Coffee with Larry, April 24, 2024, AAA founded (1880), Spec Towns wins Penn Relays hurdles (1937), Harrison Dillard wins Penn Relays 120m hurdles (1943), Mt.SAC Relays founded (1959), by Walt Murphy News and Results Service

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.(c)Copyright 2024-all rights reserved. It may not be reprinted or retransmitted without permission.

By Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com), used with permission.

This Day in Track & Field–April  24

1880 – Amateur Athletic Association(AAA), governing body for men’s athletics in England & Wales, is founded in Oxford, England.

http://www.englandathletics.org/the-amateur-athletic-association

1937–4 future Hall-of-Famers were winners at the Penn Relays (April 23,24).

Don Lash(1995) anchored Indiana to Relays Records in the 4-Mile Relay (17:16.1) and the Distance Medley (10:04.7). Sports Illustrated dubbed Lash “the first great American distance runner” for his success during a lengthy career. Tommy Deckard, who ran on the 4-mile Relay, set a relay record of 9:21.0 in the Steeplechase.

Another Relays Record was set in the Sprint Medley (3:26.4), with John Woodruff (1978), the 1936 Olympic gold medalist at 800 meters, running the first 3-straight winning anchor legs for Pittsburgh.

Georgia’s Forrest “Spec” Towns (1976), another gold medalist in Berlin, won the 120y-Hurdles (14.6). He went on to coach at his alma mater from 1946-1975.

Temple’s Eulace Peacock (1987), won the 100y (9.8) and Long Jump (24-1[7.34]).

For NY Times Subscribers: =

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1937/04/25/94360902.html?pageNumber=69

1943—Baldwin-Wallace’s Harrison Dillard, a future Hall-of-Famer, won the 120-meter hurdles at the Penn Relays in 14.8. Dillard became famous for not qualifying in his specialty at the 1948 U.S. Olympic Trials but making the team in the 100-meter hurdles! He then won Olympic gold in the 100 and 4×100 in London and, four years later, gold in the 110-meter hurdles at the Helsinki Olympics!

It was a big weekend for Notre Dame’s Ollie Hunter, who anchored the Irish to wins in the 4-mile Relay (17:54.3) and…