This Day in Track & Field History, March 26, Ben Eastman sets WRs for 400 meters/440 yards

Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service  (wmurphy25@aol.com)

This Day in Track & Field–March 26

1932–Stanford’s Ben Eastman set World Records for 400-meters and 440-yards when he ran 46.4 in Palo Alto. Bud Spencer, who held the previous 400 record (47.0), wrote in his biography on Eastman’s coach, Dink Templeton-”High Above the Olympians”–”Templeton was surely the only man in track history who coached a runner to a world record from a hospital bed while getting a high enema.

Templeton, who had been stricken with fulminating arthritis five months before, was about to supply last minute instructions–by a special telephone hookup”. Templeton–“Ben, the executioner is here and these may be my last words, so listen carefully. You’re ready to knock a second off the easiest record in the book. Get this in your noodle, I want you to tear-ass right from the gun, going just as fast as you can all the way without straining. Run easily but run like hell, and when you hit the turn keep running. That’s where you been losing time. Keep running even if you have to crawl home on your hands and knees, but don’t let up”. (From the IAAF’s World Records Progression Book).

(Both men are members of the National Hall of Fame)

https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/ben-eastman

https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/robert-lyman-dink-templeton

1955–Just ten days after finishing 2nd to Arnie Sowell in the 800-meters at the Pan-American Games in Mexico City,  former Cal Bear Lon Spurrier ran 1:47.5 on his home-track in Berkeley to set a world record for 880-yards.

With coach Brutus Hamilton shouting encouragement from trackside, Spurrier ran by himself the entire race as he took down the previous mark of 1:48.6, which was set by Denmark’s Gunnar Nielsen in 1954. (It should be noted that the World Record for 800-meters at the time was 1:46.6).

Spurrier Link: http://tinyurl.com/ygxbosb

Hamilton was a charter member of the National Hall of Fame

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutus_Hamilton

1960–A week after Bill Nieder had taken the Shot Put World Record away from him, Dallas Long moved back on top with his mark of 64-6 ½ (19.67) in L.A., only to have Nieder regain the record a week later with a monster throw of 65-7 (19.99) at the Texas Relays in Austin.

WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_shot_put_world_record_progression

https://vault.si.com/vault/1960/04/25/the-shotput-explosion

1998–Australia’s Emma George twice raised the World…