Forgotten White Athletes?

mastermulti

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Australia's 33 year old javelin record holder Jarrod Bannister (89.02m or 293') died in the Netherlands last night. Cause not yet disclosed, but it is understood he was in Europe training to get a decent mark for Commonwealth Games selection. Here's an interesting story from 3 years ago - a story oft repeated, I fear, when a good athlete all of a sudden gets to world class.
Coaches who have guided them to success for a decade get squeezed out by smooth talking, money grabbing lawyers and professional managers. Then that athlete is out of his depth
(Wariner and Clive Hart?)

https://www.runnerstribe.com/features/594-2/
 

Avante

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John Roderick a 9.3 sprinter/footballer from SMU

Tom Jones who won the NCAA 200 from UCLA

Jerry Tarr a great hurdler who ran leadoff on a WR Oregon team

Richmond Flowers a hurdlerr.sprinter.footballer out of Tenn

Jerry Bright a stud 20om sprinter at ASU


Ollan Cassell a world class 400m man at Houston

Mike Larrabee the 1960 Oly 400m champ, out of USC.

Whatever happened to this guy?


1 Frank Lombardi Los Angeles LA ## 09.6 100Y 1928
2 Frank Wykoff Glendale S 100Y 1928
3 Leslie Gray Stockton SJ 100Y 1928
4 Ralph Gilbert Santa Barbara S 100Y 1928

Lombardi ran a HS 9.6 in 1928 beating future great Frank Wykoff then he just vanished.
 
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Don Wassall

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John Roderick a 9.3 sprinter/footballer from SMU

Tom Jones who won the NCAA 200 from UCLA

Jerry Tarr a great hurdler who ran leadoff on a WR Oregon team

Richmond Flowers a hurdlerr.sprinter.footballer out of Tenn

Jerry Bright a stud 20om sprinter at ASU


Ollan Cassell a world class 400m man at Houston

Mike Larrabee the 1960 Oly 400m champ, out of USC.

Whatever happened to this guy?


1 Frank Lombardi Los Angeles LA ## 09.6 100Y 1928
2 Frank Wykoff Glendale S 100Y 1928
3 Leslie Gray Stockton SJ 100Y 1928
4 Ralph Gilbert Santa Barbara S 100Y 1928

Lombardi ran a HS 9.6 in 1928 beating future great Frank Wykoff then he just vanished.

Interesting isn't it how American Whites suddenly stopped running fast. Was this some kind of bizarre "extinction event" sort of like how the dinosaurs allegedly disappeared one day, or might there be other factors involved?
 

Carolina Speed

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Interesting isn't it how American Whites suddenly stopped running fast. Was this some kind of bizarre "extinction event" sort of like how the dinosaurs allegedly disappeared one day, or might there be other factors involved?
Here's another one: Bert Coan was another in a long list of Texas HS legends. He was known for his extraordinary speed. At 6'4, 215 lbs., Coan ran the 100 yard dash in 9.4! He was embroiled in recruiting issues in college, but as usual, he didn't get much attention in the NFL, but did manage to play for 7 years where he led the league in yds./att. in 1966 at 5.4 with the KC Chiefs.
 
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Here's another one: Bert Coan was another in a long list of Texas HS legends. He was known for his extraordinary speed. At 6'4, 215 lbs., Coan ran the 100 yard dash in 9.4! He was embroiled in recruiting issues in college, but as usual, he didn't get much attention in the NFL, but did manage to play for 7 years where he led the league in yds./att. in 1966 at 5.4 with the KC Chiefs.

Bert Coan was known as a player who was usually hurt when you needed him. BTW, Coan played in the AFL, not the NFL.
 

Avante

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Here's another one: Bert Coan was another in a long list of Texas HS legends. He was known for his extraordinary speed. At 6'4, 215 lbs., Coan ran the 100 yard dash in 9.4! He was embroiled in recruiting issues in college, but as usual, he didn't get much attention in the NFL, but did manage to play for 7 years where he led the league in yds./att. in 1966 at 5.4 with the KC Chiefs.

I'm a bit of a sprint nut/geek, I do keep up with it. And have been since the late 50's. While Coan was fast especially for his size and era, he wan't a 9,4 guy.

Coan ran 9.5w and 20.5w in Pasadena, TX on 26 April 1957 - with a following wind of 15mph - about 6.7 m/s. Legally he was about a 9.7/9.8 man.

If you can find where/when this 9.4 took place that would be great, but I doubt it exists.
 

jacknyc

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[QUOTE="
1 Frank Lombardi Los Angeles LA ## 09.6 100Y 1928
2 Frank Wykoff Glendale S 100Y 1928
3 Leslie Gray Stockton SJ 100Y 1928
4 Ralph Gilbert Santa Barbara S 100Y 1928

Lombardi ran a HS 9.6 in 1928 beating future great Frank Wykoff then he just vanished.[/QUOTE]

I did a little research on Lombardi, and apparently he ran that race with a 1 yard handicap.
He had false started, so he had start from a yard back from the others. I guess that was the rule back then.
So his 9.6 was actually run over 101 yds!
 

greyghost

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John riggins ran a 9.8 100 yards ...on ash as an 18yr old ....at 220 lbs ....mind bogglingly good.......had he not gone the nfl route riggins would have been a track star....
 

greyghost

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Still feel ...both hary and sime of the most gifted sprinters ever ....armins first 30 meters and simes “top end “ over 120 thru 150 ......all on ash ....nuts ..
 

booth

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Doc Blanchard was 6'0" and 210 lbs who ran a 10.0 100yd. ,also his backfield running mate Glen Davis who ran a 6.1. 60 yd. & a 9.7 100 yd. Might be the greatest backfield in college football history.
 

greyghost

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Wow ...glen davis running 6.1s ...that is serious potential ...and no doubt with that speed definitely the best backfield in college football ....how many weapons does a coach need ...
 

limitless

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I was watching some old races and came across this one. Pickering got second to Bolt. Craig's time was 10.08 with a 2.1 wind. His PB was 10.14. I wonder what his time would have been had that wind been 2.0.

 

mastermulti

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Craig certainly wasn't your high knee-lift , floating style sprinter ..... but he really muscled through when he was fit. Unfortunately he started getting injured a lot.
(Depending on ball skills of course) I could see him making some great breaks in rugby, making gaps and setting up or scoring loads of tries.
 

greyghost

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Yes ...it perplexes me how the culture of athletics in Oz has deminished.....right in the early 00s Oz had high quality athletes while competeing with other sports in a relatively small population base .....and now tray Williams gone to rugby ...I do hope browning stays true , as he has massive potential ....and re 400 ...forgotten athlete has to be Darren Clark ....how tough was it for him in back to back olympics .....Clark had a great coach too ....Australian athletics have to rethink their philosophies and not focus on middle distance or endurance events ....and Olympic committee of Oz has to steer clear of emphasizing team or tri Athlon ..Ie no money for real track athlete .......ah yes we need an ode to the great Peter Norman who could stick it to anybody over 200 m....
 

mastermulti

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around 2000 things seemed good because of the preceding 8 years of preparing to hold an Olympic Games but I feel it might have been a "green drought" as our farmers sometimes say (a little recent rain may give an impression of lushness and that all's well but underneath it's dry soil).
I can confirm I went to a schools track competition a month ago to see a new record for under 17 boys' 100 of 10.59. The I found out he's already been signed for rugby league. Really, as Trae Williams iterated, why bother to do so much work for no guarantee of a living to be made from it when rugby clubs offer perhaps a 50K annual salary the year out of school at 17/18 with the promise of much more to come.
These young guys talk to each other and know a low 10s doesn't make you an invitee to a meeting or offer any reward ..... even though that low 10 came only after working their butts off.

Another issue too is the fact that team sports will always draw those who want to socialise and/or have a support group around them, one with whom they can win or lose and not carry around a burden all their own
 

sprintstar

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I also believe that Aussie Athletics like Canadian Athletics is really pushing the black skin colour agenda in track and field.
 

greyghost

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To sprintstar ...firstly apologizes didn't reply sooner ...have been busy ...secondly interesting re build up to Sydney '00...and a question for you .......in your opinion do you think there is a way back for Australian track .? ..........and before I say field , I have to say yee lads have had some very talented long jumpers ....
 

greyghost

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Since connaughton the Canucks have had very few top end white athletes ....maybe the remnants of Francis era thought process still pervades the sub conscious of Canadian track ..
 

greyghost

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Really looking forward to seeing Devin Quinn indoors this winter ...he has such a massive upside ...I believe he has been training out of the armory New York ...
 

greyghost

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I think the first NCAA college meets ate begin of December .....roll on the indoors ...although the real quality comes first in January ...
 

greyghost

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It's about time another white sprinter went into the 6.4s ...over 60 .........whose y'all favorite .....think ..teeters and or Quinn .....orIndeed an injury free Julian reus ( when competeing in Germany ..no pressure ) .......I think Jan Volko the Slovak has serious indoor potential ....but he has been injury plagued ....Richard kilty said 2 years ago said Volko had the ability to go 6.4s ...and that along with UjAh ,,Volko was his biggest competitor in Europe .......there is a Greek 60 meter specialist whose name eludes me impressed many with his electric first 30/40 meters last year ........so look for this guy ..also quite young .......saying that I think joost van gool the Dutch sprinter is going to follow daphne schippers footsteps ( Mark my words ) .....
 

white lightning

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I present to you the gold medal winner in the 100 meters at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The Great Allan Wells :)
 
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