This Day in Track & Field History, March 28, 2024

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: WaltMurphy44@gmail.com ) 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/X-Country–March 28

1903–The first-ever International X-C Championships were held in Hamilton, Scotland, and involved only one race (men–12.9k) among the 4 British “home” countries–England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. England’s Alf Shrubb won the first of his two consecutive titles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903_International_Cross_Country_Championships

Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Shrubb

1914—Elliot Ballistier, a junior at Morris H.S. in the Bronx, won the 880y at the Clinton Games in 2:04.8 to set the first of what would become a multitude of National High School Records at NY’s Armory over the next 100+ years.

The next time you visit the Armory, take the time to notice the small plaques on the wall as you walk up both sets of stairs to the track level. They commemorate every record (H.S., College, American, World) set at the Armory (the brainchild of Jack Pfeifer)!

1943  Cornelius “Dutch” Warmerdam jumped 15-8  ½ (4/79) in Chicago to set his last World Indoor Record in the Pole Vault. http://oldserver.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=178

1959–In a great Shot Put competition in Santa Barbara that featured three past and future Olympic Champions (and World Record holders), 18-year old Dallas Long (1964 gold) equaled Parry O’Brien’s  World Record of 63-2 (19.25m) to beat Bill Nieder (62-9 [19.12+m]/gold-1960) and O’Brien (62-1/4 [18.90+m]/gold–1952-1956).

1965—When Lieutenant Billy Mills, the winner of the 10,000-Meters at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, was told by U.S. Marine Corps Special Services that he had been invited to compete in a race appropriately called the Cinque Mulini(Five Mills) Cross Country event in San Vittore Olona, Italy, he immediately accepted, since the event organizers had also invited his wife Patricia to join him on…