Lonely memories of a forever past

Lonely memories of a forever past

Track and field is about time, measurements.  How far did you throw the discus, how fast did you run 100 meters?  Or vault?

Your marks this coming season will be in some ways your identity.  While a sport is a sport, not eternal judgment, in that we live on the earth and keep track (no pun) of such things as the efforts of coaches and athletes,

The photo of Wes Santee and I at the Marin Headlands overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge is what prompted this email.  Standing on my left is Wes Santee.  In my day, he was the most famous of all American track athletes. Some 13,000 fans came out to see the Kansas miler when he ran against Cal in a dual track meet in Berkeley.  Most felt he would be the first to break the 4 minute mile barrier in that he possessed three of the four fastest mile times ever recorded. His 4:00.6 time at Compton in 1953 included the world record at the 1500m mark.

Wes and I raced and trained together in 1955 and 1956 at Quantico, Virginia. We were both lieutenantsin the United States Marine Corps.Earlier in 1954 and 1955, my teammates were the athletes on the national championship track teams at USC.  Pretty good company.  To put it mildly, I was "blessed" with the most valuable of teammates.  But each of you will find worthy heroes and heroines who will effect your view of track greatness.  They become your challenges.  But most importantly, you, must become your hero.  This you do alone.  It is that inner conversation, brutally honest and fair, that you learn to use to measure your own track moments, memories.  This is why the photo speaks so fully to me.  Wes was my close friend, teammate, but my own running past is even more vital to me.  It is a lifetime conversation. It is in the loneliness of my own racing life that I continue to remember, sorting out the valid, the thrills, confidently looking  realistically at the truth about the mark, place,athletic  significance.In just over two weeks you begin your own track and field autobiography.  It will belong to you for as long as you live.

Bill Taylor

Coach of Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo, California

USC Letterman 1954-55 

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Editor Keith Conning:  I attended the Cal vs. Kansas dual meet at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley in 1954 with my father and brother.  I was 13 years old.  Wes Santee was a magnificent runner.

"Known for his versatility as a collegiate star at the University of Kansas, on April 10, 1954, Santee had an amazing three-race performance against the University of California at Berkeley, where he won the 880y in 1:51.5, the mile in 4:05.5, and ran a 440 relay leg in 48-flat."
http://www.usatf.org/halloffame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=214

Mal Whitfield (USA), the father of Cal high jumper Ed Wright, set the world record for the 880 yards in Turku, Finland on July 17, 1953.  Wesley Santee was second in 1:49.9.

IAAF
Progression of World Best Performances and IAAF Approved World Records 
1999 Edition

1500 Meters World Record

3:43.0 Gunder Hagg (SWE) Sweden; Site: Goteborg, Sweden; Date: 07.07.1944

3:43.0 Lennart Strand (SWE) Sweden Site: Malmo, Sweden; Date: 15.07.1947`

3:43.0 Werner Lueg (FRG) Federal Republic of Germany, the official name of Germany since 1949, though mainly used for West Germany from 1949 to 1990; Site: Berlin, East Germany;  Date: 29.06.1952 
FR Germany Championship, Olympic Stadium, 16 Hr  
Lueg later talking about his predecessor (Lennart) Strand said that the Swede used to carry small stones in his hand which he would switch from hand to hand while running.  This apparently helped his running action. 

3:43.0* Roger Bannister (GBR) United Kingdom; Site: Oxford, England; Date: 06.05.1954
Unofficial time during 1 Mile race (3:59.4), 300 m from 1200 to 1500m: 43.5.

3:42.8* Wes Santee (USA) Compton 04.06.1954
Compton Invitational, Ramsaur Stadium, 20.55 Hr,  Mile: 1. Santee 4:00.6 (intermediate time at 1500m: 3:42.8.  Times on 3 watches: 3:42.7 - 3:42.8 - 3:42.8), 2. Ingvar Ericsson (SWE) 4:10.3, 3. Russ Bonham 4:13.3, 4. Walter Boehm 4:16.4, 5. Williams Tidwell 4:23.7; Santee: 58.1y - 1:58.7y - 2:59.0y, the 300m from 1200 to 1500m: 43.8.

While I ran at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco from 1956 to 1959, I watched Walter Boehm train at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park and at Cox Stadium at San Francisco State University.