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University Daily Kansan Friday, April 19, 1957
Nieder Sights Third Straight Victory In Relays Shotput
Bill Nieder, KU's Olympic silver medal winner, will be shooting for his third consecutive victory in the shotput event at this year's Kansas Relays.
He won the event in 1955 with a mark of 56 feet, $ 9 \frac{1}{2} $ inches. In 1956 he won first place with a throw of 59 feet, $ 7 \frac{1}{2} $ inches to better the old Relays record of 58 feet, $ \frac{1}{2} $ inch, set by Chuck Fonville of Michigan in 1948.
In 1956 he was competing with O'Brien. O'Brien了 duel with a toss of 60 feet, $2\frac{1}{2}$ inches, but since he was competing on an exhibition basis, his mark did not go down in the Relais records.
Nieder, however, will not be wearing a Kansas uniform this year. He has used his three years of varsity eligibility, and will compete unattached.
Bill is one of only three athletes who have put the 16 pound iron ball over the 60 foot mark. Other members of this trio are world record holder Parry O'Brien of the University of Southern California, and Ken Bantum of Manhattan College.
Nieder first accomplished the feat in a dual meet with Oklahoma A & M on April 16 of last year with a tos of 60 feet, 3 inches.
This effort erased the old collegiate record of 59 feet, $2\frac{1}{2}$ inches set by O'Brien in 1953.
Big Seven Record Holder
Other laurels of the Lawrence native include the Big Seven indoor record he set in March of 1956 with a mark of 59 feet, $9\frac{1}{2}$ inches. He also is a three-time Big Seven outdoor champion, setting the record of 60 feet, $3\frac{3}{4}$ inches in last year's meet at Kansas State.
He won the 1955 NCAA meet in Los Angeles with a toss of 57 feet, 3 inches, and then placed third in the national AAU meet.
All of these feats have been accomplished by a man injured so seriously as a sophomore, that it was doubted that he would ever walk again.
At the time of the injury Nieder was playing in his first varsity football game, and was rated as potentially one of the best ever to put on a Kansas uniform.
After returning from the Olympics, Nieder returned to school to complete work on his degree in education.
His left knee, however, was seriously injured and Bill was never able to play football again. Only through long hours of practice and exercise has he made himself into a champion.
Practices Daily
He has been readying himself for this year's spring track meets by working out for two hours every day in Allen Field House.
After competing in the Kansas Relays and the Drake Relays, Bill will shift his attention to the various meets on the West coast where he will again face O'Brien.
O'Brien's world record is 63 feet, 3 inches, while Nieder's best official mark is 60 feet. 33/4 inches.
While stopping off at Hawaii en route to the Olympics, however, Bill heaved the iron ball well over 61 feet three different times. But since this was done in a-practice meet with his American teammates, the mark was not an official one.
Training Fieldmen Assistant's Job
KU's assistant track coach, Rex Grossert, works primarily with the fieldmen. He is working toward his master's degree in school administration.
He was a Little All-American football player while playing end for Doane college in 1949, and earned a total of 11 letters, in football, basketball and track.
Before coming to KU, Mr. Grosert coached at three Nebraska high schools, McCook, where he was an assistant for the 1950-1951 school year; York and Alliance, where he was head football and track coach.
—(Daily Kansan photo)
AND STILL CHAMPION—Bill Nieder, greatest shot-putter in Big Seven history and one of the world's all time best, was the first collegian to crash through the 60-foot barrier. He owns the 28 best puts in Big Seven history and is the only man beyond 56 feet. He was a religious worker on the weights during his college days and studied the event intensely through movies and personal observation.
—(Daily Kansan photo)
Colorado's Ken Yob may be the key man if the Big Seven is to keep the javelin title within its own ranks for the fourth consecutive year at the Kansas Relays. The string was started by Kansas' Don Sneegas and Les Bitner.
Yob Choice To Keep Javelin Crown In Big Seven Again.
DOUBLE EXPOSURE, YOU DUMMY—Twins Lou and Larry Stroup limber up for the mile relay. Both ran on the Jayhawker's winning 1956 conference mile relay team. Lou was second in the conference indoor quarter mile this year with a :50.2 effort and Larry was fourth. Lou holds the school 300-yard mark at :31.8, established against Michigan State during the indoor season. He twice clocked :48.5 in mile relay carries
last year.
The throw came in a meet that was meant to officially close the indoor season for the two schools. The javelin and discus throw were added to the regular indoor events, but, of course, were held outside
Yob established himself as the favorite by winning the javelin throw at the Texas Relays two weeks ago. His 222 feet 1 inch toss broke the Texas Relays record of 220 feet 8 inches set by Bitner in 1956.
Yob's best toss came in a Colorado-Nebraska dual meet this year when he heaved the spear 225 feet $2\frac{1}{2}$ inches. This was the sixth best throw of all-time by a Big Seven javelin thrower. It elevated him to third on the league's all-time list, trailing only Bitner, whose peak is 246 feet 1 inch, and Iowa State's Jake Muehlenhalter, who tossed the javelin 226 feet $1\frac{1}{2}$ inches last year.
The Buffalo took only one throw, which turned out good enough to break his own school record of 222 feet 10 inches, and smash the meet record set by Nebraska's Doug Gibson by almost 49 feet.
This toss established Yob as the greatest one-shot finger the Midlands has ever seen. At Manhattan last year he lifted Bitner's title and record on his only toss of the meet. He was nursing a strained side and knew he had to make good on his first effort. He did just this, when the javelin landed 222 feet 10 inches away, thereby breaking the record set by the conference's best all-time javelin thrower.
Yob's best toss placed him second in the latest national rankings, 10 feet back of USC's Bob Volles. His first effort of 1957 is also, only four feet back of Alton Terry's KU L霖 record of 229 feet $2\frac{1}{4}$ inches.
That mark has proved exceptionally enduring, and is now the fourth oldest on the books. Bitner, who threw beyond that mark three times, never could accomplish the feat at Relays time.
Semper Big 7's Best Two-Miler
The greatest two-miler in KU and league history was Herb Semper. The current challenger for this distinction, Jerry McNeal, must run even better than he has if he is to topple Semper's five-year old mark of 9:05 set in the NCAA meet in 1951.
Semper, a squat redhead from Forest Park, III., left the running scene the holder of both the conference indoor record of 9:07 and the outdoor record of 9:21.
Only Wes Santee's 5:38 for a then college record set in a triangular meet against Arkansas and Drake in 1954 to Tempers's record.
Semper was equally as good at the longer four-mile cross country event, winning two successive NCAA crowns in 1950 and 1951. The latter performance was in snow and biting winds at East Lansing, Mich.
His best mile time was a 4:11.7, a figure he reached in the anchor carry of the four-mile relay at the 1951 Drake Relays.
We know you'll enjoy your stay here at Lawrence and the University, and we extend to you our best wishes for the most thrilling weekend you've ever had. And when you come downtown don't forget to drop in and see us. We're only too happy to
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