Whatever happened to BRUCE KIDD, Canadian Phenom in the early '60s? A pre-PRE!?

I just received the January/February 2007 issue of the Canadian Track and Field/Running Magazine "Athletics".

It has the current Canadian Senior, Junior and Youth outdoor records listed. Bruce Kidd's 13:43.8 5000 meters which was run in Compton on June 2, 1962, while Bruce was still 18, is still the Canadian Junior Record.

Thanks Orville for bringing this to my attention.

The Springbank INTERNATIONAL road races died in '85 but locals Dennis Kalichuk and now Paul Roberts kept it alive in a local format that has continued to this date (http://www.runnerschoice.on.ca/races/2007series/Race5/raceinfo.htm). We currently host the Springbank Half-marathon early every September along with a 5k, and a handfull of people will whisper passionately about what used to be. Unfortunately, as you can see by recent results, the top men are barely ahead of the top woman :)

An absolutely beautiful area to run and race, I hold workouts there throughout the year and we have races on a regular basis that still include the 'Dam Hill' but no longer use 'Animal Hill' as the city will not allow blocking off of the vehicular entrance to the recreational gardens/park facility in that area.

They are currently reconstructing the Dam (again), but this will not affect the measurements of the loops which are (as measured by Springbank medalist Bernie Conway)

Full Loop 4.622k (the '12 mile' was 4 x 4.622k)

Short Loop 2.258k (ie 1 1/2 mile).

For those, such as myself, that were not able to see this spectacle, the old race booklets contained this blurb that, as someone who has been in the park literally 100s of times can barely imagine, states

"As the crowds at the Springbank International get larger year to year, it naturally becomes a little more difficult for all spectators to get a clear, unobstructed view of the action. We feel, however, that on a course of this length there is no reason why everyone cannot get a good view. All it takes is some planning and common sense. The secret, of course, is SPREAD OUT. Obviously, if everyone in a crowd of 5,000 or more gathers in the immediate aree of the start-finish line some people aren't going to get much of a vantage point."

Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the original 1968 Springbank International Road Race, which would have gone unnoticed had not one Amby Burfoot accepted his invitation to race and help the event gain notoriety.

It has been my priveledge to contact past participants of these events over the past few years, and anyone reading this thread who has raced Springbank and wishes to share their story can contact me at -

steveweiler@hotmail.com

.

If you're bored, read this - THE SPRINGBANK INTERNATIONAL ROAD RACES: A BRIEF HISTORY

http://www.londonrunner.ca/documents/2003-12-12-essay.pdf

Sometimes, amidst the colourful foliage, background noise of the Thames River flowing and animals in Storybook Gardens, there is a still a certain magic in the air...

On Saturday June 24, 1961, the half inch high headlines on the top of section two of "The Montreal Star" read "Atkins Seen Threat For Kidd After Six-Mile Track Victory"

When he first saw that headline, Coach Foot cracked up. The rest of East York Track Club had great fun with it also. Fortunately, we did not see that headline until after the Canadian Championship three mile race which was run that Saturday afternoon.

The Canadian six mile championship was run the previous Friday afternoon but my 17 year training mate, Bruce Kidd, had to write his final University entrance exam that day. Because of that exam, I won my only Canadian Championship gold medal and was awarded a headline that provided us all with great fun. Our teammates still laugh when that headline is mentioned. By the way, Bruce did become the Canadian three mile champion that Saturday afternoon. I never did see him in the race, however, I did win the bronze medal that I had hoped for. Not a bad haul for a weekend at the races.

Orville, the Star was just 'kidding' you.

I would just like to thank all of you who contributed to this thread! Absolutely amazing, quality and quantity of these posts. (I found out so much more about Bruce Kidd than I ever imagined.) To hear from the likes of Bob Schul and Orville Atkins, among others, was totally enjoyable!! Keep postin', just thought I would mention it.

You can say that again. This thread is phenomenal, and not just for the old-timers. I was 6 mos. old when Bob Schul and Billy Mills won at Tokyo, but I still think the 50s and 60s were the most exciting era in distance running, when all the really big discoveries in training were made. Thank you all for taking the time to contribute here--it's a real gift.

scotth,

Coach Fred Foot always "kidded" me too!

Steve,

Thank you for starting this thread. The only way that the legacies of the great runners and coaches of the past will carry on is by their stories being told, by themselves and others who were there, while that is still possible. Running today was built on the shoulders of those who came before.

It's so true about keeping the stories about the legends going. I was reminded of this fact recently when a young runner in our club mentioned to us oldies that he figured that times must have been quite slow in our days (back in the 60's to the 80's) because he surmised that finish times have always have been getting faster. I find that it's very important to educate the newest runners about our sport's history so that some great runners and their performances won't be forgotten. It's amazing how the average winning times in races on the roads and tracks lag behind the times from those glory years.

While I was running as part of The East York Track Club, Fred Foot, our coach was the running event and cross country coach of the University of Toronto Track Team. Each fall, we trained at the University of Toronto's Varsity stadium on Bloor Street in downtown Toronto. It was in that stadium that many of us ran many of our most exciting races and personal bests and that large International Track and Field meets were held in front of fifteen or twenty thousand screaming Canadians. A few of the visiting runners that I remember were Mel Batty, Basil Heatley, Laszlo Tabori, Ron Larrieu and Ron Clarke. There were many, many others. In fact, I believe I vaguely remember that coaches from other countries included Fanny Blankers-Koen and Harold Abrahams. That track was where Relay Carnivals were held, where many great Canadian milers attempted to run a mile under four minutes and where David Bailey of our Club finally became the first Canadian to do so on Canadian soil with a 3:57.7 on July 22, 1967. It was also on that dirt track that Bill Crothers, also of our club, defeated Olympic Champion Peter Snell at 880 in June of 1965.

Bruce Kidd, the Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education and Health at the University of Toronto, has now had that stadium torn down and rebuilt. The stadium was dedicated on Sunday, July 8, 2007, and the first Kidd-Crothers Classic was held. To coincide with those activities the first East York Track Club reunion was held. Club members came from all over Canada and the United States. There were 48 in attendance including David Bailey, Bill Crothers, Ergas Leps who was the Canadian mile record holder before Dave cracked four minutes, Bruce Kidd and other Canadian Olympians and Internationalists of the 1950's and thereafter. We all agreed that it was great fun to see our team mates again after 45 years. And we all had a tremendous time.

I have two side additions. On the Satuday morning of that weekend, I jogged over and toured the beautiful state of the art, modern stadium that has now been built and noticed that the stores across Bloor Street were also being torn down. Today's runners will not have the pleasure of the wonderful smell that I remember from that bakery as I ran over and over down the back straight while training each evening.

Secondly, there was a reception for University of Toronto athletes the night before the stadium opened. I did not attend but the story circulating was that, at that reception, Bill Crothers felt a tap on his shoulder and, upon turning around, he was amazed to find himself staring into the eyes of Peter Snell! The two adversaries from long ago had been brought together again as a surprise for Bill.

That weekend stirred up many many fond memories. We must have another reunion soon!

cedric went to the ducks in oregon and had a good career there running for distance and steeplechase he returned home to toronto and got married abd moved to londo... he became an accountant adopted two children who are now in their mid to late twenties...he experienced helth issues and succumbed to them july 21 2009 he left many friend and loving family... posted by an adoring fan and loving brother Walter

A track & field extravaganza was held at the CNE grandstand in the summer of 1962, attended by 3 superstars of that era - Harry Jerome, Bruce Kidd and Bill Crothers.

In front of 10 - 12,000 cheering fans, Jerome blistered 100 yards in 9.3 seconds, finishing 10 yards ahead of the second place competitor.

Bruce Kidd had announced his intention to attempt to break the 4 minute mile, and lined up with team mate Crothers and some other track club runners, one of whom had agreed to act as a rabbit.

The rabbit hung in there (grimly) until about 660 yards, then Crothers was forced to take over, leading Kidd to the end of 3 laps in just under 3 minutes, where Kidd assumed the lead.

In spite of the thunderous ovation from the crowd urging him to duck under the magical 4 minute barrier, Bruce just missed it and finished in 4:01.4.

Amazingly, Crothers finished in 4:07 - not bad for a half miler!

Astounding performances from all 3 of these athletes, all there more so as it was on a cinder track which had been temporarily installed for the occasion over top of the asphalt stock car racing surface!

seems like in this instance the Kidd never became the GOAT

Time for an update. On July 24, 1965, Bill Crothers ran ran a mile in 4:02.4 in Toronto.

On October 11, 2011, Bruce Kidd was appointed Interim Warden of Hart House, thus returning to the site where he did his winter training in the early 1960s.

Today is Bruce Kidd's 70th Birthday.

He can no longer run due to back and knee problems but does walk and bike to and from work. He goes for at least one long run of 80 to 100 Kilometers a week and cross country skis in the winter.

Bob Winegar wrote:>< all there more so as it was on a cinder track which had been temporarily installed for the occasion over top of the asphalt stock car racing surface!

This sounds interesting. Anyone know the story behind this event?

I\'m not into motor sports but a quarter mile stock car track seems pretty tight and short, maybe the smaller sports cars or one seater type buggies but stock cars just seem too big to be able to race about some thing the size you could use for a base for a running track.

The Canadian National Exhibition has been around a lot longer than I have. I remember running through the grounds while training with East York Track Club team mates in the CNE off season. I remember watching a swimmer or two swim across Lake Ontario too.

The Exhibition Stadium of those days has been torn down but during my time the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Argonauts played there. It had car and human races and the best entertainment on the continent. Bob Hope, Victor Borge, Bill Cosby, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and many others. It seated 22,000 people

I raced there once. It was a two mile race in 1961 on the loose sandy track they had laid down for our meet. Bruce Kidd won and I was third. I remember being a bit peeved afterward because I had to wait for it a few days while they engraved my name on it. Bruce's prize was a silver tea service that already had his name engraved on it.

Bruce Kidd was just interviewed on the radio show The World. He was discussing the Olympic diplomatic boycott. He was introduced as a professor at the University of Toronto.

There is a recent book out about Bruce Kidd. It is reviewed on the blogspot onceuponatimeinthevest.