Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com)
This Day in Track & Field–January 24
1917—Running in front of 10,000 fans in Madison Square Garden, Joie Ray, leading from the gun, won the first of his 7 Wanamaker Mile-and-A Half titles at the Millrose Games. His winning time of 6:45.0 for the popular (at the time) distance was the fastest ever run in the U.S., indoors or outdoors.
After recovering from a recent bout of pneumonia, Ted Meredith held off Joseph Higgins to win the 600-yards in 1:14.6. Meredith was the gold medalist in the 800 meters and the 4×400 relay at the 1912 Olympics.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1917/01/25/102313996.html?pageNumber=10
1925– Paavo Nurmi was beaten for the first time on his U.S. tour, but he still set two more World Records. Running in a handicap 2000-yard race at the Brooklyn College A.A. meet at the Thirteenth Regiment Armory in Brooklyn, NY, Nurmi finished a step behind countryman Gunnar Nilson, who had a 100-yard head-start but still got credit for new marks at 1-1/8 miles (4:58.0) and 2000y (5:00.8).
However, Nurmi also lost two records, as Ville “Willie” Ritola won the 5000-meters in 14:39.4 to better Nurmi’s 18-day old mark of 14:44.6. Ritola also beat Nurmi’s record for 2-3/4 miles with his en-route time of 13:01.0 and improved his own mark for 3 miles (14:11.6).
Another world mark was set by a Georgetown lineup of Ed Brooks, Jack Holden, Willie Sullivan, and George Marsters, which won the 2-mile relay in 7:47.4. Fordham’s John Gibson, who would later set a World Record in the 440y-hurdles and would become the coach at Seton Hall (1945-1972), won the 1/4-mile in 52.8.
Other notable winners included Harold Osborn in the High Jump (6-4 [1.93]) and Loren Murchison in the 100-Meters (11.4). Osborn won gold medals in the High Jump AND the Decathlon(!) at the previous year’s Olympics in Paris, while Murchison would win 14 (at least- still checking) Millrose sprint titles.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1925/01/25/101635808.html?pageNumber=107
1969– Ron Clarke, Australia’s prolific record-breaker, picked up the indoor 3-mile best when he ran 13:12.6 in Oakland, California.
1969—Willie Davenport, the 1968 Olympic gold medalist in the 110m-Hurdles, set a World Indoor Record of…
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