Evening Star Newspaper, May 26, 1929, Page 100

By C. WILLIAM DUNCAN. - AWSON ROBERTSON, head coach of the United States Olympic teams in 1924 and 1928, scoffs at the idea that runners ere getting faster every decade. He _does not ‘agree with those who ‘believe that the star trackman of today is the em- bodiment of all that is perfect and that he could pass the star of 1879 as easily as the Leviathan glides by a slow freighter at sea. Away back in 1860, in the days before smooth cinder tracks, an English runner tore off a mile in 4 minutes 13 seconds, only a few seconds slower than the record of 4 minutes 102-5 seconds, held by Nurmi, a wonder man of this decade. “But what about records in other events that have been broken year after year?” I asked Mr. Robertson after his surprising statement. ¢:QOME of them have come down, certainly,” he replied. “But look at the tracks of today as compared with those of 50 or 60 years ngo. Look at the neat, light shoes and the im- provement in other equipment. I tell you, I can’t sez where runners are getting better and better every year. Here’s just one fact to study over. Jackson Scholz and Charley Paddock were on the Olympic teams of 1920 and 1924, In 1028, eight years after their first participa- tion, they were still good enough to qualify and imake the grade as team members. There were not enough good younger men to crowd them “So-farsas*E am concerned, I think the type of track athlete, at least in the East, is deteri- orating rather than improving. A quarter of a century ago the great men in our sport came from the East, but during the last 10 years the supremacy has shifted to the West. Today, all $n all, those who excel in running, jumping and throwing come from the West, especially from California. : “I admire those boys. They are the offshoots $rom the ‘Forty-niners,’ ploneers like Lewis and Clark. Today that sturdy stock seems to be fmeeting the test in heated competition against the East, which has a greater infusiom sf for- gign blood. “Of course, the climate is a factor in their favor. At University of Southern California nd at Leland Stanford, where so many splen- did track athletes are produced, they can prac- tice throughout the entire year. In the East We have to wait until April for outdoor work.” It might be well here to tell more about this foted goach, who makes these interesting state- $nents about the modern youth. A trick of fate, the failure of a business in Wwhich he was interested, turned Lawson Rob- ertson from the commercial world to coaching. ‘That was back in 1909. Before that time he thad won fame as an athlete. Since then he %as become internationally noted as a coach. After attending the Boys' High School in Brooklyn, Robertson, in 1901, became a mem- ber of the Brooklyn Y. M. C. A. He became eeply interested in athletics and before the end of the year had won the all-around cham- ‘pionship of the “X” for proficiency in the high #Jump, shot.put, pole vault, quarter mile and alf mile. In 1902 he joined the Knickerbocker e. C. of New York City, and when that dis- anded transferred his allegiance to the New ‘York A. C., where for eight years as an athlete and coach he laid the foundation of his future fpuccess. In 1903 Robertson won the junior national ©20-yard dash. A year later he came in first in %he 100-yard senior national race at St. Louis. t same year he was a member of the United IStates Olympic team, placing second in the fstanding high jump. In 1906, 1907 and 1008 he 'won the 300-yard national indoor charapion- p, and also in 1907 won the national fmdoor yard dash. Is the Cinder Path S peéder Getting Faster as the Years Go by?---Lawson Robertson, Leader of United States Olympic Teams, Discusses the Sprinters. 'HE then pationally famous athlete took sec- s ond in the standing high jump and third in the standing broad at the Olympi¢ games in Athens in 1906. In 1908 he ran in the Olympic games in the 100 and 200 meters, but did not place. From 1909 until 1916 Robertson was coach of the New York A. C. and devoted part of his time to coaching the track team of New York University and Brooklyn College. In 1916 he accepted the position of track coach at the University of Pennsylvania, where he has since remained and made a splendid reputation as a developer of athletes. In 1920 he was ap- pointed assistant coach of the United States Olympic track team and was subsequently head coach in 1924 and 1928. 2 Among the champions coached by Robertson 80 far were Ted Meredith, Abel Kiviat, Melvin Sheppard, G. V. Bonhag, M. J. Sheridan, Earl Eby, Sherman Landers, Pat MacDonald, Matt McGrath, P. J. Ryan, George Bronder, Dan F. Ahern, Creed Haymond and Nelson Sherrill. Collegiate record holders, include James E. Mere- dith, Nelson Sherrill, the 800-meter relay team, composed of Sherman Landers, Creed Haymond, Fred Davis and Elmer Smith; the one-mile relay team of Dewey Rogers, Larry Brown, Earl Eby and Robert Maxam, and the two-mile relay team of George Meredith, John Holden, Larry Brown and E. W. Mullen. The greatest race ever witnessed by Robertson occurred at Stockholm in 1912, when Ted Mere- dith met Mel Sheppard in the 800-meter race. “There was an exceptionally good crop of half-milers at the Olympic games that year,” said the famous coach. “The outstanding ones were Hans Braun, British and European cham- pion, and Mel Sheppard, defending world’s champion at 800 meters. Ted Meredith, just out of Mercersburg Academy, was not taken seriously at first. He was used as a pacemaker for midcle-distance runners until one day he paced John Paul Jones, America’s best miler at that time. Jones gave Meredith 100 yards han- dicap, but never picked up a yard. Then Amer- ica knew they had a find in Meredith. Mike Murphy, whom, I was assisting in developing Ted Meredith of Mercersburg Academy, one of the great runners of all times, in the opinion of the University of Pennsylvania track coach. certain runners, was delighted with the show=- ing of the Mercersburg youth. “At a conference with Sheppard and Mere- dith it was agreed that Meredith, & schoolboy runner who was used to being out in front and was not much of a judge of distance, should take the lead in the important 800-meter race and set a fast pace to wear out Braun and the other competitors. S was to take it easy until near the end, and then sprint home a winner. [ ALL of these carefully laid plans went askew, however, when Sheppard beat the gun and found himself in the lead. For a . few seconds Mel didn't step so fast because he was waiting for Meredith to come up and take thc lead. Then he heard the pounding of feet behind him, and got the idea it was Braun, the European champ, coming up to challenge him. So, as they now say in the automobile world, Mel ‘stepped on -it’ and, without look- ing back, which is in accordance with best track tradition, set a pace that carried him past the halfway mark in the phenomenal time of 523-5 seconds. But it was Meredith, not Braun, who was pounding the cinders behind Sheppard, and 150 yards from home these two superb runners, together with Braun, who finally did draw up to challenge also, were tear- ing down the track three abreast. In the rush for the tape Mel and Ted drew away from the European runner; and then, in the final yards, the youngster spurted in home a winner by the margin of 1 yard. It was the most thrill- ing race I ever saw, especially since the winner was a 19-year-old American schoolboy. Mere- dith deserved an ovation, but didn't get it, as the great majority of spectators were Swedes and Germans.” ity ik After closing the narrative of this remarkable.. 1ace, Mr. Robertson chose to discuss the great- est sprinters—100-yard dash men—he has seen in action. His choices are Howard Drew and Charley Borah, both from the University of Southern California. “Drew is a joint holder of the record of 9 3-5 seconds with Kelly, Paddock and Bowman. But it is my opinion that Drew would be 5 or 6 feet faster than any of the others in a race when all were in their prime and running under the same conditions. In a semi-final heat at Stockholm I saw Drew beat Rupert Thomas, intercollegiate champion that year, by 8 yards. What impresses me most is what one champion does in a race against other champions, not what the watch shows. “Those who attend the intercollegiate cham- pionships on Franklin Field, Philadelphia, next Friday and Saturday will have the oppore tunity of seeing Charley Borah, the best 220~ yard-dash man I ever saw. Last year Borah was unfortunately handcaped by = influenza and by twice pulling a tendon, and so was pre- vented from doing the proper amount of train- ing to get him into condition. His failure to win was my biggest disappointment at the Olympic games last year, but I blame it on ill- ness and believe he will yet prove my conten- tion that he is one of the greatest sprinters of the century. “If in the proper condition, I think Borah can beat any of the good 220-yard sprinters by at least 4 yards. the national championships in Lincoln, Nebr., in 1927, Borah beat Rowland Locke, accredited world’s record holder, by 4 yards, again proving the point that a man’s recorded time doesn't always prove his ability in topnotch competition. “BORAB has perfect form and- is the smoothest runner I ever saw. His legs are symmetrically built and function like a machine. He is a senior at the University of Southern California, and this will probably be his last appearance on Franklin Field.” Mr. Robertson considers Meredith the. best Continued on Fijteenth Page.