University Daily Kansan, April 22, 1983
Page 3
KU dons pink and blue with pride
By EVELYN SEDLACEK Sports Writer
It has been 33 long years, but Bill Easton, former KU men's track coach, cannot forget March 5, 1980, during the finals of the Big Seven Indoor Conference track meet in Kansas City, Mo.
once track piece in Alaska. Easton said that he and a crowd of people listened with disbelief when officials announced the results of the 60-yard high hurdles. All the spectators had seen KU's Jack Greenwood cross the finish line in third, but the officials hadn't.
The smiles that had tugged at the corners of Easton's mouth seconds before the judges' announcement turned into angry shouts of protest. According to the judges, Jack Greenwood had vanished into thin air.
In all of the confusion and turmoil, the athletes were called back to the finish line. Each of them in turn confirmed that Greenwood had finished in third place.
I WAS THAT incident that spurred Easton into action. He was determined to make sure nothing like that would ever happen again.
When the Jayhawks returned home, Easton immediately set up a team meeting. At the meeting the team decided to compile a list of things that could have led to the judges' mistake.
The consensus among the team members was that the Jayhawks' undistinguishable uniform — white pants with blue and red trim and a dark blue jersey — had blended in and was lost in the group of runners.
out. The team's solution was to buy a uniform that would make them, according to Easton, "stand out in the crowd."
SHINY FLUORESCENT pink shorts and baby-blue jerseys soon became the official colors that represent members of the Jayhawk track team. The letters KANSAS were splashed across the front of the jerseys and were the same fluorescent pink as the shorts.
The colors carried through even to the Jayhawks' shoes. Until two years ago, Nike made pink and blue spiked shoes for both KU teams. They stopped making them because of differences in the shape of each athlete's foot. Since then members of the team have been buying baby-blue shoes with white
"swoosh stripe" and painting the trim
pink with shoe dye.
From 1850 until 1977 the men's track team was the only KU队 that carried on the tradition of the pink and blue
blue. In 1977, though, that all changed. The KU women's track team donned the bright colors and joined a tradition that had been carried on by the men's team for so long.
THE WOMEN WENT away from the pink and blue in 1880, wearing dark blue uniforms with white trim and KU printed in red in the upper left-hand corner of the jersey.
corner of the jersey.
Last year the team wore new blue uniforms with red trim. The new uniforms featured red, white and blue stripes down the sides of the jerseys and blue tights.
in the right lights.
"The only reason that the team had switched to different uniforms had been because the shorts were too tight around the leg area," Carla Coffey, KU women's head track coach, said.
"It was hard for the hurdlers to bring their legs up and over the hurdle without the elastic tightening to the point it became painful."
This year the women's team has converted back to pink and blue.
Both teams have combined forces to fight the pink and blue "sissy" reputation, and as Warren Wilhoite, KU long jumper, said, "Having the women's team back on our side wearing the colors adds a note of tradition to an already powerful program."
ATHLETES AND spectators from across the country, expecting the stair crismon and blue, have been astonished when they saw the women wearing pink, but even more so when they saw the men.
he hnnt.
"I remember the crowd's reaction real well at one meet," Sanya Owolabi. KU triple jumper, said.
"they were laughing and making so much fun of the men for wearing those colors that I was embarrassed to take off my sweat pants," she said. "All of that has changed now, and I'm real proud to be able to wear them."
proud to say that I "can also say that hearing so much about those colors was one thing that drew me to Kansas."
"I love them and it's an honor to wear something traditional," burdrier Connie McKernan said. "At the Texas Relays two weeks ago, I was offered $200 for the shorts. Here on campus at KU, people ask me if I can swipe a pair."
drew me to tennis.
As one other athlete on the men's track team said, "When else can a guy wear pink?"
AT FIRST SIGHT the colors were embarrassing for newcomers to the Jayhawk squad. With time, the athletes said, the pink and blue grew on them and they became proud of the colors.
it Mckernan answered "yes", it would have been difficult for her to accomplish. All shorts and tops are shorted for because of value and scarcity.
"We're the only team in the United States that wears those colors." Coffey said. "And the Tiernan Company from Glendale, California, is the only company that makes them."
pinyin that the athletes used words like unique, rare, class and stunning, to describe their colors.
"It's like one big tradition. The girls, the guys, one uniform and one team," said Becky McGranahan, shot-putter and disc thrower. "I feel proud because it's a unique idea and I'm unique in the way that I'm representing the University."
FROM THE FRONT or back, at almost any distance, the uniforms can be easily identified, which was Easton's intention.
"They we become such a part of the University that it's a part of a winning tradition," said Mark Hanson, long jumper.
Soviets to receive traditional watches
By RUSTY FABER Staff Reporter
Keeping with tradition, the 88th edition of the Kansas Relays will be awarding watches to all event winners. But this year, there's been an added twist thrown in.
A contingent of 20 world-class Soviet athletes are coming to Lawrence to compete against the collegians in the second Relays to be closed on open competitions. So to be fair to the collegiate athletes in the meet, Relays athletes will be decided to award each Soviet athlete a Relays watch while still honoring the accomplishments of the collegiate winners.
AND ALSO KEEPING with tradition, Marks Jewelers of Lawrence will be the distributor of the awards.
Richard Yeakel, a Lawrence resident and co-owner of Marks Jewelers, said that Kansas University had ordered 70 men's and 44 women's timepieces. The cost of each men's watch is $29.70, Yeakel said, while the men's cost approximately $33 apiece.
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The men's watch is a Caravelie by KANSAS and has the inscription "KANSAS RELAYS-1983 — printed on the face of the watch. There is a running shoe on the lower half of the watch face. It also features a stainless steel expansion band, according to Yenkel.
THE WOMEN'S WATCH is also a Caravelave with an identical inscription on the front. There is no window, and the face on the face, Yekai said.
In addition to all the first place watches, KU has ordered 20 men's and 20 women's watches for the invited Soviet athletes. But they will receive a Caraveline Quartz watch, Yeakeil said, because the availability of the original watches ran short.
Ykeel noted that the late Soviet decision to attend the relays, which hosts some of the country's outstanding track and field athletes, was the result of a watch. The cost of the 40 additional watches will be $1,314.
THE TOTAL COST for the 154 watches (70 men's, 44 women's, 40 Soviet) purchased for the relays is $8,485. Donations from local organizations and contributors will cover the expenses of the awards.
Carla Coffey, women's head track
coach, believes that although the costs of giving such awards are high, it's something that should continue.
"It's a traditional thing. We're running a classy event and I think we need classy awards," Coffey said, "I like them and I'm sure the athletes do too."
athletes ob 300.
Marks Jewelers, founded in 1899,
began distributing the watches and
engraving trophies for the Kansas
Relays, many years ago. Julius Marks began the tradition as the owner and founder of Marks Jewelers. When Marks died, the tradition did not. Delbert Eisele carried on with the trend before selling out to Yeakell and his current partner Brad Parsons last April.
"THERE ARE A LOT of hours of hard work that go into preparing the watches and trophies for the Relays." Yeekel said. "I could estimate approximately 75-100 hours went into these awards. I can remember spending whole Sundays here in the basement just engraving these awards so they would be ready in time for the Relays."
1950-1983
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