White Sprinters
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Sins of Omission by Roger D. McGrath White Sprinters For several years now, professional base and California had the finest track meets ball has been pouring millions of dollars in the world: The Coliseum Relays, the into developing black players. Evident Modesto Relays, the Compton Relays, ly, the number of black players, at least and the West Coast Relays were legend American blacks, has been in decline. ary. For nearly a half-century, the world NASCAR is funding programs to devel record in the 100-yard dash was owned op black drivers after fielding complaints by Southern Californians: Charley Pad that the sport is too white. Similarly, the dock, Frank Wykoff, and Mel Patton. NHL now has a "Diversit)' Program" de Paddock ran a 9.5 (seconds) in the early signed to put more blacks on the ice. I 1920's; Wykoff, a 9.4 in 1930; and Pat- running the sprints as a sophomore at can only imagine the outcry if the 75- ton, a 9.3 in 1948. Patton's record stood Uni, thought the wind was of only small percent-black NBA funded development until 1952. Patton and the others ran on advantage. Patton later broke the world programs for white players. Since I ran dirt tracks and without the aid of anabolic record in the 220 with a blazing 20.2. He the 100 and 220, though, I'm rooting for steroids and human growth hormone. I finished his collegiate career by wining the "White Sprinter Project." suspect they would have run at least two- both dashes at the NCAA championship Unknown to many today, whites domi tenths faster on the springy, rubberized- and anchoring the SC 4x220 relay team nated the sprints and accounted for near asphalt tracks of today. to a world record. ly all of the world records until the 1960's. "Pell-Mel" Patton led the Universi White-sprinting dominance contin During all those years of white-sprinting ty High Warriors to the Los Angeles city ued throughout the 50's. Larry Remigi- prowess, blacks were competing also, prep-track championship in 1943. Af no won the 100 in the 1952 Olympics, even winning American championships ter World War II, he attended Southern and Dave Sime and Bobby Morrow ruled and gold medals in the Olympics. It was Cal (or simply SC —nobody called the the rest of the decade. After breaking not as if blacks were prohibited from com school USC in those days). As a Tro Patton's record in the 220 with a 20.0 peting. Nearly everyone knows that Jesse jan, the splendid sprinter—six-feet tall and twice tying Patton's 9.3 in the 100, Owens captured the 100 and 200 at Ber and 150 pounds —was smoking tracks Sime, a Duke sophomore, was expected lin in 1936, and Owens was only one of and opponents in dash after dash. He tied to star in the 1956 Olympics. An inju many black sprinters America produced. Frank Wykoff's record of 9.4 twice in ry put him on the sideline, though, and, But America also produced white sprint 1947 and won the NCAA championship, at Melbourne, Abilene Christian soph ers. So, too, did the nations of Europe. then broke the 100 record with a 9.3 in omore Bobby Morrow won both dash Whites scorched the tracks of both hemi 1948 and won both sprints in the NCAA es and anchored the U.S. 4x100 relay spheres. There was even an Australian, championship. team to victory and a world record. By Hec Hogan, who tied the world record In 1948, he was the favorite for the the time Morrow finished running, he in the 100-yard dash in 1954 and put the Olympic dashes in London, but on a had won 80 of 88 races, tied world re Southern Hemisphere on the sprinting cold, blustery, wet day, the half-frozen cords in both sprints, and anchored two map. If blacks had once dominated a Patton, who appeared to have minus body world-record relays. sport and had since nearly disappeared, fat, tied up badly in the 100. The World's Recovered from injury, Dave Sime ran every black child in America would be Fastest Human finished a shocking fifth. a 9.3 again in 1957. He graduated from made aware of that fact in school, and Devastated, he stood in front of his blocks Duke a year later, leaving behind nine there would be a heavily funded nation for the 200 final two days later thinking school records —two still stand —and en al effort to bring blacks back to predom that he would be lucky to place. More tered medical school. Despite little time inance. than 100,000 Wembley Stadium specta for training, he made the Olympic team Jeremy Wariner stands out today, not tors were silent as the runners took their in I960 in the 100. At Rome, a terrible only because he won the 400 meters at marks. Suddenly, someone in the crowd start left him dead last, but he closed dra the tender age of 19 in the 2004 Olym yelled, "Co Uni! Uni High Warriors!" matically and hit the tape in a photo fin pics, but because he is white. Since then, Patton felt a rush of adrenaline course ish with Armin Hary of Germany. Hary he has been unbeatable in the 400 and through his body like never before. At the got the nod, but both runners broke the is poised to break the world record. Af report of the starter's pistol, he exploded Olympic record. With Peter Radford of ter Wariner destroyed a stellar field in from the blocks and led from start to fin Britain finishing third, white sprinters the 400 at a meet in Southern Califor ish. He later anchored the U.S. 4x 100 had swept the 100 again as they had at nia in May, a black coach said that the relay team to victory. Melbourne when American Thane Bak sport needed more like him. Wlien ques As a senior at SC in 1949, Patton ran er and Aussie Hec Hogan followed Bob tioned further, the coach said, "More a mind-boggling 9.0 —some watches by Morrow to the finish line. white sprinters would really help track." read 8.9 —but a tailwind was fraction World records. Olympic sweeps. The When I was growing up, I never saw a ally above the limit. Most observers, in World's Fastest Human. Where is the track meet without fast white sprinters — cluding my older brother, who was then Wliite Sprinter Project? <5> AUGUST 2007 / 1 3 LICENSED TO UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED VIEWS Liberality, the Basis of Culture The Ultimate Homeschool by Hugh Barbour, O.Praem. "... redeeming the time, because the days are evil. — Ephesians 5:15 a o day, come day. Lord, send Sunday." My paternal weight. Literally, the Greek says "we are unleisurely in Ggrandmother could be counted on to say these words order to have leisure." "To be unleisurely" —that is the at least once per week. Whether burdened with some mun word the Greeks used not only for the daily toil and moil dane task or confronted with the evidence of human frailty, the of life, but for ordinary everyday work. prospect of the day of worship and witness, of rest and reading, of visiting and victuals was a precious consolation to her. Sun "Greek," Pieper points out, "only has a negative"—a-sc/io/zcz— day reigned sovereign over the other days of the week, and the "just as Latin has neg-otium." Another word is cultus, to which breach of its observance, whether by absence from church or is related cultura and, evidently, culture and all its equivalents by skimping on dinner or by mowing the lawn, was proof not in other European languages. In his Preface to the American only of infidelity, but of incivility. When local authorities be translation, Pieper points out: gan to permit Sunday openings, she saw through their pretense and predicted dire effects. "They think that they can steal time The word "cult" in English is used exclusively, or almost from the Almighty and that He won't notice. But He's the One exclusively, in a derivative sense. But here it is used, who said 'Six days shalt thou labor, and do all that thou hast to along with worship, in its primary sense. It means some do; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God.' thing else than, and something more than, religion. It Soon enough and they'll begin to think that they're almighty really means fulfilling the ritual of public sacrifice. That themselves, but He'll show them who's the King." is a notion which contemporar)' "modern" man associ My grandmother was surely not a philosopher and even less ates almost exclusively and unconsciously with uncivi a theologian. (Her best effort at showing some little apprecia lized, primitive peoples and with classical antiquify. For tion of her grandson's Catholicit)' was when she said, "The Ro that very reason it is of the first importance to see that the man religion is just too deep for me.") Even so, her approach cultus, now as in the distant past, is the primary source of to time and work and worship was in line with the deepest of man's freedom, independence and immunify within so insights, in particular with those of the great German Thomist ciety. Suppress that last sphere of freedom, and freedom Josef Pieper, who, in the summer of 1947, presented a paper itself, and all our liberties, will in the end vanish into in Bonn entitled "Musse und Kult" ("Leisure and Worship"), thin air.