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This Day in Track & Field–August 18
1920— For the 5th Olympics in a row, an “Irish Whale” won the Hammer Throw, with 37-year old Paddy Ryan (173-5 ½ [52.875] following in the footsteps of John Flanagan (1900-1904-1908) and Matt McGrath( (1912). (The Irish Whales were a group of Irish-Americans who dominated the throwing events in the early part of the 20th century. They were also members of the NY City Police Department at some point.). Finishing 2-3 in Antwerp were Sweden’s Carl-Johan Lind (158-10 [48.43]) and American Basil Bennet
(158-3 [48.25]).
Born in Ireland, Ryan emigrated to the U.S. in 1910. His U.S. citizenship wasn’t confirmed in time for him to compete at the 1912 Olympics, and then another hold was put on his Olympic dreams when World War I led to the cancellation of the 1916 Games.
After serving with the U.S. Expeditionary Forces in Europe, Ryan, still yearning to be an Olympian, returned to competition in 1919 and his patience was rewarded with his win in Antwerp.
Canada’s Earl “Tommy” Thomson, the IC4A and AAU Champion from Dartmouth, won the 110-meter hurdles in the World Record time of 14.8. Thomson had set a WR of 14.4 for the slightly shorter 120-yard hurdles while winning the IC4A title. America’s Harold Barron (15.1) and Feg Murray (15.1) finished 2nd & 3rd.
Sweden’s Willam Petersson (later changed his name to Björneman) won the Long Jump with a leap of 23-5 ½ (7.15]), with silver and bronze going to American Carl Johnson (23-3 3/8 [7.095]) and another Swede, Erik Abrahamsson (23-2 ¾ [7.08]).
Sol Butler, who had jumped (24-8 ¼ [7.52]) at the U.S. Trials, was the prohibitive favorite entering the Games, but suffered an injury to his left achilles after landing in the pit on his first jump (finished 7th/21-8 [6.60]). A gracious Peterson later wrote, “The best man was unlucky in the event”.
Born the son of slaves in Oklahoma in 1895, Butler excelled in football and track at Rock Island(IL) H.S., setting a High School Record of 24-2 ½ (7.38) in the Long Jump. He previously attended Hutchinson H.S. in Kansas. He is a member of the National H.S. T&F Hall of Fame and played in the NFL.
http://nationalhighschooltrackandfieldhof.org/showcase/sol-butler/
(Includes picture of him being carried off the field in Antwerp)
The medalists in the 10,000-Meters Walk were Italy’s Ugo Frigerio (48:06.2), American Joseph Pearman (49:40.8), and Great Britain’s Charles Gunn (49:43.2). Frigerio would also win the 3000m-Walk 3 days later.
Medalists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_at_the_1920_Summer_Olympic
Olympedia Reports: https://www.olympedia.org/editions/7/sports/ATH
Hall of Fame Bios
Ryan(2014): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/pat-paddy-ryan
McGrath(2006): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/matt-mcgrath
McDonald(2012): https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/pat-mcdonald
http://www.wingedfist.org/Paddy_Ryan_of_Pallasgreen.html
Winged Fist Way: http://www.wingedfist.org/home.html
Irish Whales: https://www.theirishstory.com/2012/06/22/irelands-forgotten-olympians-the-irish-whales/#.Xzuz_S2ZMhs
More on Thomson
He grew up in Southern California, had dual-citizenship, and was inducted into the U.S. Hall of Fame in 1977. He attended Long Beach Poly H.S. and was the first California H.S. State Champion in the 120y-hurdles (1915).
Thomson’s coach at Dartmouth was H.L. Hillman:
Despite the fact that he was almost totally deaf by the 1940s, he became a coach at Yale and then the U.S. Naval Academy. He also became Billy Mills’ coach leading up to the 1964 Olympics!
Thomson/Mills: https://theolympians.co/2017/07/06/billy-mills-and-the-miracle-10000-meter-race-part-4-the-coach-vs-the-mentor/
1956—Parry O’Brien added ½” to his World Record in the Shot Put with a toss of 61-4 ½ (18.70) in Pasadena, CA.
On the other side of the country, three American Records were set at the U.S. Women’s Championships in Philadelphia by Earlene Brown in the Shot Put (45-0 [13.71]), Pam Kurrell in the Discus (140-11 [42.96]), and Margaret Matthews in the Long Jump
(19-4 [5.89]).
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