The Complete, Unabridged and Definitive "SMOKIN' JOE" Series by Doug Consiglio

I've been doing some digging through some old folders of stuff I copied off the Internet during my college days and found a few things I printed off of rungroteschief.com/tnfmedia.com. Lo and behold, there was the 8 part Smokin' Joe series that Consiglio wrote. The date at the bottom of the pages that I printed them on says 1/30/00. I'm going to type them up real quick and post them here individually. May not get to all of them tonight because I can't pull an all-nighter and function at work tomorrow, but I'll get them done eventually.

And now, for your reading pleasure, I present...

"Smokin' Joe" by Doug Consiglio.

Smokin' Joe: Part 1

- by Doug Consiglio

A lot of people always ask me about my ex-teammate Joe Falcon. Since I spent many a day running with teammate 'Smokin' Joe and I roomed with him for an entire year, I feel I can tell a little bit about his career. Joe showed up a respected, but not superstar status, freshman from Missouri, the Show Me State. Unlike Schiefer, he went straight to the Razorbacks and not to the University of Utah first. Joe had run 4:08 in high school and he was the U.S. high school champ (Keebler?) in the 2 mile. He had finished about 17th at Kinney.

Joe's first months were spent trying hard to impress us and to 'fit' in. At a high school football game in Mountain Home, Arkansas (pre-season training camp,) Joe ate a huge grasshopper whole, much to the delight of the seniors. He liked to push the pace on some of the runs, and we soon noticed that it was difficult to drop the 17 year old from Belton, Missouri, only Dave 'Spanky' Swain being able to effectively do this.

Joe went on to win his first ever college cross country race, the Cowboy Jamboree. Spanky had fallen with about a mile to go and Joe cruised it in (end note, Paul Donovan and Espen Borge did not run.) The team did lose to the Cowboys, our first dual meet loss in 82 tries and we were treated to one of Coach McDonnell's famous tirades (I was the 5th man that day and there is still a piece of my butt missing where it was chewed off.)

Smokin' Joe went on to have a great fall in this 1984 year. He placed 7th or so at conference, ran okay at districts, and ran great at Nationals. With the Hogs and Arizona fighting it out in Happy Valley, Joe was sitting in about 40th with a mile to go. He was running 4th man behind Donovan, Swain and Ian 'Buster' Cherry. Donovan was top 10 but he was fading badly. John McDonnell yelled at Joe to pick up some spots (as the team race was very, very tight and Donovan was losing ground) and Joe yelled back, "I'll get them, John!!" (no bull, he yelled it while he was running.) So Joe was picking up spots as Paul Donovan was losing them. They met at the finish with Paul in 23rd and true freshman Joe in 24th (Swain was 14th, Espen Borge 32nd, and Gary Taylor 54th, "Buster" busted up.)

This was a great race for Joe and an excellent start to his college career. After initially being announced as a tie for the win with Arizona, it was later recounted and the HOGS had their first ever national cross country title by 10 points. Later on that night, Joe was hiding in the bushes with Roland Reina while the cops came to take Espen Borge away since he was hurling a manhole cover down the street. It seems he was having an argument with it. Frank O'Mara bailed him out in time to meet John at 7:00 am in the lobby, but that is another story....

Smokin' Joe: Part 2

- by Doug Consiglio

Joe Falcon continued...as we left our hero he had just finished an excellent freshman cross country season. He went on to redshirt indoors and outdoors that year, but he won the world cross country trials for juniors that February. He then left to represent the U.S. at the World Juniors Cross Country Meet. Joe placed a disappointing 60th or so. Upon coming back, Joe told us that when the gun went off, he still had his sweats on, therefore losing valuable seconds while he took them off. Later on, several other runners on the team refuted Joe's story and this was the start of the unexplainable 'excuses' that Smokin' Joe would 'make up' when he ran poorly, but also when he ran well. Later on that freshman year, a teammate of ours found an essay that Joe had written about how he was going to make a living when he graduated. It detailed out his running career, how he was going to get a shoe contract, appearance fees, prize money, bonuses for American and World Records, etc.

Quite a lot for a freshman in college, no doubt. Now a lot of guys made fun of Joe for this, but I must point out that Joe had the foresight to believe in himself to be a great runner and most of those guys making fun of Joe did not end up having careers even close to his. So if you can learn from this, you have to think big to act big, even if people ridicule you. I will now go on to point out how dedicated Smokin' Joe was. The year I lived with him, Joe never missed a morning run. He missed one once, because John McDonnell told him to take one off, but he made every other one, five days a week. He would get up at 6:00 am, run, eat, go to class from 7:30 to 11:30 (and be done with classes for the day,) all this usually before I snuck out for my own morning run. He then would eat lunch and go down and talk to Coach McDonnell every day. I mean every day, he would go down to his office and see what we were doing for practice, every day!! He would train again in the afternoon, do weights when we did them, go home, eat dinner (we would take turns cooking sometimes, he prefered fried chicken,) watch a little tube (he prefered certain cartoons, Inspector Gadget, I thought they were kinda cool too,) study, and then he would go to bed around 9:30 or 10:00. The bottom line was he was very dedicated to the task of being a world class runner. He did not let many things distract him. Joe went on to run a few races his redshirt year including getting second at USTFA (TAC) Junior 1500m behind an unknown (at the time) Terrence Herrington from Clemson. I think Joe ran around 3:46 or so. He then trained hard that summer for the upcoming cross country season.

To be continued...

Smokin' Joe: Part 3

- by Doug Consiglio

As we left our hero, he was training for his sophomore year. Smokin' Joe ate a steady diet of distance that summer of 1985. In the early fall, back at school, he moved in with the 'Big Guy' at Arkansas, yours truly (the second USTFA 1500m champion I have lived with, after the greatest one, Jamey 'Titanic' Harris.)

Smokin' Joe went on to have a great season that year, placing third at conference, sitting out districts (as the lesser gods could take care of business at that meet) and ran a great race at Nationals. Smokin' Joe ran through the snow that year to finish 7th in a star studded field. (Hacker, Tim, won his second national title, after the DMR he anchored indoors in 1985, outkicking yours truly.) This was the first of the Smokin' Joe "excuses"...Excuses you say, why did he need an excuse after coming in 7th as a sophomore? Good question, no answer here...Anyway, Joe got his 7th place award on the stage walking out there with crutches (he almost fell over Fred "Derf" Carter.) I asked Mac (the legendary Coach McDonnell, greatest coach on Earth) why Smokin' Joe had crutches, and he said...well, he did not say much. It seems that a rumor spread around was that Joe had a stress fracture, that is why he did not run Districts, and in fact he had not run in 14 days. Of course, having run with him on many of those days, I knew this was false.

Why did Joe do this? Who knows...wanting to be the center of attention, I guess. Anyway, since Wisco kicked our butts (they won the men's and women's and had BOTH individual winners (Branta,)) John flew us home that night. The post party was at the CANAM shack and Smokin' Joe got a little tipsy and challenged the Coop, Richard Cooper (thanks Byrd) to a race up the Storer Avenue Hill. Well, Smokin' Joe, just off crutches 10 hours earlier, was off sprinting up some hill, supposed stress fracture and all...(who won that 'race' you might ask, well a young redshirt freshman from Canada, Doug 'HC' Keen took them both at the top of the hill.) So, as we end the cross country season in 1985, our hero, Smokin' Joe is improving well, but the excuses are starting, even despite his excellent showing.

As a side note, Schiefer at this time is a little sophomore in High School just thinking about being a Razorback.

Smokin' Joe: Part 4

- by Doug Consiglio

This is my continuing story of Joe Falcon, great runner and ex-Razorback, who once, long ago, roomed with cumswallio...

When we last left our hero, he was finishing up cross country in 1985 with a 7th place NCAA cross placing. That Christmas Joe went home and so did I. Then, when he came back, my roommate was a sophomore, but since he had redshirted both track seasons his freshman year, he had freshman eligibility. He opened up the season with a 4:03.19 mile, second to Gary Taylor's 3:58, and was thankful since the NCAA qualifier was 4:03.21 (no provisional times back then.) Joe even joked that it was a good thing he had on a t-shirt beneath his singlet, or he might not have qualified. (side notes, Roddie Haley runs 1:00.4 for a World Record in the 500m, yours truly eaks out at 2:19 1000m, the still standing NCAA record (right Sully?) and just off Seb Coe's World Record of 2:18.5...but enough self-gloating.)

The next weekend, Falcon pulls off a very good double. He rabbits the mile in 1:54 for 880 yards (O'Mara goes on to run 3:52, myself 3:55, Donovan 3:56 low and we end up ranking 1, 3, 5 on the year end indoor list, but I am self-gloating again, must be that 9:29 steeple I ran recently) and then comes back and outkicks Paul Larkins, the NCAA indoor champ in the mile to be, in an 8:35 two mile. An amazing day for the young lad from Missouri.

Joe's next meet is our indoor conference meet. This meet shows how when Falcon was on, he was unbeatable (see above,) but he could be 'off' for no apparent reason. Falcon's races are similar to the ones above. He runs a nondescript leg on our 4 x 800m team. He then runs the two mile. He was dropped early and ended up kicking for 6th, the last spot which was scoring (Donovan won in 8:43, Joe was 9:06.)

Our hero is down, he has run poorly for no apparent reason (something I am also very good at doing.) He trains hard for the NCAA's and runs the 3K there. He looks great in his heat and wins it in 7:56. With Joe's kick, people are thinking he might score some big points, along with Donovan, for the Hogs. The final goes off, Joe is dropped early, runs 8:18 and our hopes for him are being dashed (Donovan wins the final in about 7:55 after he had anchored our 4 x 800m to victory, Donovan is a stud in case you didn't know.) At this point in his career, Joe can look unbeatable, or merely human, and it is hard to tell which Joe will show up. We break for Spring Break. I go off to Florida and Joe goes home to Belton for the week...to be continued.

Smokin' Joe: Part 5

- by Doug Consiglio

As we left our hero, he had just finished the indoor season in 1986. Smokin' Joe went back to Belton, MO, for the Spring Break. What he did there, I do not knowas I was in Florida killing brain cells and trying to get skin cancer. But, once back in the 'Nam, the team prepared for the Texas Relays, our old kicking grounds. Since our team was abound with studly, good looking milers that year (4 guys under 3:40 from 4 different countries,) Joe was relegated to just running the 4 x 1600m. After our DMR was disqualified (Roddie Haley - pushing or something - how do you push a guy when you are running 43.8?) allowing 8 seconds back Stanford a hollow victory (but allowing Atkinson and Oleson to get a much needed watch,) Joe was up in the longer relay. Smokin' Joe, running the second leg, got the baton a little bit behind Arizona, namely Jeff Canada (God, what a great name.) Anyway, Joe proceeded to get blown out of the water. He was left out to dry in the wind. He ran 4:16 high, which is a 4:18 mile. The good guys won in the end, but after the meet, the great John McDonnell relegated Joe to a new regimen. Joe would train his butt off and not race again until the 5K at conference on the last day of the meet, which was 7 weeks away.

The season progressed with the Hogs setting a world record at Penn, running fast and generally being conceited. All of this was done with Joe on the sidelines just training (he could not redshirt, as he had done that the year before.)

So, we neared the conference meet and Joe was ready to run again. But, I have to go, so I will continue later AND I guarantee the tattoo story in the next episode...

Smokin' Joe: Part 6

- by Doug Consiglio

So, when we left our hero, he was spending 7 weeks of hard mileage, quality workouts, dinners of fried chicken and maybe, just maybe, for fun of course, an odd domino game with Kevin Severson (Kevin was a bit of a loser, so he would generally lose.) Joe was looking good again coming into conference. But he had not raced in 7 weeks so his confidence was a little low.

The great McDonnell had Joe just entered in the 5K. At the SWC meet, the 5K was on the second day of a two day meet, and just about everybody would be lining up tired for the race. Anyway, Joe was a little nervous, so the night before his race Gary Taylor told him to come by our room. When Smokin' Joe came in, Gary proceeded to draw a mean looking Razorback on Joe's right arm. Gary, being a stud artist, did a pretty damn good job. Gary then told Falcon to take the lead, and if anybody came up on his shoulder, that Razorback would snarl and hold them off.

So, the meet proceeded, the Hogs doing rather poorly (the author himself, being in the pivotal steeplechase, was destroyed by Patrick Sang...and after I faded chasing Patrick, his teammate and countrymate Joseph Chelego got me too.)

About 30 of us lined up, the only fresh runners of note were Falcon and John Warren of Rice (who recently finished 2nd in the 1st Annual Hootie run, Jamey Harris being the victor, Malmo was a non-factor.) The gun went off and...

...wait, I have to go, I hear a pitcher of beer calling me...

til later, conseelio

Smokin' Joe: Part 7

- by Doug Consiglio

So as we left our hero, I think he was lining up for the conference 5K along with about 30 other tired runners. The gun went off and the runners took off into the hot, humid, Houston night. Nothing much happened in the first two miles except that everyone got a little more tired. Then, with about3 laps to go, Smokin' Joe (who had not raced in 6 weeks remember, but was fresh for this race, this being his first event in the championships) took the lead and forced the pace. After 800m of this, only the great John Warren (who was also fresh, trying to get a victory for the hometown Rice Owls) could stay with Joe. In the last lap, Joe upped the tempo even more and left Warren in the last 100m. He won in about 14:14. Now it was a good victory for Joe, the Razorback on his arm working like a charm, but while his prolonged surge helped him win, it also sealed the fate of some other big kicking Razorbacks who were doubling back from other events that day (including Gary Taylor, whom I think would have been able to tie with Joe had the surge waited until the last lap,) but that is all water under the bridge.

Anyway, the Hogs lost the meet to Texas by about 5 points and had a long trip home.

The next weekend, Smokin' Joe and the boys went to Knoxville, some for tune up races for the NCAA's, others to get the NCAA standard.

Smokin' Joe ran the 5K, was never really in it, PR'd in 14:11, but this left him well short of qualifying for the show. (as a side note, the conceited author took part in a big 1500m open race and lad a Razorback sweep - Consiglio, Borge, Gary Taylor - with a :52 last lap (3:42.) And, to make matters worse, another big disappointment for Joe was that Gary refused to re-draw the Razorback on his arm.

So, the Hogs went to NCAA's without their hero, finished 4th (Consiglio 6th in the 1500m, Borge 3rd, Gary Taylor had appendicitus 3 days before the meet and did not run, but was looking the best of all our milers including Matt Taylor who was at home spanking it because he did not qualify) and then off to summer break.

So, when the men returned in the fall, what did Smokin' Joe have on his right arm? A brand new honkin' Razorback on his bicep (keeping in mind that this was way before people in college did this type of thing, I firmly believe that Joe and Pat Porter started the whole college runners tattoo thing.)

So, as the year began...oops sorry, my private line red phone is ringing, and that can only mean one thing...I'm off.

Smokin' Joe: Part 8

- by Doug Consiglio

So anyway, when we left our hero he was showing up for his third fall season in cross country. Smokin' Joe, after a year of living with me, moved back into the dorms...I think he roomed with Ruben Reina. He had been cut by Nike, so he had to wear whatever Mack (John McDonnell) gave him.

So, anyway, the first meet of the season and Rueben the true freshman runs Joe pretty much to the wire. The season progresses and Joe gets stronger and stronger. He wins the SEC meet and does not run districts in order to rest for NCAA's.

The NCAA meet is in Tucson, Arizona. Some of the individual favorites are Marc Oleson from Stanford (4th the previous year, broken ribs this year,) Aaron Ramirez and Matt Giusto from Arizona, Harry Green of Texas, Severson (pulled calf) and Smoking Joe himself. The race goes out over the tough course and 3 guys break away from the pack. Giusto, Ramirez and Joe. Well...at the finish line it is Ramirez for the victory, Joe second and Matt third. There is a good distance between the three.

Here is where the controversy starts. It seems in the press conference, Joe said he was leading near the end, after they had pulled away from Matt, and he tripped on a sprinkler head. He got up after Ramizrez passed him and got second. The only thing is, neither Matt nor Aaron saw Joe fall. Aaron, in later conversations said Joe was never ahead of him. Not only that, but Matt says there are no sprinkler heads on that part of the course.

So, once again we are forced to wonder, why after a great second place performance, Joe would seem to fabricated such a story. Perhaps somebody reading this was there and saw him fall? Nobody I have talked to has.

As a side, the team battle was between Arizona, Arkansas and a Vinny Lanana-led team from Dartmouth. Arizona, after great races by Matt and Aaron, was plagued by dropouts and fared poorly. This opened the door for Dartmouth to get second, a fairly distant second, as Arkansas could have scored its first 6 against Dartmouth's top five and still would have won by over 50 points.

So, Joe takes a week easy in the early winter of 1986 and then starts to train for indoors...

consiglio

Thus concludes the "Smokin Joe" story that was begun on tnfmedia.com back on Friday, April 21st, 1998. Obviously there is more story to tell, but unless Consiglio or some other soul chooses to chronicle the rest of the Saga of Smokin' Joe Falcon, this is where the story shall end.

Hope everyone enjoyed this walk down Memory Lane.

"Don't believe everything you read."

John Schiefer Quote wrote:

"Don't believe everything you read."

I agree & take everything that Consiglio said with a grain of salt...just wanted to put his old thread from tnfmedia.com up here on the letsrun site. No more, no less.

Why? Is Consiglio known for telling tall tales?

Thanks man, great read.

Average_Joe wrote:

Why? Is Consiglio known for telling tall tales?

"Don't believe everything you read" was the written motto of TrackandFieldMedia.com.

what's the part about him getting dropped by nike and having to wear whatever mcdonnell gave him?

was he sponsored during college?

was that allowed back then?

also, anybody care to point out any of the more obvious flaws in this guy's account?

ps 'self-gloating' is the dumbest usage of the english

language i have ever seen

It is proper to use quotation marks (") when you quote a statement, even if it's only one word. One may use (') to place a quote within a larger quote. You've been learned, genius.

malinowski wrote:

what's the part about him getting dropped by nike and having to wear whatever mcdonnell gave him?

was he sponsored during college?

was that allowed back then?

also, anybody care to point out any of the more obvious flaws in this guy's account?

ps 'self-gloating' is the dumbest usage of the english

language i have ever seen

I saw Falcon fall in Tuscon. He would have won easy. I didn't see a sprinkler head (but I didn't look, either).

Anyone know how I can get rid of that URl at the bottum of my posts?