previous week’s NCAA Championships. Other winners and 2nd-placers, which included many past and future Olympic Champions (and 10 future Hall-of-Famers/linked):
100/200–Ray Norton (10.5, 20.8)
400–Eddie Southern (46.1, defends title)
800–Tom Murphy (1:47.9)
1500–Dyrol Burleson (3:47.5), 2.Jim Grelle (3:48.4)
3k-walk–Elliott Denman (13:52.2)
Steeplechase-Phil Coleman (9:19.3)
5000–Bill Dellinger (14:47.6)
10,000-Max Truex (31:22.4)
110-hurdles–Lee Calhoun (14.0), 2.Hayes Jones (14.0)
400-hurdles–Dick Howard(50.7), 2.Glenn Davis (50.9)
High Jump–Charlie Dumas (6-9)
Pole Vault–Don Bragg (15-2)
Long Jump–Greg Bell (26-1 1/4)
Triple Jump–Ira Davis(50-6 1/2)
Shot Put–Parry O’Brien (62-2 1/4)
Discus–Al Oerter (186-5)
Hammer–Harold Connolly (216-10)
Jevelin–Al Cantello (246-9)
The meet served as the selection event for the men’s team that would compete in the 2nd USA-USSR match that would take place in Philadelphia the following month.
1964—Among the highlights at the NCAA Championships in Eugene were:
100-1.Harry Jerome-Oregon (10.1/=Collegiate Record), 2.Edwin Roberts-North Carolina Central (10.1)
200-1.Bob Hayes-Florida A&M (20.4w), 2.Edwin Roberts (20.4w), 3.Harry Jerome (20.6w)
400-Dead heat—1.Bob Tobler-BYU, Ulis Williams-Arizona State 45.9, 3. Kent Bernard-Michigan 45.9
800-1.Tom Farrell-St.John’s (1:48.5)
5000-Dead heat—1.Jim Murphy (Air Force), Bill Straub(Army) 14:12.3
Pole Vault-1.John Uelses-LaSalle (16-0 [4.88])
Shot Put-1.Gary Gubner-NYU (61-8 [18.79+])
Host Oregon (78) won the team title, almost doubling the score of runnerup San Jose State (40).
NY Times
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1964.pdf
5000 Tie:
NCAA History
Past Champions(Through 2022)
Men: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/track_outdoor_champs_records/2022/D1Men.pdf
Women: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/track_outdoor_champs_records/2022/D1Women.pdf
T&F News
https://trackandfieldnews.com/historical-results/a-history-of-the-ncaa-championships-1921-2018/
USTFCCCA: http://www.ustfccca.org/meets-results/meet-history?series=3369
1965—Hal Connolly set his 6th (and final) World Record in the Hammer Throw with a heave of 233-9 (71.26) at the Southern Pacific AAU Championships in Walnut,CA.
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_hammer_throw_world_record_progression
1968–It was the “Night of Speed” (6-20) at the U.S. Championships in Sacramento,CA (June 19-21). The existing 100-meter World Record of 10.0 was equaled or beaten 10 times in what was the “greatest feast” of sprinting yet seen. Jim Hines, who would win Olympic gold in Mexico City later in the year, kicked things off by winning his heat in a wind-aided 9.8. Hines and Ronnie Ray Smith became the first men to break 10-seconds with a legal wind, each running 9.9 as they finished 1-2 in the first semi-final. Trailing behind them, all at 10-flat, were Mel Pender, Larry Questad, Kirk Clayton, and Ernest Provost. Charlie Greene, the eventual bronze medalist in Mexico City, matched the new record of 9.9 in the second semi-final, while Jamaica’s Lennox Miller (Olympic silver) and France’s Roger Bambuck each ran 10-flat.
The final produced a blanket finish, won by Greene in a wind-aided 10.0, followed by Hines(10.0), Miller(10.1), Bambuck (10.1), Smith (10.1), and Pender (10.1).
A Look Back(2003): http://www.iaaf.org/news/news/celebrating-the-night-of-speed
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_100_metres_world_record_progression
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_Speed
Results(Men): http://trackfield.brinkster.net/USATournaments.asp?TourCode=N&Year=1968&Gender=M&TF=T&P=R&By=Y&Count=
1969—East Germany’s Karin Balzer and Poland’s Teresa Sukniewicz won their respective heats of the 100-Meter Hurdles at the Kusocinski Memorial in Warsaw in 13.3 to set the first IAAF-Ratified World Records in the event. Blazer would later improve the Record to 13.0 in July, and then to 12.9 in September. Sukniewicz would then run 12.8 at this same meet in 1970.
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_100_metres_hurdles_world_record_progression
1970—My first involvement with television came this year at the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Jim Dunaway, who was working as the researcher for ABC, arranged for me to handle the bulky timing device that would flash the winning time of each event on the TV screen.
The producer of the show thought I was a genius after I stopped the clock at 48.8 seconds when Brigham Young’s Ralph Mann crossed the finish line in the 440y-hurdles. That matched the official time, which was a World Record for the event. Lucky for me, the producer conveniently forgot the other events where I was off by as much as .3s! 2nd in 49.2 was UCLA’s Wayne Collett.
Moved indoors due to inclement weather, the Pole Vault produced another World Record as Kansas’ Jan Johnson won with an indoor best of 17-7 (5.36).
Other notable winners/events
440y-1.Larry James (Villanova) 45.5…3.Curtis Mills (Texas A&M) 45.8, 4.John Smith (UCLA) 45.9
Mile-1.Marty Liquori (Villanova) 3:59.9, 2.Dave Wottle (Bowling Green) 4:00.1
3 Miles-1.Steve Prefontaine (Oregon freshman) 13:22.0(Meet Record), 2.Garry Bjorklund (Minnesota) 13:25.5, 3.Dick Buerkle (Vill)
13:27.8, 4.Don Kardong (Stanford) 13:28.0, 5.Greg Fredericks (Penn State) 13:30.0
High Jump (6-19)-1.Pat Matzdorf (Wisconsin) 7-1(2.16)
Long Jump (6-19),1.Arnie Robinson (San Diego State) 25-10 ½(7.88+)
Javelin-1.Bill Skinner (Tennessee) 270-8(82.19/)
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/1970.pdf
1973–Dave Wottle, the 1972 Olympic Champion at 800-meters, disappointed the 12,000 fans in Eugene by beating their own Steve Prefontaine in the Mile at the Hayward Field Restoration Meet (3:53.3-3:54.6). Villanova’s John Hartnett set an Irish Record of 3:54.7 in 3rd. Almost lost in the excitement surrounding the featured mile was Rod Milburn, who ran 13-flat to tie his own World Record in the 120-yard hurdles. He set the original mark on the same track at the 1971 U.S. Championships.
1976—The U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene were the first where the men and women competed together.
Today’s finals (with eventual Olympic medals)
Men’s 100-1.Harvey Glance 10.11, 2.Houston McTear 10.16, 3.Steve Riddick 10.18. McTear, who had just finished
his senior year at Baker(FL) H.S., suffered an injury right after crossing the finish line and was unable to compete
at the Montreal Olympics. He was replaced by another prep, Johnny “Lam” Jones, who had finished 4th (10.23) at
the Trials. Glance, Riddick and Jones would win Olympic gold in the 4×100. Steve Williams, the #1-ranked American
in 1975 in both the 100 and 200, was eliminated in the 2nd round. He had pulled a muscle at the earlier U.S.
Championships and wasn’t able to recover in time, Williams was inducted into the National Hall of Fame in 2013.
Men’s Shot Put-1.Al Feuerbach 69-3 ½ (21.12), 2.George Woods 69-2 ¾ (21.10), 3.Pete Shmock 68-9 ¼
(20.96). 4th was World Record holder Terry Albritton (67-0[20.42])
Women’s Javelin-1.Kate Schmidt 213-5 (65.04), 2.Sherry Calvert 191-7 (58.40), 3.Karin Smith 187-9 (57.22).
Schmidt would win her 2nd Olympic bronze medal in Montreal.
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/1976.pdf
1981–France’s Thierry Vigneron became the first man to clear 19-feet in the Pole Vault when he jumped 19-1/4 (5.80) in Mâcon, France.
WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_pole_vault_world_record_progression
1982—Billy Olson and Dan Ripley, teammates on Tom Jennings’ Pacific Coast Club, tied for 1st place in the Pole Vault at the U.S. Championships in Knoxville,TN, and both got credit for an American Record of 18-9 ¼ (5.72). Citing fatigue and shifting winds, they declined to engage in a jump-off, prompting Andy Bakjian, TAC’s Head of Officials, who wanted them both disqualified for “bad sportsmanship” and “insubordination”! Fortunately, wiser heads prevailed. (From T&F News)
Stephanie Hightower, the future President of USATF, won the 100-Meter Hurdles for the 2nd year in a row, running 12.86 to equal Deby LaPlante’s American Record.
For the 2nd year in a row, Carl Lewis won the 100 (6-19/10.11) and the Long Jump (6-19/27-10 [8.48]).
17-year old Denean Howard, recently graduated from Kennedy(CA) H.S., was a repeat winner of the Women’s 400-Meters. Her winning time of 50.87 broke the American Junior Record of 51.09 that was set be her older sister Sherri in 1979, and the High School Record of 50.90 that was set by Sheila Ingram at the 1976 Olympics. Howard would win a 3rd straight title in 1983.
The H.S. Boys’ Record for 400-Meters was also broken, with Darrell Robinson (Wilson,WA) running 45.22 to finish 2nd to Cliff Wiley (45.05). Robinson would lower the mark to the current standard of 44.69 later in the season.
The Women’s 100 (6-19) was a star-studded affair, with Evelyn Ashford winning her 4th title and running 10.96 into a headwind(-1.3) to beat Merlene Ottey, who set a Jamaican Record of 11.06, and Florence Griffith (11.15/PB). Ottey came back the next day to win the 200 with another National Record-22.17. Griffith was 2nd in 22.58. Ottey(Nebraska) and Griffith(UCLA) had won NCAA titles in the 100 and 200, respectively, earlier in the month.
Steve Scott (3:34.92/Meet Record) won the Men’s 1500-Meters (his 4th title) over South Africa’s Sydney Maree(3:36.29), Ireland’s Ray Flynn (3:36.47), and Jim Spivey (3:37.34). Matt Centrowitz won his 4th straight title in the 5000-Meters (6-19/13:31.96).
Mary Decker (4:03.37) and Francie Larrieu (8:58.66) won the Women’s 1500 and 3000, respectively.
Results(top 3): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_USA_Outdoor_Track_and_Field_Championships
NY Times Coverage
6-19: https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/20/sports/lewis-repeats-double.html?searchResultPosition=2
1984–Mike Tully jumped 18-11 (5.77) at the Southern Pacific “TAC” Championships at UCLA to break Jeff Buckingham’s previous American Record of 18-10 ¾ (5.76)
1992—For the first time since 1932, the U.S. Olympic Trials, held this year in sweltering conditions in New Orleans, also served as the U.S. Championships.
Today’s Finals (with eventual Olympic medals)
Dennis Mitchell (10.09/bronze) won the men’s 100-meters over Mark Witherspoon (10.09) and Leroy Burrell (10.10) as Carl Lewis, weakened by a viral infection, finished 6th in 10.28.
Gwen Torrence (10.97) finished 1st in the Women’s 100, followed by Gail Devers (11.02/gold) and veteran Evelyn Ashford (11.17). All three women are members of the National Hall of Fame. Torrence and Ashford would win Olympic gold in the 4×100 relay.
Results: https://trackandfieldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1992.pdf
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