I know he taught for awhile but I don't remember if it was HS or elementary (I am leaning toward elementary). He may have coached at Grady HS for awhile.
I know he taught for awhile but I don't remember if it was HS or elementary (I am leaning toward elementary). He may have coached at Grady HS for awhile.
here's that '70 NCAA outdoor 3. gets a call as "richard berkel"
LOL. and he beat 'Garry Bajorklund', too.
I wish Charlie McMullen was still with us. He told me a handful of stories about training, traveling, and racing with Buerkle. I cannot verify the accuracy of my recall so I will not repeat them here. I would think Stem might be close to that history.I get out to dinner with Tim McMullen when he comes in to Boston once a year or so, I will see what he remembers.I always found it curious how many very good runners came from a small city and surrounding area with not large population, 100 inches of snow, and no altitude(Rochester NY). I grew up thinking it was expected that a a good-not-great athlete can run at 4 min/mile,13:30s, sub 29. I think Buerkle and the other guys from Rochester in that era are examples of how much undiscovered, untrained, or uninspired talent exists.Buerkle ran a handful of marathons back in the 70's as well. Probably just part of his training plan, but I don't know him so I can't say for certain his motivation.Very interesting story.
malmo wrote:
LOL. and he beat 'Garry Bajorklund', too.
I was at the meet Dick Buerkle he set the WR in the indoor mile. I ran in the H.S. CYO meet earlier in the day and then came back later that night with my father to watch Invitational Meet. If I rememeber correctly it snowed that day.
The CYO meet always seemed to produce some great excitement every year. I think there was a WR in the pole vault 1976 and it took the meet offials forever to measure because they had to bring out a lift and push the mats out of the way. Tough to do indoors.
Then one year Franklin Jacobs came out of no where to win the high jump. He may have set the world record or came very close. He jumped nearly 2 feet over his head!
That was one great meet. To bad it faded away.
I remember a magazine article that told how he got a stress fracture in his pelvis from doing speedwork on the roads in the winter. That had to hurt.
Beatles Fan wrote:
I was at the meet Dick Buerkle he set the WR in the indoor mile. I ran in the H.S. CYO meet earlier in the day and then came back later that night with my father to watch Invitational Meet. If I rememeber correctly it snowed that day.
The CYO meet always seemed to produce some great excitement every year. I think there was a WR in the pole vault 1976 and it took the meet offials forever to measure because they had to bring out a lift and push the mats out of the way. Tough to do indoors.
Then one year Franklin Jacobs came out of no where to win the high jump. He may have set the world record or came very close. He jumped nearly 2 feet over his head!
That was one great meet. To bad it faded away.
Memory Lane
malmo wrote:
Here he is winning Millrose in 1978, a few weeks after breaking the WR in the mile.
Image:
http://i52.tinypic.com/zmaw6r.jpg
A young Steve Scott in the background?
Memory Lane
Image:
http://i56.tinypic.com/2yjosao.jpg
I don't think that is the Garden. The CYO meet was run out in Long Island a few times (where the Islanders and Nets played), but can't remember if this is it. The Garden had seats higher up from the track (unlike the old Garden where the seats came right down to the track).
That's not the Garden, nor the CYO meet you're talking about. That's the CYO Indoor Meet held at the University of Maryland's Cole Field House.
Ah!Yes.
I think I only ran there once or twice, so I didn't think about that one. Before going there, the meet was in Baltimore, but damn if I remember what that one looked like. If my memory is correct, the MD meet was one of the first to disappear due to low attendance. I think basketball was getting more and more popular and crowds rarely were over 8,000. As the photo shows, no full house. It was the same out in Long Island, where maybe it filled up half way when the K of C meet was held out there (after the NYAC boycott). It didn't take long before Boston's two meets disappeared, followed by Cleveland, Philadelphia and Toronto. The Olympic Invitational had a short life in NJ after moving due to poor showings in the Garden. Before you knew it, Millrose was the only one left.
Dick ran in quite a few of those meets, as a full house (or nearly full) was a lot of fun for track and field athletes. My memory was how appreciative the fans in the Garden were of his efforts when racing there. He certainly was a fan favorite.
aye he is my spanish teacher rite now. i just decided to stalk him.
Hell yes I do, because Dick helped me greatly BEFORE I joined the villanova track & country teams. I would never have made those teams without his mentoring and coaching. Great guy and, yes, he did have a condition that resulted in his hair loss but no one who met him ever cared. A beloved Villanovan and a truly inspirational man.
Dick was great.. I think he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated?
Had the pleasure of meeting him when I lived in Atlanta. Rode the MARTA to a race start with him, 2 lady's were excited as it was their first race. Asked DIck if he was competitive to which he replied, I try to be.
Then went out and won the race. He was in his early 50's I think.
Buerkle Fan wrote:
Buerkle was on the 1980 boycott team as well, also at 5000 meters. Here is a link to a blog post about Buerkle:
http://villanovarunning.blogspot.com/2010/01/unexpected-world-record-holder.html
Amazing runner. I would say there was a very good chance that Centro Sr and Buerkle would have taken the top 2 podium spots in the 5000m in Moscow had the US team been sent to the games.
