Tag Archives: Millrose Games
Joie Ray
Joie Ray (Track. Born, Kankakee, IL, Apr. 13, 1894; died, Benton Harbor, MI, May 13, 1978.) Although he was eventually overtaken by the Flying Finn, Paavo Nurmi (q.v.), Joseph Ray was the dominant miler in the world for nearly a decade. Ray won the A.A.U. indoor 1000-yard title three straight years (1918-20) at Madison Square […]
Stan Saplin
Stan Saplin (Public address. Born, New York, NY, Jan. 12, 1914; died, New York, NY, Mar. 1, 2002.) One of the most respected figures in the New York sports field, Stanley Saplin became most identified with New York University during his long career. However, he also served such varied organizations as the New York Rangers, the […]
Paavo Nurmi
Paavo Nurmi (Track. Born, Turku, Finland, June 13, 1897; died, Helsinki, Finland, Oct. 2, 1973.) Paavo Nurmi had already won six Olympic gold medals and one silver running for Finland when he first appeared in New York in 1925. Nurmi immediately dominated the mile events in the major indoor meets at the Garden, beating reigning […]
Bob Hayes
Bob Hayes (Track. Born, Jacksonville, FL, Dec. 20, 1942; died, Jacksonville, FL, Sept. 18, 2002.) A two-sport athlete at Florida A&M, Robert Lee Hayes became a famous athlete in 1963 and 1964. Hayes set a world record (9.1 seconds) in the 100-yard dash outdoors in 1963. He was the sensation of the 1964 New York […]
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens (Track and field. Born, Danville, AL, Sept. 12, 1913; died, Tucson, AZ, Mar. 31, 1980.) James Cleveland Owens, a spectacular high school athlete in Ohio and then an even more spectacular performer at Ohio State, achieved sports immortality in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. He also provided outstanding performances for New York […]
Les MacMitchell
Les MacMitchell (Track. Born, New York, Sept. 26, 1920; died, San Jose, CA, Mar. 21, 2006.) Unusual for his era, Thomas Leslie MacMitchell was competitive with the world’s elite mile runners while still an undergraduate at N.Y.U. MacMitchell was the 1941 N.C.A.A. mile champion outdoors, but that winter he had already won the Baxter Mile […]
Joey Goldstein
Joey Goldstein (Public relations. Born, Conway, SC, July 20, 1927; died, Boca Raton, FL, Feb. 14, 2009.) Cast in the mold of the great Broadway press agents of the 1930s and ’40s, Joey Goldstein carved a unique position for himself in the world of sports as the most dynamic, exciting and, sometimes, controversial public relations […]
Gil Dodds
Gil Dodds (Track and field. Born, Norcatur, KS, June 23, 1918; died, St. Charles, IL, Feb. 3, 1977.) From the time he won the 1940 N.C.A.A. cross-country national championship running for Ashland (O.) College, Rev. Gilbert Lothar Dodds was expected to be a major star. Dodds indeed became the leading miler during and immediately after […]
Harrison Dillard
Harrison Dillard (Track and field. Born, Cleveland, OH, July 8, 1923.) During the years immediately following World War II, one of the dominant names in track and field was that of Harrison Dillard, the former Baldwin-Wallace star who made it big in New York and at the Olympics. Dillard was 27-2 in 60-yard high hurdles […]
