My Personal Sports/College History, 1950 - 55 - Part I

This blog is a continuation of my own psychological, historical, experiential life with the World of Sports. This period of my life now adds television to radio, newspaper, movie newsreels, and my own experiences.

Roger Bannister - 4 Minute Mile Attempt- 1954       

Seen On BBC News Television - It can now  be viewed on Youtube

The attempt to run the distance of one-mile in less than four minutes continued in several countries and at several major competitions.

Two Swedish runners, Gunder Hagg and Arne Andersson in a series of head-to-head races in the period 1942–45,  lowered the mile record - Andersson to 4:01.6 and Hagg to 4:01.4. Then there was a 9 year interruption by World War II.

After the war, a new set of runners took up the challenge. American Wes Santee ran a 4:02.4 on June 5,1953. At the end of the year, Australian John Landy ran a 4:02.0. Early in 1954, Landy made three more attempts in Melbourne, from January 21 to April 19, 1954 clocking results of 4:02.4, 4:02.6, and 4:02.6 again.

In England, Roger Bannister started his racing career at Oxford and represented England in the 800 meters, the 1500 meters, and the mile in European competitions.                     

The historic event took place on May 6, 1954 during a meet between British AAA and Oxford University in Oxford. There were seven men entered in the mile. The race went off as scheduled at 6:00 pm. Roger Bannister began his finishing kick with about half a lap to go and ran the last lap in just under 59 seconds.  

The stadium announcer was Norris McWhirter, who went on to co-publish and co-edit the Guinness Book of Records. He teased the crowd by delaying his announcement of Bannister's race time for as long as possible:

“Ladies and gentlemen, here is the result of event nine, the one mile: first, number forty one, R. G. Bannister, Amateur Athletic Association and formerly of Exeter and Merton Colleges, Oxford, with a time which is a new meeting and track record, and which—subject to ratification—will be a new English Native, British National, All-Comers, European, British Empire and World Record. The time was three…” The roar of the crowd drowned out the rest of the announcement. Bannister's time was 3 minutes 59.4 seconds.

46 days later, on June 21, 1954, Bannister's record was broken by John Landy with a time of 3 minutes. 57.9 seconds. At the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver 1954, Bannister won the mile race with the time of 3:58.8. 

“Records are made to be broken.” – Or are they?

There are many factors involved in the breaking of records.

Are those particular records important? To whom?

Who set the record that was broken?

How long has that record existed? Is it affected by external conditions?

Was it broken under the same conditions that it had been set in?

Will the change be based on better physical abilities?

Will the change be based on the usage of better thinking – is it mental?

Will the change be based on psychological factors?

Let’s consider some things that were broken or  have been accomplished:

The Sub 4 Minute Mile Barrier

First, we must note that the Sub 4 Minute Mile was not a Record. It was a Barrier or it’s a Can’t be Done event.

The record was held by Gunder Hagg at 4:01.4. No one cared that someone would run a 4:01 and set a new record. The Barrier was 4:00.0 and the Accomplishment had to be at least 3:59.9. Roger Bannister’s Accomplishment was that he ran the first sub 4 minute mile and that the new mile Record he set was 3:59.4.

On June 21, 1954, 46 days later, Bannister's record was broken by John Landy with a time of 3 minutes. 57.9 seconds. Until May 6, 1954, runners’ performances had been affected by a mindset that included a barrier of 4:00.0 for the mile run. The new Mind Set became - If he could do it, I can do it.

Who cared?   Every country who had a runner in the Olympics would have liked to have their runner accomplish this feat – especially the United States, Sweden, Australia, and England.

The current record holder is Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco with the time of 3:43.13.

Babe Ruth’s Season Home Run Record

It matters whose record is broken, such as those set by Babe Ruth. Playing with the New York Yankees, the Babe broke his own season home run record of 29 in 1920 with 54, he broke it with 59 in 1921, and again with 60 in 1927.

All of these seasons consisted of 154 games.

In 1961, two New York Yankee players, Mickey Mantle, a longtime Yankees star, a favorite of the fans and Roger Maris who had played for the Kansas City Athletics and the Cleveland Indians before being traded to the Yankees were in a race to break Ruth’s record.

Mid-September, Maris was leading Mantle 56 home runs to 53 when Mantle developed an infection in his hip, forcing him to stop playing. On Sept. 26, against the Baltimore Orioles, Maris hit his 60th home run to tie Ruth’s mark, and on October 1, the last day of the season he hit No. 61.

A real concern (outcry) broke out from the fans on the validity of this record because the American League had expanded from eight to 10 teams and had raised the number of games for the 1961 season from 154 to 162 games - the number of games played in the American and National Leagues today.

Was This My Introduction to Visualization in Sports?

In 1948, I was taking my first college course in Coaching. I had read an article in a golf magazine that I decided to share with my classmates. The author had said that he was stymied by a tree between his ball and the green. He said that he simply took a casual stance and set his club behind the ball. He then went through a process of “seeing” his ball going over the tree and onto the green. He allowed his feet to get into the correct stance and his hands to get into the appropriate grip. Then just getting relaxed, he hit the ball over the tree and onto the green. 

Well, I got some head shaking, some strange looks, and a few quizzical comments so I stored the information into my memory banks and silently completed my sharing. 

I will share my thoughts on visualization later when I talk about the Mahre brothers, Phil and Steve, who won Gold and Silver medals in the 1976 Winter Olympics and about Jack Nicklaus, the great golfer.     

My Bowling Story

After our soldiers, sailors, and marines returned home, two new sports prospored. The #1 spectator sport was softball - fast pitch and slow pitch - outside and under the lights. The #1 participation spot was bowling, men and women bowling in local lanes.

I participated at a high level in both fast pitch softball and bowling. Here is one of my happy bowling stories.

In 1952 to 1955, I was teaching a sixth grade class, coaching the junior high basketball teams, and assistant coaching the high school basketball team in DePue, a small town in Illinois. I was also bowing in a league in that town and in the major league in a larger city, LaSalle.

Bill Einert, the high school science teacher, suggested that I take the summer off and attend my first graduate courses with him and his friend at the University of Colorado. I had to decline; “I’d like to do that but I can’t afford it.”

Soon after that, I participated in a rather large bowling tournament in LaSalle. There were money awards for both team and personal high scores. My regular team included my brother, Joe, and three close friends. Our team did very well in the tournament - ending up near the winning team.

Meanwhile, I had bowled a 253 game and two small 200 games and was near the top of the personal game and series best scores. Money wise, I won $300 in 1953 money.  So, I spent part of my summer taking my first two graduate level courses and enjoying a vacation at the University of Colorado.

To be continued - next week