This Day in Track & Field History, April 28, 2024
1928— From Sports Illustrated: “In 1928, Charley Paddock, who had won gold medals in the 100-meter dash and 400-meter relay at the 1920 Olympics, and silver medals in the 200 in 1920 and 1924, asked that a 175-yard dash be added to the (Penn Relays) schedule so that he would have a chance to break his own world record of 17[4/5] seconds. “I am not exactly a youngster anymore,” the 27-year-old Paddock said before the race, “but, you know, I have always wanted to run here. When I was in Southern California, the college would never let me come on for the Penn races.”
“Little did Paddock know that he would end up running for his life. Shortly after 4 p.m. on April 28, the 175-yard dash went off. Paddock was challenged by three Penn sprinters, Folwell Scull, Lamoine Boyle, and John Ball. It was a wet day, but a good crowd had turned out. Halfway through the race, a 25-foot section of the brick wall bordering the track collapsed under the weight of the straining spectators, about 100 of them spilling onto the track, directly in the path of the sprinters. Paddock, who was in the lane nearest the wall, veered to his left without breaking stride and finished the race in the inside lane, nevertheless lowering his world record.”
Georgia Tech’s Ed Hamm won the Long Jump(23-8 [7.21]) for the second year in a row and went on to win Olympic gold in Amsterdam later in the year (after setting a world record of 25-11 1/8 (7.90)). A two-time NCAA Champion (1927, 1928), he would win at Penn for the third time in 1930.
Yale’s Sabin Carr also won Olympic gold in Amsterdam after setting a relay record of 13-0 (3.96+) in the Pole Vault.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/04/29/118338360.html?pageNumber=116
1928—Illinois ran 42.4 at the Drake Relays, tying the World Record in the 440y-Relay.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/04/29/118338362.html?pageNumber=116
1931 – Program for women athletes approved for 1932 Olympics track & field
1934—Hall of Famer Glenn Cunningham won the Penn Relays Mile in 4:11.8. (He would win again in 1938.) In June, Cunningham set a World Record of 4:06.8.
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