RIP Dr Tony Waldrop - Share your remembrances here

I disagree. There was way more recognition back then. Him running a series of sub fours was nationally covered.just look at the covers of SI in the sixties and seventies compared to the 2000s. Before I ever thought about running I was aware of Ryun, Shorter, Liquori, and Wottle.

I disagree with your disagreement. A WR indoors today would be all over social media which reaches far more than magazine articles. I if didn't there would still be hard copy magazines and newspapers today which obviously there aren't.

...Whose name is spelled "Denis."

There's so many forms of social media you can't take it all in, but if all you have is sports illustrated and you see more runners of sports illustrated, you'll learn about them a little.

Exactly. Sports Illustrated dwarfed what is now "social media".

Oh, yes, remember him well. Quite a talent, quite a kick, and a shorter career than many of us would have liked to see. Sounds like he had no regrets about moving on with his life and did quite well post-running, so, a life well lived. RIP.

Also, that 4:00 mile streak was done on 160 yard banked boards. An entire generation today missed one of the greatest pleasures of running. Clunk, clunk, clunk, clunk. Even Bekele couldn't break 4:00 on the Garden's track!

Having run on the boards (not successfully), I believe Bekele with his short stature and low to the ground build, could have run well on these indoor velodromes.

In the mid 90’s I lived a block from Tony and his family and he was a very genuine and down to earth man. He did not speak of his running exploits but even then he could still run like the wind. He played in a charity flag football event one day which consisted of 3-4 games and Tony lined up at wide receiver and would run a vertical route every play and told the QB to throw it as far as he could…their team literally ran away with the championship as no one could stop Tony. RIP Tony.

Forgive the correction, but his name was Denis Fikes (legally, Denis Elton-Cochrane Fikes). Not nearly as good or consistent as Tony Waldrop, though, who was a powerhouse on the track.

About Fikes, this is a great interview. It brings back painful memories, though, because Julio Piazza used to leave me in the dust in high school.

When SI was new, its first Sportsman of the Year was Roger Bannister.

And in 1956 it published a whole-page, lap-by-lap summary of the OG 10,000m.

Try to imagine either of those SI editorial choices nowadays.

And yes, for quite some years SI was huge. Okay, not as huge as Playboy (which was a near-contemporary), but a major part of the American culture, or at least the American sports culture. In season, SI would have a track article nearly every week.

Feb 2006 4:01.57, I saw him look very uncomfortable in MSG ..he almost slipped off the track on the top of the first turn ! …not his thing on that particular track… saw him around a year later in person, in Birmingham England go 4:49.99 for 2000m… totally different track. MSG was not for everyone.

1974 Millrose

Should have it correct for a guy I've watched since HS.

I remember him well. An incredible talent. Had he continued running, I've little doubt he would have challenged Walker, Coe, et al. Passed away way too soon. RIP Tony W.

One of the first features in LetsRun history was on Waldrop. I know I didn't write it so I guess Weldon wrote it. In it, Waldrop said his xc All-American award was what he was most proud of as he never thought he coudl do that.

What's crazy about his career is he was the indoor mile WR holder in 74 but didn't even try out for the Olympics in 76. He participated in the 72 Trials and said he never wanted to do it again - it wasn't fun.

He wore tshirts that said "Run for Fun."

His indoor mile WR from 1974 of 3:55 was the NCAA indoor record until German Fernandez broke it in 2009.

If you are into Waldrop, you definitely should read this:

https://www.letsrun.com/2005/waldrop.php

And here is his tshirt.

I think the Run for Fun was Allegany CC coach’s thing.

I put the wrong link above (I'll change it above but in case you read it, I'll repeat it it here):

There were quite a few SI covers celebrating indoor track back in those days. Today, you would hardly know that it even exists unless you are part of our cult.