This Day in Track & Field, April 23, Dyrol Burleson breaks Don Bowden’s AR for the mile, 3:58.6 (1960), by Walt Murphy

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

This Day in Track & Field–April  23

1904–Michigan’s Ralph Rose, all 6’6”, 250-pounds (1.98/113kg) of him, got the first of his seven American Records in the Shot Put with his toss of 48-2 (14.68) at the Penn Relays. Rose went on to win Olympic gold at the 1904 and 1908 Games (and silver in 1912). Other Penn winners who went on to win gold at that year’s Olympics in St.Louis were Michigan’s Fred Schule (110-hurdles) and NYU’s Samuel Jones (High Jump),

        Rose is just as well-known for his role as the first American flag-bearer at the Opening Ceremony at the 1908 Olympics in London. “When Rose (a proud Irish-American who had no love for the British) led the American brigade past King Edward VII’s royal box, he did something no other flag bearer dared: he refused to lower his nation’s banner in deference to the host nation’s leader,  stubbornly holding the stars and stripes perfectly vertical.”

For the 3^rd year in a row, Irv Orton anchored Penn to victory in the 2-mile relay, and Princeton’s John Dewitt won the Hammer Throw for the 3^rd time in 4 years.

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

1915— The Penn Relays went to a 2-day format (April 23-24) for the first time and added the sprint- and distance- medley relays to the schedule. Penn (3:33.4) and Yale (10:20.0) were the first winners of those events. Penn also won the mile relay, winning in 3:18.0 to take more than 3 seconds off the previous Relays Record. Ted Meredith, who had won Olympic gold in the 800 and 4×400 in 1912, anchored both of Penn’s winning teams.

1921–Charley Paddock set a World Record of 10.4 for 100-meters in Redlands, CA.

WR Progression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men’s_100_metres_world_record_progression

1926–Fordham’s Johnny Gibson won the first of his two collegiate 400m-hurdles races at the Penn Relays. Gibson went on to set a World Record of  52.6 to win the 1927 U.S. National title and was a semi-finalist at the 1928 Olympics. Gibson was the head coach at Seton Hall from 1945-1972.

Obituary: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/01/sports/othersports/01gibson.html?_r=1

1960—Dyrol Burleson ran 3:58.6 in Eugene to break Don Bowden’s 3-year old American Record of 3:58.7. Bowden had become the first American to break 4-minutes for the mile when he ran his 3:58.7 in 1957.