This Day in Track & Field History, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, Lehigh defeats Lafayette in duel meets (1881), Bob Seagren sets PV WR (1966), Jan Merrill sets Mile AR (1977), by Walt Murphy’s News and Results Services

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This Day in Track & Field–May 14

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

1881–Lehigh defeated Lafayette in their first dual meet.

From Wikipedia: “The first joint athletic track and field event held between the two institutions was on May 14, 1881, on the grounds of the Lehigh University Athletic Association. The meet consisted of fourteen events; Hundred Yards Dash, Half-Mile Run,  Throwing the Hammer, Running High Jump, 440 Yards Dash, Mile Walk, Putting the Shot, Running Broad Jump, 220 Yards Dash, Mile Run, Pole Vaulting, 120 Yards Hurdle Race, Bicycle Race, Standing High Jump, and Tug of War. Lehigh emerged with a decisive victory, winning ten of the fourteen events.

     As a sign of the intense rivalry that would develop between these two schools, an article in Lafayette’s student newspaper, the Lafayette College Journal, called the loss a “defeat in our recent contest with Lehigh University, -a defeat, too, doubly humiliating, coming, as it did, from an adversary in every other respect our inferior.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rivalry_(Lehigh-Lafayette)

1885/1887—Penn’s Billy Page became the 1^st American to top the 6-foot barrier in the High Jump, clearing 6-1/4 (1.835) in Philadelphia. On the same date two years later, he cleared 6-1(1.855), also in Philadelphia. He set a total of 8 American Records in the pre-AAU era and won 3 IC4A and 3 U.S. titles (1885-1887).

1910—Harvard beat Yale, 52 ½-51 ½, on its home track as D. P. Ranney beat F. A. Reilly by inches to get 2nd place in the final race of the day, the 220y, to win the meet for the Crimson.

1966—19-year-old Bob Seagren set the first of his four World Records (and the first of his seven American Records) in the Pole Vault, clearing 17-5  ½ (5.32) at the West Coast Relays in Fresno, CA. Fred Hansen set the previous record of 17-4 in 1964 (ratified as 5.28/17-3  3/4).

Seagren had a Hall-of-Fame career, including a gold medal at…