Page 16 University Daily Kansan Friday. April 18, 1958
'Phog's Folly' One Of Nation's Top Track Shows
The Kansas Relays, a life-long dream of Dr. John Outland are now a reality that draw the nation's best athletes as well as the top high school athletes in Kansas. They have become a 2-day event which draw 15,000 spectators and feature two queens, now a true mark of distinction.
The conception of the Kansas Relays was made by Dr. John Outland, a former KU student who graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, which has its own famous Penn Relays. Dr. Outland got his idea for the Kansas Relays from the Penn Relays.
In 1919 Dr. Forrest C. (Phog) Allen became the manager of athletics at KU and in 1320 he became director of athletics, Dr. Outland had told him of his plans to have the KU Relays, and Dr. Allen realized that the farther south a relays was held, the better the opportunity would be for a good meet.
At that time football was played at McCook Field. This field was situated running east and west with its north edge at the point where Memorial Stadium begins
its bend in the horseshoe. There was no 220-yard straightaway track at McCook Field. The new Memorial Stadium was planned to have the long straightaway and it was the fourth university in the United States to have one, Harvard, Yale and Princeton preceded Kansas.
At first the project was called "Phog's Folly."
"Bill Easton has done a big job in making the Relays what it is today," Allen said.
The first Relays was held in 1923, and was appropriately won by Kansas. Earle McKown, Emporia Teachers' great pole vaulter, won the first of his three titles by vaulting 12 feet 9 inches. Almost every event was run in a steady rain.
In the 1925 Relays, Kansas and Illinois smashed world records in the 440 and 880-yard relays. McKown set an intercollegiate record of 13 feet 27% inches in his event. Kansas' quarter mile tour-some ran in 42 seconds flat and Illinois won the 889 in 1,27.0$.
with Jim Bausch, Kansas' football-track star, leading the parade by setting a new American and Kelavs mark in the decathlon.
Six records were broken in 1931
1935 was a great year as eight records were set. Elwyn Dees, Jayhawker shot-putter, won his event with a record 51 feet 3% inches. Two months later, he became NCAA champion. Glenn Cunningham, KU's great distance star who had made a habit of winning the mile or 1500 meters run, was defeated by Oklahoma's Glenn Dawson in 4:17.4.
Eight more records were broken in 1933 as ten thousand fans watched under sullen skies.
Cunningham ran his last special mile in 1840 in the event that bears his name, Elmer Hackney, Kansas State, won his third straight shot put title with a 49 foot 5-3 inch heave.
The worst rain and cold in Kansas Relays' history held performances down in 1947. No records were broken that year.
Two world records were broken before 10,000 kins in 1948. Dillard ran the 120-yard high hurdles in 13:56 and Michigan's Charles Fon-
ville threw the shot 58 feet %
inch.
Oklahoma's Bill Carroll was voted to have achieved the most outstanding feat when he cleared 14 feet 5 inches in the pole vault in 1950 to break an 11-year old mark held by Beefus Bryan of Texas at 14 feet 2 inches.
Nebraska's Don Cooper set a national collegiate record the next year in the same event when he cleared 15 feet $ ^{18} $ inch. However, the mark lasted only two hours before Don Laz of Illinois sailed 15 feet $ ^{14} $ inches in a triangular meet at Los Angeles after hearing of Cooper's feat.
Wes Santee, KU's sophomore distance star, was named "Most Outstanding Performer" for 1952 by anchoring the winning 4-Mile relay team in 4:11.6 and running a 3:02.0 three-quarters in the Distance Medley, which KU also won.
Darrow Hooper, Texas A&M's great weight-man was "Most Outstanding Performer" in 1953 for winning his third twin-crown in the shot put and discus. This was the first relays performer to accomplish this feat. Thane Baker, Kansas State's Olympic spinner, won his third consecutive 100-yard dash time when he ran :10.0.
Kent Floerke, Kansas freshman, won the Hop-step-jump and set a record at 49-feet $ \frac{1}{2} $ - inch in the 1955 Relays.
In 1956 Kansas' Bill Nieder, who a week earlier became the first collegian to reach 60 feet in the shot put, set a Relays mark of 50 feet 77.8-inches. Parry O'Brien threw 60-feet $2\frac{1}{2}$-inches on an exhibition basis.
The world 440 relay record was broken in 1957 when the Texas team—Wally Wilson, Eddie Southern, Hollis Gainey and Bobby Whilden—ran the event in 39.. This lowered the team's listed world mark of 40.2 and its pending 40.1 record set in the Relays in 1956. Kansas became the first college team in history to dip below 17:00 in the 4-mile relay, clocking an intercollegiate mark of 16:57.8. Missouri's Charles Batch ran the fastest 120-high hurdles flight in conference history, 14:1, to upset Southern in that race.
Bill Nieder Top Kansas Shot Putter
Whether or not Bill Nieder, former Jayhawker star, would compete in the 1958 Kansas Relays was still unknown when KU track coach Bill Easton left with his team for the Texas Relays March 27.
Nieder threw the shot 62 feet 2 inches in the 1957 Relays to defeat Olympic champion Parry O'Brien, who could do no better than 59 feet 1 inch. This was a special event.
In the 1936 Relays Nieder broke the Relays record while throwing 59 feet 7/7 8 inches, Charles Fonville of Michigan set the record in 1948
turrowing 58 feet 1/8 inch. O'Brien competed on an exhibition basis and threw 60 feet 2% inches.
"We would like to get both Nieder and O'Brien this year. However, we have just sent out the entry blanks, so we don't know if they can come." Easton said.
Nieder is now in the Armed Forces and has been competing in meets on the West Coast.
He finished second behind O'Brien in the Olympic games of 1956 in Melbourne, Australia. He was also
the first collegian to break the 60-foot mark, doing just that only a week before the 1956 Relays. Twice he won the Texas-Kansas-Drake Relays Grand Slam, setting records at each one. All this was done despite a knee injury which ruined his chances for a promising football career, and slowed his start in shotputting.
If Nieder and O'Brien do compete here, the spectators can expect to see a good exhibition by two of the world's best shot putters.
Spring Sports In Full Swing
BATTER UP—Members of the baseball team await their turn in the batting cage during practice.
ITS IN THERE—A Kansas pitcher slips a fast one by the batter during practice.
LYNN SIEVERLING returns to Gene Kane in tennis practice.
Top Team Despite Weak Net Program
KU's tennis team this year is in "pretty fair" shape in spite of a generally weak tennis program which doesn't seek to bring in top players.
The team is expected to finish possibly as high as third in the Big Eight and no lower than fifth. Teams shaping up better than Kansas are Oklahoma, last year's league champion, Oklahoma State and Colorado.
The team, which plays a 12-match dual schedule this year, took third place last year behind Oklahoma and Colorado.
Lost from last year's team is Bob Riley, the 1955 conference champion, and Ron Bevers, a semifinalist in the No.4 singles, who did not return to KU for the second semester.
Four lettermen did return from last year's team to give a new coach, Denzel Gibbons, something to work with.
The four are Bob Peterson, Emporia senior. who was No. 2 last year behind Riley; Lynn Sieverling, Burdett junior; Bob Mettlen, Hutchinson senior, and Gene Kane, Kansas City, Kan. junior.
Peterson and Sieverling finished second in conference doubles last year, and Mettlen was a semifinalist in the No. 5 singles. Kane lettered two years ago and did not compete last year.
No players are on scholarships this year. Riley was on a part time scholarship last year. Gibbons, said a few players would probably have scholarships next year.
The tennis program at KU does not include recruiting players. The quality of the team depends entirely on who happens to come to the University and decides to go out for tennis.
Gibbons has ranked his traveling team in this order: 1. Peterson, 2. Sieverling, 3. Mettlen, 4. Kane, 5. Jerry Williams, Olathe sophomore.
"Tennis interest at KU is pretty high." Gibbons said. "Sixteen boys turned out for tryouts. I haven't cut anybody yet and I don't think I will."
Three sophomores Gibbons said showing promise are Phil Trotter, Kansas City, Kan.; William Sheldon, Salina, and David Lee Coupe, Arkansas City.
Prospects for next year's team can't be determined yet, he said. Peterson, Nettlen and Kane will not return to play next year. Sieverling and Williams will be back.
Several freshmen have been working out, Gibbons said, but they are not concentrated on until later in the year or until they are sophomores.
Big 8 Ranks High In Nation In 1958 Spring Sports
Sweeping triumphs in the NCAA wrestling meet at Laramie and in the Texas relays at Austin for athletes of the Big Eight conference projected the league even more firmly into the national sports picture.
Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Oklahoma university came 1-2-3 in the national championship wrestling meet with Kansas voted the outstanding team in the Texas Relays. The Javahawkers were backed sensationally at Austin by the Sooners and Cowboys from Oklahoma, and Nebraska.
So emphatically did the Big Eight wrestling giants control the NCAA mat meet that it was the midland
conference all the way. Team scoring: Oklahoma State 77, Iowa State 62, Oklahoma 50, Michigan State 35, Iowa 26, Illinois 22, Cornell and Wyoming 16 each and Pittsburgh 15. OSU set a new all-time high total. Big Eight stars won six of the 10 individual weights.
Track men from the Big Eight won four of seven relays at Texas and four of 11 individual events. They accounted for three of eight records.
The first mile Wes Santee ran was a 4.06.7 in the anchor carry of the 4-mile relay at Drake in 1952 as a sophomore.