Athletics fans are probably the least historically knowledgeable or respectful of any sport.
Contrasts with boxing, where every serious fan could reel off the names of even 19th century great fighters, and accord them respect.
Probably comes with the illusion that athletics performances are objectively measured, and that thus a 4:15 mile run 150 years ago is seen as almost comical when high schoolers can run those times and the WR is 3:43.
I post on a boxing site, history is huge in that sport and everyone can talk George "Little Chocolate" Dixon,
I agree. It's sad how many current high level runners and fans are ignorant of the sport's history.
When I started running in mid-teens, I read every history of middle-distance runner I could find - Deerfoot, Longboat, Walter George (who came from my grandfather's home village, and was well remembered by my grandfather), Myers, Alf Shrubb, and on to Nurmi and Zatopek (whom my coach once ran a session with).
They are certainly not forgotten and there were books featuring them in my local library when I was a kid.
I post on a boxing site, history is huge in that sport and everyone can talk George "Little Chocolate" Dixon,
I agree. It's sad how many current high level runners and fans are ignorant of the sport's history.
When I started running in mid-teens, I read every history of middle-distance runner I could find - Deerfoot, Longboat, Walter George (who came from my grandfather's home village, and was well remembered by my grandfather), Myers, Alf Shrubb, and on to Nurmi and Zatopek (whom my coach once ran a session with).
They are certainly not forgotten and there were books featuring them in my local library when I was a kid.
Everytime I get into something the first thing I do is go back back back to the roots, the first, those who were the poineers. Then I work my way back to where we are now, so by the time I arrive in the today I have yesterday totally covered. Love the trip, the discovery, and do get a kick out of posters on these boards who, you Googled that.....haha!!!!
It has been 102 years since Nurmi won this first gold medal, and people are still talking about him. They will still be talking about him 50 years from now.
People aren’t talking much about Nurmi and 50 years from now his name will almost never come up. Almost nobody can tell you much about him. They don’t even know who Zatopek was and they sure don’t know much about Nurmi.
Of course, there are always people who think track & field history started when they started following the sport. Ten years from now, there will be many young people who don't know Bolt.
However, Nurmi's name always comes up as the track & field athlete with the most Olympic gold medals along with Carl Lewis. Unless someone wins 10 gold medals in the next 50 years, his name will always come up.
The reason people like Meyer or Walter George are not talked about today is because they didn't compete in the events that today's top athletes compete, namely the Olympic Games. There is no easy way to compare their achievements to those of later years, including the current athletes. And their names will never pop up in conversation about the achievements of modern athletes.
If the Summer Olympics are ever to be discontinued for some reason, the Olympic champions before 1980s will be forgotten by many people "because they never competed in the World Championships."
there are prehistoric human footprints found in I think Australia that suggest that the person making them was running at around 30 miles an hour through mud, barefoot.
There is no doubt in my mind that the fastest human ever was probably some one in a trillion genetic freak from an already absurdly athletic population of humans in Africa tens to hundreds of thousands of years ago. He probably never even knew. He was simply the best hunter of his tribe.
Athletics fans are probably the least historically knowledgeable or respectful of any sport.
Contrasts with boxing, where every serious fan could reel off the names of even 19th century great fighters, and accord them respect.
Probably comes with the illusion that athletics performances are objectively measured, and that thus a 4:15 mile run 150 years ago is seen as almost comical when high schoolers can run those times and the WR is 3:43.
Most tennis fans never talk about any player before Bill Tilden or Suzanne Lenglen. Ask any of them about Willaim Renshaw or Lottie Dodd, the best they could answer is how many Wimbledon titles they won.
Interestingly, both Tilden and Don Budge are better known than Pancho Gonzales, although Pancho played in later years. The reason is that Pancho turned pro very early, and didn't come back to Grand Slam competition until he was forty.
People aren’t talking much about Nurmi and 50 years from now his name will almost never come up. Almost nobody can tell you much about him. They don’t even know who Zatopek was and they sure don’t know much about Nurmi.
Of course, there are always people who think track & field history started when they started following the sport. Ten years from now, there will be many young people who don't know Bolt.
However, Nurmi's name always comes up as the track & field athlete with the most Olympic gold medals along with Carl Lewis. Unless someone wins 10 gold medals in the next 50 years, his name will always come up.
The reason people like Meyer or Walter George are not talked about today is because they didn't compete in the events that today's top athletes compete, namely the Olympic Games. There is no easy way to compare their achievements to those of later years, including the current athletes. And their names will never pop up in conversation about the achievements of modern athletes.
If the Summer Olympics are ever to be discontinued for some reason, the Olympic champions before 1980s will be forgotten by many people "because they never competed in the World Championships."
Most people have no idea that Jesse Owens was owned by Temple sprinter Eulace Peacock, he lost five races in a row and had a losing record, an injury cost Peacock his shot in 1936. And Peacock also beat Owens in the long jump, nbody did that.
Lindy Remigino won the Olympic 100m in 1952, but he would have lost if Jim Golliday hadn't been injured he was the greatest 100m in the world then. Hell, Remigino took 5th at that years NCAA,
What is with that.....that is when ya dig deeper with the history of things look to uncover how things actually were.
Lon Myers did things never seen before he made a huge difference in the sport, he changed things which is a big deal. You can't talk American running and not talk Lon Myers. Yes you have to dig to uncover a lot of stuff , it was 1926 when Freddie Spruell recorded "Milkcow Blues" which is considered to be the first blues out of the Mississippi Delta. Who cares, just us geeks, freaks and nerds.
Hell would ya believe Pink Floyd got that named from Pirdmont blues cats PINK Anderson and FLOYD Council? Stuff ya find when ya get out that shovel and dig.
Unless people need to know they will simply be limited and lack that depth of knowledge just not there.
Most tennis fans never talk about any player before Bill Tilden or Suzanne Lenglen. Ask any of them about Willaim Renshaw or Lottie Dodd, the best they could answer is how many Wimbledon titles they won.
Interestingly, both Tilden and Don Budge are better known than Pancho Gonzales, although Pancho played in later years. The reason is that Pancho turned pro very early, and didn't come back to Grand Slam competition until he was forty.
There is some justification for that, as for many decades Wimbledon was really the British championships, and the US Open the American championships. On the other hand, in athletics, because of the objective measuring of performances and 'world records', athletes of the same era could be compared even if they never raced (although the British doubted the accuracy of American time keeping). Yet running was so popular back then that the top names of America and Europe did manage to race against each other, as happened when both Lon Myers and Walter George decided to make the trans-antlantic voyage in both directions to challenge each other.
Similar with boxing, which was so popular and had so much money involved that the best Brits would travel to the USA to fight the champions.
Of course, there are always people who think track & field history started when they started following the sport. Ten years from now, there will be many young people who don't know Bolt.
However, Nurmi's name always comes up as the track & field athlete with the most Olympic gold medals along with Carl Lewis. Unless someone wins 10 gold medals in the next 50 years, his name will always come up.
The reason people like Meyer or Walter George are not talked about today is because they didn't compete in the events that today's top athletes compete, namely the Olympic Games. There is no easy way to compare their achievements to those of later years, including the current athletes. And their names will never pop up in conversation about the achievements of modern athletes.
If the Summer Olympics are ever to be discontinued for some reason, the Olympic champions before 1980s will be forgotten by many people "because they never competed in the World Championships."
Most people have no idea that Jesse Owens was owned by Temple sprinter Eulace Peacock, he lost five races in a row and had a losing record, an injury cost Peacock his shot in 1936. And Peacock also beat Owens in the long jump, nbody did that.
You are right. I had no idea that Jesse Owens was a slave.
Deno, I don't agree with your claim of who was the best runner but you could make a claim for being the best geek in the history of the sport.
Being Myers ran up to the mile he gets the "runner" label. his range those 28 national championships, that 21year career, the fact he changed things not sure what else to do with him.
Come on a guy who held American records in 50,100, 200, 400, 800,,mile with three of those being world records, I mean....damn!!!
Yep without question a geek/nerd/freak here and I do have fun with it. Hell have index cards for 80 NCAA schools that meet my criteria, constantly erasing to update, my oldest athlete DeHart Hubbard Michigan long jumper 20's. going to hate erasing him out....ha!
Most people have no idea that Jesse Owens was owned by Temple sprinter Eulace Peacock, he lost five races in a row and had a losing record, an injury cost Peacock his shot in 1936. And Peacock also beat Owens in the long jump, nbody did that.
You are right. I had no idea that Jesse Owens was a slave.
there are prehistoric human footprints found in I think Australia that suggest that the person making them was running at around 30 miles an hour through mud, barefoot.
There is no doubt in my mind that the fastest human ever was probably some one in a trillion genetic freak from an already absurdly athletic population of humans in Africa tens to hundreds of thousands of years ago. He probably never even knew. He was simply the best hunter of his tribe.
Myers held 11 world records at different distances, he won 28 National Championship, 8 in one week. His accomplisments are what are really being talked about here. He was doing things never seen before or since.
Most tennis fans never talk about any player before Bill Tilden or Suzanne Lenglen. Ask any of them about Willaim Renshaw or Lottie Dodd, the best they could answer is how many Wimbledon titles they won.
Interestingly, both Tilden and Don Budge are better known than Pancho Gonzales, although Pancho played in later years. The reason is that Pancho turned pro very early, and didn't come back to Grand Slam competition until he was forty.
There is some justification for that, as for many decades Wimbledon was really the British championships, and the US Open the American championships. On the other hand, in athletics, because of the objective measuring of performances and 'world records', athletes of the same era could be compared even if they never raced (although the British doubted the accuracy of American time keeping). Yet running was so popular back then that the top names of America and Europe did manage to race against each other, as happened when both Lon Myers and Walter George decided to make the trans-antlantic voyage in both directions to challenge each other.
Similar with boxing, which was so popular and had so much money involved that the best Brits would travel to the USA to fight the champions.
And justification for track fans is "they never competed in the Olympics." And track fans are not alone in this way of thinking.
I bet most basketball fans cannot name a player before the NBA era. I know John Wooden was a pretty good player only because he became an even better coach later.
Baseball fans know players from the 19th century because they played in the same league that exists today.
Deno, I don't agree with your claim of who was the best runner but you could make a claim for being the best geek in the history of the sport.
Being Myers ran up to the mile he gets the "runner" label. his range those 28 national championships, that 21year career, the fact he changed things not sure what else to do with him.
Come on a guy who held American records in 50,100, 200, 400, 800,,mile with three of those being world records, I mean....damn!!!
Yep without question a geek/nerd/freak here and I do have fun with it. Hell have index cards for 80 NCAA schools that meet my criteria, constantly erasing to update, my oldest athlete DeHart Hubbard Michigan long jumper 20's. going to hate erasing him out....ha!
So how was the sport different after he retired? Did it dramatically increase in participation? Did it become a household interest, like horse racing? Did it include African Americans? Were the times suddenly improved? Did it become international? If any of that happened in the years that followed it isn't necessarily attributable to a runner whose name no one recalls today.
That he held records and titles from the shortest sprints to distance races shows the complete lack of depth in those events. Running was then little more than a fairground event. Coaches and scientific training methods didn't exist. Once participation in the sport increased his kind of dominance disappeared. Today, none of the best athletes can win at sprints as well as distance races. He is like a naturally talented runner who beats everybody in his home town. That's the size of his competition. That isn't the best runner of all time.
I saw people run faster at my high school meets. Anyway, the best runner ever is Kipchoge. He runs a marathong at under 4:40 pace.
You have to go with dominance of era when talking "best of" in sports. What runner was more impressive than what Lon Myers accomplished as we saw above?
Don Hutson is still considered to be the best WR in NFL history, yep, nobody ever dominated their era like he did.
Always look at vs same era competition.
Are we really going to let this guy get away with crowning Don freaking Hutson as the best WR in NFL history?