March 2017 Contents
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March 2017 Track and Field Contents Writers of P. 1 President’s Message America P. 3 2017 TAFWA Awards (Founded June 7, 1973) P. 4 The TAFWA Awards Short List 2016 P. 6 Photos from 2017 TAFWA Dinner in NYC PRESIDENT P. 10 Soldier-Athlete Mel Pender Olympic Gold Medalist Jack Pfeifer 216 Ft. Washington Ave., P. 13 Larry Byrne, New York State Historian Among Many Other Roles, Passes Away NY, NY 10032 at 88 Office/home: 917-579- P. 15 Olympic Gold Medalist Danny Everett to Present Running Icon Award to 5392. Email: Former Teammate Steve Lewis [email protected] P. 16 Legacy of Rio Olympics so Far is Series of Unkept Promises VICE PRESIDENT P. 19 Hosting Olympics is a Risk LA is Willing to Take Doug Binder P. 20 Clashing Agendas: Antidoping Officials vs. U.S. Olympic Leaders Email: P. 22 A Tone Deaf IOC Won’t Hear What Cities Do: Hosting the Olympics Sounds Like [email protected]. Phone: 503-913-4191 Sour Notes P. 24 Rio Olympics: Lamine Diack’s Son ‘Paid $2m by Brazilian’ as Vote Loomed TREASURER P. 25 Partial Fixtures List Tom Casacky P.O. Box 4288 Napa, CA 94558 President’s Message - March 2017 Phone: 818-321-3234 Email: [email protected] Drugs, Russians, Payoffs Can’t get away from the relentless cascade of misdeeds, investigations and coverups at the SECRETARY highest levels of Track & Field. Some of this is reported in this month’s issue. The head of the Jon Hendershott IAAF might have been paid millions – or his son, or both – by a contractor in Brazil to help Rio Email: got the ’16 Olympics? You mean so that Brazilian contractors could make fortunes on the ensu- [email protected] Phone: 503-967-6553 ing construction craze, creating dozens of buildings that already sit empty or in disrepair? No wonder some question the future of the Olympic movement and the credibility of such figures FAST as Bach and Coe. (Saying “Olympic movement” doesn’t let T&F off the hook, by the way, as our Dave Johnson sport remains at the center of the corruption. Witness the Russians, WADA etc.) Email: Meantime, the vote to select the hosts of the ’24 and possibly ’28 Summer Games is sched- [email protected] uled for September, with two great international cities – Los Angeles and Paris – still standing Phone: 215-898-6145 now that Budapest wisely stepped aside. Will both be awarded at once? Will the LA Coliseum WEBMASTER become the first structure to stage three modern Games? Michael McLaughlin Winter Awards Dinner Email: In spite of blizzard conditions in the New York area, our event came off as scheduled. Forty [email protected] hardy souls braved the weather and showed up in the back room of Coogan’s Restaurant, in- Phone: 815-529-8454 cluding two 90-year-olds. (Can you name them?) The get-together had also been planned as a 40th-anniversary celebration of the founding NEWSLETTER EDITOR Shawn Price of the newsletter Eastern Track by our own Walt Murphy. Some of Walt’s extended family and Email: close friends were in attendance and told Walter Stories. [email protected] It was all duly recorded on video; the link is available here: http://www.armorytrack.com/ Phone: 979-661-0731 gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45586&do=videos&video_id=197974-New-York-Track-Writers- Awards-2017. Two Oregonians contributed mightily to preserving the evening on film, as Pat Holleran flew in from Eugene and took photos and Kim Spir sat in her office in Portland and assembled them for your viewing pleasure. Three awards were presented: James O. Dunaway Journalism Award to David Monti, of Race Results Weekly Cordner Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award to the above-mentioned Walt Murphy H. D. Thoreau Broadcasting Award to Larry Rawson None of the three knew in advance that they were being recognized – they were all secretly lured to attend on the belief that they would be honoring others – and they all appeared properly surprised and humbled, hooray! The finalists for two other awards – Book and Film – were announced and appear here. Those and our remaining awards for 2017 will be presented either in Eugene or Sacramento in June. We will have get-togethers that month in both cities, at the NCAA and the USATF. Be there or be square. Mike Rauh Retires A fixture in the New York area for many years as an announcer and press steward, Mike Rauh has retired to spend more time on his sailboat with his wife. A photo of the well-appointed press area at this year’s Millrose Games at the Armory, a result of Mike’s meticulous handiwork, appears in this Newsletter. Research Inquiries Our good friend Gary Corbitt ([email protected], www.tedcorbitt.com) is looking for help with his Running History Scholars Forum, especially the History of African-American Long Distance Running 1880-1940. With the passing of Larry Byrne, one of Larry’s annual research projects, The Greenbook, is in need of a successor. The Greenbook is a history of high school cross country at Van Cortlandt Park, in the Bronx. If interested, contact me directly at [email protected]. Larry was a close personal friend who died in Rhode Island three days prior to his beloved Millrose Games. A longtime TAFWA and FAST member, Larry was a Marine Corps lifer (I only did a couple of years, both of us during Vietnam), train aficionado, and father of eight. He married his longtime companion, Bernice DeMello, a year ago. (Larry, Matt Centrowitz and I had a genealogical peculiarity in common – Irish Catholic and Jewish grandfathers.) Larry was a longtime track announcer in the East, his gruff, deep-throated, distinctive New York style unmistakable. He directed the IC4A Championships for many years, and nurtured the HS Boys mile run at Millrose for three decades. Today the race is named in his honor. Laurence Thomas Byrne (called LT by some) was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 1928. He went to P.S. 241 in Pros- pect Heights, a block from Prospect Park, followed by St. Teresa’s Parochial School, four blocks north, across Eastern Park- way. He attended two high schools, Xavier in Lower Manhattan, and Brooklyn Prep, but to his regret never graduated. A few years later, the Marine Corps beckoned, and he served as an enlisted man until his retirement in 1970 as a 1st Sergeant (E-8). His children were born in a 10-year span from 1954 to 1964. He was a runner for a time. Here is a photo of him, taken after service in Korea, as a member of a USMC squad. (2nd from right). After retirement from the service, he began a second ca- reer, working for Met Life. He lived on Long Island, got his GED and then a college de- gree, and became increasingly involved in track and field, behind the mike, putting on meets, compiling records. He became the keeper of the New York Blue Book – all- time lists and records for the Empire State, boys and girls, indoors and out, updated and published every year – and after moving to Rhode Island, did the same for that state and eventually for all of New England, as well as the VCP Green Book for XC. It will take half a dozen of us to replace him. Semper fi. Dues To keep this Newsletter coming every month in your In box, please pay your dues of $30 for 2017. This will also entitle you to a copy of the 2017 FAST Annual when it is ready in the spring. Book Sale A cache of past TFNs and NCAA Guidebooks has been uncovered here at the TAFWA Home Office. Need to fill some holes in your collection? They are available, first-come, first-served. Email your interest to [email protected]. Track & Field News 1968 to 2005 $1 per issue, plus $10 shipping, min. order 10 issues NCAA TF Annuals 1948 to 1972 $10 per book, shipping included TAFWA Newsletter - Page 2 - March 2017 2017 TAFWA Awards Recognizing excellence in track & field journalism, announcing, photography, film & video, blogging, broadcasting and books in 2016 as well as ongoing cooperation with the media General information: These awards will be presented in June 2017 in Eugene and Sacramento for work in 2016 unless otherwise noted. Self-nominations are allowed. Please include nominee’s name, address, e-mail address and phone. James O. Dunaway Memorial Award For excellence in track and field journalism, both in print and online Presented in NY Feb. 2017 to David Monti, of Race Results Weekly Sam Skinner Memorial Award For ongoing cooperation with the press Award Chair: Jon Hendershott ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: May 1 Note: Submit name of nominee and a brief narrative Announcing Awards For excellence in track and field announcing Scott Davis Memorial Award: presented to a current announcer Pinkie Sober Award: presented to a retired announcer or posthumously Award Chair: Dave Johnson ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: May 1 Rich Clarkson Photography Award For excellence in track and field/cross country/running still photography Award Chair: Jack Pfeifer ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: May 1 Note: Submit an electronic portfolio with a minimum of 10 photos and maximum of 20. Bud Greenspan Memorial Film & Video Award For excellence in track and field/running film & video production Award Chair: Nancy Beffa ([email protected]) Nomination Deadline: January 1 The five finalists have been selected and announced. Note: A second award recognizing works shorter less than 25 minutes will be inaugurated in 2018.