As I'm working on the homepage, I came across a great article on Harrison Dillard's 1948 men's 100 gold medal being on auction. The guy was the best hurdler in the world (he'd win Olympic gold in 1952) heading into the 1948 US Trials and had won 82 hurdle race sin a row but he didn't make the team in the hurdles. He squeaked on to the 100m team and then won that.
In 1952, he didn't defend his 100m crown as he wanted his hurdle gold (which he got).
rojo wrote:
As I'm working on the homepage, I came across a great article on Harrison Dillard's 1948 men's 100 gold medal being on auction. The guy was the best hurdler in the world (he'd win Olympic gold in 1952) heading into the 1948 US Trials and had won 82 hurdle race sin a row but he didn't make the team in the hurdles. He squeaked on to the 100m team and then won that.
In 1952, he didn't defend his 100m crown as he wanted his hurdle gold (which he got).
In the early 1950s, my Uncle was an all-around high school and college athlete from the Midwest (he placed in the KU Relays Decathlon running for a small liberal arts college in Kansas). Among many other events he also ran hurdles and Harrison Dillard was his hurdling hero.
The story goes that my Uncle left his Junior College weeks before graduating, and took a job at an orphanage in Berea, Ohio (and also enrolled at then Baldwin-Wallace College to finish up his sophomore college year). Low and behold he discovered that Dillard had been an orphan and had been placed in the very orphanage that my Uncle was working at.
While in Ohio, he even got to run against Dillard at an AAU meet in Cleveland. Years later I also ran at a national seniors track meet in Berea at Baldwin Wallace University and visited
the orphanage across the street, where my Uncle had worked, and where Dillard
had been placed. Small world. My Uncle died last year, or I’m sure he would
have been tempted to bid on Dillard’s Olympic medal.
When I was a mediocre HS runner I knew of Bones Dillard and the Olympic part of it. I think the Oly story was featured in a Ripley's Believe-it-or-Not collection I had when I was younger. I am old enough that I was alive for the hurdles gold, although too young to be aware at the time.
Barney Ewell Penn State.....still the greatest sprinter the school has ever had.
E.McDonald Bailey Trinidad
Harrison Dilliard....still the greatest sprinter Baldwin Wallace ever had.
Those were the sprints studs in 1948
DinoZ wrote:
Barney Ewell Penn State.....still the greatest sprinter the school has ever had.
E.McDonald Bailey Trinidad
Harrison Dilliard....still the greatest sprinter Baldwin Wallace ever had.
Those were the sprints studs in 1948
Baldwin Wallace is a DIII school, so I should certainly hope that Dillard is the best sprinter they've ever had at this point, and that will now never conceivably change.
Point in fact, a guy recently I think "officially" broke Dillards 100m school record in the last couple years. But, obviously he doesn't hold a candle to Dillard in comparison.
Dillards story is legit, he's a really big deal historically. Also, alrighty Whatley, name me the cities (as in they largely grew up and developed in said city) in the world that have produced two (or more) different Olympic Gold 100m dash individuals.
Why are you telling me about about Harrison Dilliard?
Sprint geek here, ok?
Dillard's web page says that he was only 5'10" ! He had to be a great technical hurdler.
