Won 40 consecutive mile races indoor from 1956 - 1959 , up there with ovetts streak i think of 45
Delany recorded 40 straight indoor victories in the U.S. from March 1955 to March 1959, including 33 successive Mile wins, and also set three indoor Mile world records (1958-59)!
In addition to his mid distance exploits, Delany also ran the third leg on Villanova’s 1958 Penn Relays winning mile relay team, which set a meet record that wasn’t broken until they installed a synthetic track in 1969.
RIP
Tartan track was put in during the 1968 season, when Larry James ran 43.9 on the anchor and Villanova won that race, coming from behind to beat Rice.
His influence on Irish athletics cannot be overstated. He led the way, both in his Olympic win but also heading to the US collegiate system. Gave such a lift to the country. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anam.
RIP indeed. If I remember the history correctly, he started the long line of Villanova Irish middle distance runners.
Why do they all want to go to Villanova?
The weather in the Philly area is similar to much of Ireland. Villanova has had excellent coaching for decades. It’s a Catholic School. There’s a fun Irish American community in Philly area and many already had relatives or family friends in the area. It’s got a pretty campus in a decently safe area. I’s got pretty girls on that campus. The Penn Relays is a quick team bus ride away every year and they reunite with Irish high schools who have sent teams to the Penn Relays forever. For cross country, Belmont Plateau rocks. It’s a familiar world for them.
It had nothing to do with Philadelphia. It was purely by chance. At the 1948 Olympics, Villanova runners George Guida and Browning Ross befriended Irish athletes Jimmy Reardon (400), Cummin Clancy (discus), and John Joe Barry (mid-distance) and suggested they come to Villanova.
Jimmy Reardon, a pioneer of the Villanova track & field "Irish Pipeline" and a prominent figure in Ireland's athletics history, passed away Thursday afternoon in
Notice how he ran that last lap. A notice how his competitors didn’t swing wide out into the further lanes to block his momentum. It really seemed like a gentleman‘s race from another time.
