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750 to Compete in KU Relays
SEC. B LAWRENCE, KANSAS
50th Year, No. 125
Friday, April 17, 1953
Stadium Site of Top Sporting Events
Pictured below is Kansas' Memorial stadium, site of the 28th running of the Kansas Relays tomorrow. More than 750 athletes from 70 universities and colleges will meet in one of the nation's top events. About 1,500 high school athletes are competing in the events today.
Scholastic Events Open Meet Today
By CLARKE KEYS
A nation-wide cast of all-star athletes will be on the campus tomorrow for the 28th running of the Kansas Relays. More than 700 of the country's best track men from about 70 schools will run for the glory.
One of the highlights of the affair will be the resumption of the colorful Relays parade before noon.
The meet was kicked off this morning as 1,500 Kansas High school athletes started their way through the 49th annual Interscholastic meet and 10 men completed the first five events of the tough decathlon, but the big end of the two-day period doesn't start until 9 a.m. tomorrow with the running of the 110-meter decathlon high hurdles.
First event for the university and college boys will be the shot put preliminaries at 10 a.m. One final, the discus, will be run off in the morning, but the 25-event show otherwise will be confined to the afternoon session of finals.
The opening ceremony with the KU band will begin at 1:15.
All eyes will be on the host Kansas Jayhawkers as they attempt to dominate the university class in their own meet. Victors in the sprint and distance medleys and two and four-mile relays in the Texas Relays three weeks ago, the Kansans will likely limit themselves to three events here, probably the two medleys and the four-mile event.
Coach M. E. "Bill" Easton has his crew working on its second straight attempt at sweeping both the distance and four-mile events in the Texas, Kansas, and Drake Relays.
But the Jayhawkers won't be the whole show. With five Olympic performers on the turf andinders, action promises to be fast and furious and, with a break from the weather, several records could go into the books.
Southwestern teams are expected to have the upper hand in most relay events, although they will be meeting teams from the Big Ten conference for the first time this season. Besides the 23 university and college events, Kansas high schools will run a mile relay and teams from Kansas City, Mo, high schools a half-mile relay.
'23 Beginning, Fabled Stars of Event Recalled on 28th Birthday of Meet
By CHUCK MORELOCK
The greatest collection of track and field stars in the country will assemble tomorrow for the 28th renewal of the Kansas Relays.
Since its inaugural in 1923, the KU Relays has grown bigger each year until it presently ranks as one of the nation's outstanding athletic events.
The first running of the Kansas Relays was April 23, 1923, and satiled a lifetime dream of Dr. John O'Neill, a university alumnus. Dr. O'Neill got the idea for a big KU track and field show when he was taking graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania, home of the annual Penn Relays, one of the nation's top meets.
A score of colleges and universities entered the first running of the Relays, but Kansas proved to be a rather impolite host by winning the 440 and 830-yard relays, finishing second in the mile relay, third in the two-mile relay, and taking two individual titles.
All the Missouri Valley teams were represented, some of the Big Ten squads, several Southwest conference teams, and the University of Pennsylvania. The meet was held in a driving rain.
The event gained in national importance the following year, which saw teams from coast-to-coast entered. Little Occidental college of California traveled 2,500 miles to
normals travel. Give one of the biggest grand slams in Relays's history by taking four baton events with record-breaking
times in addition to winning the quarter-mile relay.
The 1925 Relays, insured for $4,000 against rain, was one of the most eventful track meets in history as three world records were shattered. The referee was the late Knute Rocke, head football coach at Notre Dame.
The 1927 meet suffered from a shortage of talent since only 44 teams entered, a drop from the previous years. But Phog Allen, Kansas basketball coach, saved the day the following year by introducing the decathlon and marathon.
Rain protected all records in 1932, a year which saw little Pittsburg State Teachers walk off with most of the honors. In 1933, the Pittsburg mile relay team set a college class record of 3:17.3 which lasted for 18 years.
Things ran smoothy until 1921 when Efg Six officials met to consider banning the Relays. But the ban was not approved and the meet that year was one of the best of all time. Alonzo Stagg was the referee.
years.
A special mile race between the immortal Glenn Cunningham and Gene Venczke featured the 1934 Relays, which drew a crowd of 10,060. Cunningham nipped his arch-rival to win in 4:12.7. Emporia State Teachers college broke what was then the world record in the distance medley with a 10:32.7 performance.
About 10,000 turned out for the 1937 running, in which the great Emporia State distance runner San Romani defeated Cunningham despite a nifty 4:14.1 mark.
Eight records were erased in 1935, one of the best years in Relays' history. Glenn Morris gave a great decathlon performance the following year to walk off with individual honors.
Cunningham ran his last mile in 1949, but was defeated by Blain Rideout of North Texas State who came home in a smoking time of 4:10.1.
Eight marks went down the drain in 1938. A record gathering of 12-000 saw Cunningham come back to win the special mile in 1939.
Indiana dominated the meet in 1941, the last year the Relays were held under normal conditions. World War II stepped in the next year, forcing the event to use an abundance of Big Six talent. The 1943, 1944, 1945 Relays were cancelled because of the world conflict.
The first post-war running in 1946 got off to a steady start and saw respectable performances all
(Continued on page 9)
Relays Records
Kansas Relays contestants will have some mighty tough records to shoot at when the 28th annual Jayhawker games open tomorrow.
Some of the marks have been around a long time, too, no less than nine having been established before 1940. The oldest on the books is Cy Leland's 100-yard dash mark of :09.4.
But the ink still isn't dry on five records established last year despite adverse weather conditions.
KANSAS RELAYS RECORDS
Special Events
120-yard High Hurdles, 13.6, Harrison Dillard, Baldwin-Wallace 1948
100-yard Dash, 109.4, Cy Leland, Texas Christian 1930
Mile Run, 4:10.1,'Don Gehrmann, Wisconsin 1949
Baine Rideout, North Texas, State 1948
1500 Meter Run, 3:53.3, Glenn Cunningham, Kansas 1933
Meta Steeplechase, 9:27.0, Powell Indiana 1934
400 Meter Hurdles, 32.5, Lee Yoder, Arkansas 1949
High Jump, 6' 8 3/16', Robert Walters, Texas 1949
Broad Jump, 25' 4 3/8', Ed Gordon, Iowa 1951
Pole Vault, 15' 1/8', Don Cooper, Nebraska 1951
Shot Fail, 58' 3/8', Charles Porvell, Tennessee 1948
Throw, 171' 6 3/4', Arlene Harris, Indiana 1941
Javelin Throw, 229 2 1/4', Alton Terry, Hardin-Simmons 1952
Hop-Step-Jump, 47' 2', Jim Gerhardt, Rice 1952
Relays—University Class
Quarter-mile Relay, :40.5, Iowa 1933
Half-mile Relay, 1:25.2, Iowa, 1935, and Texas 1932
Mile Relay, 3:14.8, Oklahoma 1932
Two-mile Relay, 7:41, Oklahoma A&M 1949
Four-mile Relay, 17:15.3, Kansas 1952
Sprint Medley Relay, 3:24.3, Oklahoma 1950
Distance Medley Relay, 10:09.7, Michigan 1950
Relavs—College Class
Half-mile Relay, 1:28.0, North Texas State
Half-mile Relay, 3:24.0, Alabama State
Two-mile Relay, 7:48.4, Ableton Christian
Sprint Medley Relay, 3:27.1, Compton Jr. College
Intention Medley Relay, Reeves Baken 1940 and Drury
Intention Medley Relay, 10:06.0, North Texas State
1940
Relays—Junior College Class
Sprint Medley Relay, 3:36.0, Fort Scott ...1939
Half-mile Relay, 1:31.6. Southwest ... 1946
Relays-Kansas High School Class
Mile Relay, 3:31.4, Wichita East ... 1949