Walt Murphy is one of the finest track geeks 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.
This Day in Track & Field–February 25
by Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service ([email protected]), used with permission
1919—While Tommy Campbell and Captain Ted Meredith were battling each other down the final stretch of the 600 yards at the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden, Dave Caldwell came rushing by on the outside to grab the win with a desperate lunge at the tape. His winning time was a modest 1:16.6, but the large crowd was treated to “…as thrilling a footrace as the oldest of the old-timers had ever seen”.
Loren Murchison successfully debuted Millrose, winning the Handicap and Invitation 70-yard dashes. He would go on to win a record total of 14 sprint races at Millrose!
From the NY Times Archives: “The meet was perhaps the greatest the Millrose A.A. has ever held. It was an impressive spectacle, once one was able to get inside the Garden, but getting in was a herculean task. From pit to dome, the old arena was jammed, with hundreds standing up. The band played, horns tooted, and cowbells clanged, and the Garden echoed with tumultuous acclaim”.
Murchison’s Wins
1919—70y Inv., 70y-Handicap
1921—70y
1922—50y, 60y
1923—60y, 300y
1924—60y, 300y
1925—50y, 60y
1926—40y, 60y, 300y
1928–Sabin Carr, the first man to top 14-feet (4.27) outdoors in the Pole Vault in 1927, became the first to do it indoors, winning at the U.S. Championships in Madison Square Garden with a clearance of 14-1 (4.29). Carr went on to win the gold medal at the Amsterdam Olympics later in the year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabin_Carr
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/02/26/107091052.html?pageNumber=149
1961—Ralph Boston, the 1960 Rome Olympic gold medalist in the Long Jump, beat bronze medalist Igor Ter-Ovanesyan of the Soviet Union in front of 16,243 fans at the U.S. Indoor Championships at Madison Square Garden and set a World Record of 26-6 ¼ (8.08).
Ter-Ovanesyan had been leading since the first round, getting his best of 26 feet even (7.92) on his 3rd attempt, becoming only the 2nd man to reach that barrier indoors. Boston had become the first a week earlier when he beat his Soviet rival with a leap of 26-1 ¾ (7.97) at the NYAC Games.
Boston got his winning jump in the final round here, with Ter-O responding with a narrow foul on a jump that could have given him the victory and the record!
In another U.S. Soviet duel, Valery Brumel once again beat John Thomas in the High Jump (7-2 to 7-0/2.18+-2.13+)
Other highlights:
Jim Beatty came from behind to win a tactical mile over Hungary’s Istvan Rozsavolgyi in 4:09.3.
Hayes Jones won the 60y-Hurdles for the 3rd time in 4 years, running 7-flat to equal the World Record he already shared with Milt Campbell.(It was the 6th time that Jones had run 7.0).
Before Gerry Lindgren wowed U.S. fans as a prep in 1964, there was Bruce Kidd. The 17-year old high school student from Canada won the 3-mile easily in 13:47.0 over a field that included seasoned veterans László Tábori and Al Lawrence, the defending champion.
http://onceuponatimeinthevest.blogspot.com/2012/03/february-1961.html
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1961/02/26/118902399.html?pageNumber=226
