This Day in Track & Field, February 22, James Saunders wins NYC 24 hour race (1882), Browning Ross organizes meeting to launch RRCA (1958), A Crazy US Indoor (2014)by Walt Murphy

This Day in Track & Field–February 22

1882 – With 120 miles, James Saunders wins NYC’s 24 hour race & $100 prize

            http://planetultramarathon.wordpress.com/2008/10/18/the-history-of-the-6-day-race/

1911—The 4^th edition of the Millrose Games was held in front of 5,000 spectators at the Thirteenth Regiment Armory in Brooklyn,NY (on a Wednesday).

The NYAC’s Harry Gissing was the winner of the 1000-yards, the featured track event, in 2:18.8.

The 10-mile handicap race, a crowd favorite, was won by T.E. Nelson in 1:04:39.4 (with a 2-minute handicap. The race started in Bath Beach, with the last 2-miles taking place on the track.

The meet, which included a 5-mile bicycle race, was put on by the Millrose A.A., in conjunction with the Wanamaker store chain.

Gissing was one of many athletes who were featured in a trading card series that was published by the National Licorice Company.

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1911/02/23/104820440.html?pageNumber=10

1916–Binga Dismond runs 51.0 and upsets Ted Meredith in the 440y at the Games of St.Antony, which were held at the 47th Regiment Armory in Brooklyn,NY. Dismond went on to become a noted physician in Harlem.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=950DE4D9103FE233A25750C2A9649C946796D6CF

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2594046/

1958—Browning Ross, the “Father of Long Distance Running in the U.S.”, organized a meeting at the Paramount Hotel in New York whereby the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) was started. (From Gary Corbitt).

http://www.rrca.org/; http://www.rrca.org/about/history/

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

NY Times Obituary: http://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/30/sports/browning-ross-74-founder-of-road-runners.html

1959—Ted Corbitt (2:38:57), representing the New York Pioneer Club, wins the Cherry Tree Marathon, the precursor to the NY City Marathon. This was the first marathon conducted by the newly formed Road Runners Club: New York Association. The race had 12 starters and 6 finishers. Corbitt would be the club’s first President, with Vice President: Joe Kleinerman (Millrose AA), and Secretary – Treasurer: John Sterner (New York Pioneer Club). The club had 47 members in 1959, and today is over 60,000. Corbitt would become known as “The Father of Ultramarathon running” in the U.S. and took the lead in developing a system across the country that certifies that a road race-course has been accurately…