This Day in Traffic History, April 3: Bad House Puts the WR in a Drive (1926), curated and written by Walt Murphy

Walt Murphy News and Results Service ((email protected))

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This day in athletics – April 3

(Houser, Glance, ’04 Marathon Trials-W/Born on this Day-Trinity Gray, Ellerbe, LaPlante/RIP-Stella Walsh/Elvis-Milton Berle)

1868— William Gibbs set a world record of 4:28.8 miles at the Oxford-Cambridge dual meet in London.

1915—Winthrop College’s Hazel Hutaff set a pre-IAAF world record of 5-9 ¾ (1.77) (yes, 5-9 3/4!) in the Pole Vault in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_pole_vault_world_record_progression

1926— Future Hall of Famer Bud Hauser set a world record 158-1 ¾ (48.20) in the discus at Stanford. The USC senior, who won Olympic gold in the shot put and discus at the 1924 Paris Games, won the NCAA title in June with a No. 2 finish.^th Olympic gold in the discus at the 1928 Amsterdam Games (he was also the flag bearer for the US team in 1928). He is still the only person to have won the Olympic shot put and discus double.

WikiBio:: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Houser

1959Hall of Famer Bobby Morrow edged his rival Ira Murchison in a special 100-meter race at the Texas Relays, with both clocking 10.2. Morrow won three gold medals at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics – the 100, 200 and 4×100 relay. Murchison, who stood just 5′-4” (1.62+), ran the lead leg on the 4×100 team that set a world record of 39.5 in Melbourne.

Murchison:

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/31/obituaries/ira-murchison-61-former-track-star.html

Texas Relays History:

http://texassports.com/sports/2013/10/25/relays_1025133916.aspx?path=relays

1965— Just a few days after winning the Cinque Mulini (Five Mills) cross-country race in Italy, Billy Mills won the 3-mile USA-UK dual meet on the Wembley section of London. His time of 13:36.8 was the fastest ever run in Europe.

Mills received unexpected support from a fan who shouted before the race: “Billy, Billy, it’s me, Carl, from Haskell.” Mills later said: “I look up and see my classmate from high school, Carl Pierce, a member of the Mohawk Nation. He quickly tells me he has to leave right after the meet, won’t have time to get together, just wanted me to know he’s watching me during the race.

Carl was the youngest junior high school boy. I was the second youngest. He stuck with the moniker “MONSTER”. Every day I counted my blessings in high school that Carl attended Haskell.

The starter gives the “set” command; there is a momentary pause and the gun is fired. Subconsciously my mind tells my body to take the lead. I move to the front with the intention of leading from start to finish to honor my Mohawk friend and former classmate, “The Monster.”

In a rematch of the top two finishers from the 1964 Olympics, gold medalist Lynn Davies (25-9 ¼ (7.85)) thrilled the British partisan crowd with her victory over reigning Olympic champion Ralph Boston (25-8 ½) (25-8 ½) (7.83+).

https://indianyouth.org/road-to-tokyo-a-trip-to-berlin-and-check-point-charlie/

1976— Auburn freshman Harvey Glens, 19, ran a 9.9 in Columbia, South Carolina, to finish 6th.^th Man sets 100m world record for Jim Hines. Glance would run 9.9 again a month later and then win NCAA titles in the 100 and 200 in June (he also won the NCAA 100 in 1977). She won the 100 at the US Olympic Trials, finishing 4th^th At the Olympic Games in Montreal, he won a gold medal in the 4×100 relay.

Glenns retired in 2011 after spending the previous 14 years as a coach at Alabama, but was quickly encouraged by Nike to continue as the personal trainer of Grenada’s Kierani James, who had just won an NCAA title under Glenns. (and later a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships, silver in 2022, Olympic silver in 2016, bronze in 2021). Sadly, Glens passed away suddenly in 2023 at the age of 66.

https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78456

Look/James: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/08/coming_out_of_retirement_pays.html

9.9 club

Jim Hines 1968 (twice)

Ronnie Ray Smith 1968

Charlie Green 1968

Eddie Hart 1972

Ray Robinson 1972

Steve Williams 1974, 1975 (3 times)

Silvio Leonard-Cuba 1975

Harvey Gains 1976 (twice)

Don Quarrie-Jamaica 1976

1976— UTEP’s all-Kenyan quartet of Joseph Gichongeri (4:05.2), James Munyala (4:05.9), Frank Mune (4:05.5) and Wilson Waigwa (3:58.5) ran 16:14.1 for the 4xMile at the Texas Relays. UTEP is still 9^th– the fastest school in the event.

https://trackandfieldnews.com/tfn-lists/collegiate-all-time-list-men/

2004– Texas, anchored by Sania Richards in 50.3, won the 4×400 for the 6th straight year at the Texas Relays and set a college record of 3:23.75. Sheretta Jones (52.8), Raasyn McIntosh (50.7) and Jerrica Chapple (50.0) preceded Richards. The mark stood until 2017, when Oregon ran 3:23.12 to beat USC (3:23.35) at the NCAA Championships.

Baylor won the men’s 4×400 for the 17th time in Texas as Jeremy Warriner (44.3) and Darold Williamson (44.5) ran legs 3 and 4, just as they would later in the year when they won Olympic gold in Athens. Warriner also won gold in the 400 that year and another gold in the relay at the 2008 Olympics. Richards (Ross) won gold in the 400 at the 2012 London Olympics and won his 4th Olympic gold medal in the 4×400 relay.

Texas Relays History:

http://www.texassports.com/sports/2013/10/25/relays_1025133916.aspx?path=relays

2004— Colleen De Roque, 39, led the U.S. women’s Olympic marathon trials in St. Louis, and was joined on Team USA by Deanna Castor and Jen Rhines. Castor went on to win a bronze medal at the Athens Olympics.

Results:: https://www.runnerspace.com/news.php?news_id=10014

Features:: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uBA_qXua8g

Born on this day*

Feng Bin – China 32 (1994) 2022 World Discus Champion; bronze medalist 2023, 8^th In 2017, 5^th In 2019, 7^th in 2025

Silver medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics; 2016-8^thdid not make it to the finals in 2021

3-time champion of Asia – 2019, 2023, 2025

PB:223-9 (69.12/2022); 2025 SB214-11 (65.52)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feng_Bin

’22 WC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc866It08dE

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202207/22/WS62d9f871a310fd2b29e6dc4a.html

Trinity Gray 48 (1978) 1999 IC4A Champion – 800m (Brown)

4-time All-American in the 800

(98-6:^th NCAA Outdoor, ’99-2^th Inside, ’00-4^th Inside, 3:00^th– Outdoors

6:00^th 2000 US Olympic Trials; 2001 US Champion

Fastest American in 2001 with a time of 1:44.54

Currently a financial consultant

In 2009, he suffered strokes that required two surgeries. Read more about this chapter

his life and his relationship with coach Bob Rothenberg at:

https://browntrack.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/trinity-gray-00-2011-brown-hall-of-fame-inductee/

https://disabilityin.org/bio/trinity-gray/

Dawn Ellerbe 52 (1974) 6-time US hammer throw champion (1995-1997, 1999-2001)

6-time USA Champion – 20-pound shot put (1996-2001)

Two-time NCAA hammer throw champion (South Carolina/1996,1997-1^St NCAA champion

event)

2-time NCAA 20-pound shot put champion (1996, 1997);

7:00^th at the 2000 Olympics;

PBs77-5 ¼ (’00), 231-8 (’01)

Currently Senior Director-Director at UCLA

Wiki Biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawn_Ellerbe

https://www.suffolksportshof.com/ellerbe-dawn/

Deby LaPlante 73 (1953) 2-time US champion: 100m hurdles (1978, 1979)

2-time U.S. Over-60 Steeplechase Champion (1976, 1978)

1976 US Olympics – 100m hurdles (semifinal)

https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77895

https://digital.sdsu.edu/view-item?i=108814&WINID=1712005690455

http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia?a=d&d=cs19771208-01.2.42

Dead

Stella Walsh/Stanislava Walasewicz-Poland 69 (1911-4 Dec 1980) 1932 Olympic gold medalist-100 m (1936-silver)

An autopsy performed after he was fatally shot revealed mixed sex characteristics (see links).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanisława_Walasiewicz

https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/74664

https://www.britannica.com/topic/1932-Olympic-Games-The-Curious-Story-of-Stella-Walsh-1367962

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/05/cleveland_track_star_stella_wa.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3620520/

Russian Francis 70 (1953 – October 1, 2023) Senior at Pleasant Hill HS (OR) who had never even seen a spear when he

Transferred from Hawaii to Oregon, shot 184-2 (56.13) in his first competition in 1971. It was a modest opening.

Francis, who set three national HS records that year with the “old” tool: 253-1 (77.14m/5-7);

254-11 (77.70/5-27), and 259-9 (79.17m/6-12). The last sign remained for 17 years until the late art captain

Tossed 259-10 (79.20, Sandy, OR) in 1988. He was also 4th at the US Championships in 1971.

Francis spent over ten years in the NFL as a tight end with New England and San Francisco and was a member of the 49ers’ 1985 Super Bowl Championship team. His teammates also included track and field stars Michael Carter and Renaldo Nehemiah. Francis, following in his father’s (Ed) footsteps, also spent time as a professional wrestler and ran for Congress in Hawaii in 2000.

He died in a plane crash in Lake Placid, New York in 2023 at the age of 70.

https://www.lakeplacidnews.com/news/local-news/2023/10/01/two-killed-in-lake-placid-airplane-crash-identified/

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/F/FranRu00.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ_Francis

Wrestling video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW9_b9U4084

https://hornellsun.com/2023/10/04/russ-Francis-died-in-a-plane-crash-at-lake-placid-but-his-life-was-full-and-more-than-football/

Wrestling video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW9_b9U4084

Global:: https://twitter.com/KevG163/status/1708915430423744601