University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1912-03-28

In more modern times athletics have
taken a different turn. Changes
from time to time in the last century
have been made in the events of
track contests and in the contests
themselves, and little record has been
made of them.
An instructor in the athletic de-
partment of the University of Mis-
souri,. T. +. Jones. presented a the
sis on THE Rise and Development of
Track Athletics" when he received a
Bachelor of Physical Education de-
gree. He did the work while he was
a student at the International Young
Mems Christian Association Training
School, at Springfield. Mass.
There are seventy-two pages in the
thesis. 1t took Mr.. Jones about a
year to collect the data for it Little
had been written on track athletics
and Mr.. Jones had to visit many of
the large colleges and universities
of the United States to obtain infor-
schools in England by sending ques-
tiOnaires to each of them and
through aid of friends in the schools.
"Organizcd track athletics in the
colleges and universities of both
| England and America is of recent de-
velOpment," according to Mr.. Jones.
yet its true origin in many of the
| schools is a perpleXing question on
account of the fragmentary records
kept.
THE first place that track athlet-
les are found in the English schools
is at the Royal Military College at
Sandhurst. 1t is claimed that semi
annual field meets We're conducted
there as early as 1912 but no records
were kept of them until 1910. The
famous cricket run was founded
about 1891. In 1S45 the annual ath-
letic meet consisted of the steeple
chase, sprints, scurry and hurdle
races at EtOn.
dublin University in Ireland was
the first school on the island to Or
ganiZe athletics. This was done in
1857, but at earlier dates matches
between members of rowing clubs
were held
"Organized track athletics in Scot
land We're common in the seventeenth
century. Not until 1866, however,
did the universities take up the sport
and organize to promote it. In that
year the Edinburg University Athlet-
| ic Club was organized. Other uni
versities in Scotland We're quick to
follow the example.
The first track meet in England
| was held at Durham University in
1882. The history of intercollegiate
athletics between Oxford and Cam
bridge universities began in 1864.
This was ten years before the first
intercollegiate meet was held in
America. The events in this meet
were: 1O0-yard dash. high jump, 440-
yard run. l20-yard hurdle, mile run,
running wide jump, 200-yard hurdle
and twO-mile steeple chase. Cam
bridge won the meet by taking four
first events out of the eight.
THE first international meet in
the British Isles was held March 26,
1877. 1t was between England and
ireland and out of twelve events,
England won ten.
There are two periods in Amer
lea that Influenced college athletics.
The first period was marked by a
vague general interest in track ath-
Ietics and other sports and extended
from the early days to about 1860.
when it took on more definite
form. The first American athlete of
fame was George Seward of New
Haven, Conn. Many tales are told of
his ability as a runner: some, no
doubt, are Overdrawn. In 1914 he
visited in England, where he COM
peted in various races, making Won
derful records and winning all races
under the 440-yard run. According
to a newspaper of the time. he won
the 100-yard dash in . seconds: the
l20-lard dash in II 1-2 seconds and
the 2O0-yard dash in 10 1-2 seconds.
THE second great athlete of in
ternatiOnal reputation in this period
was Louis BennOtt, a Seneca India,
who was called DeerfOOt. He was
distance runner. In 1863 he estab
lished five records i'm England. sever
al of which stand unbrOken today.
A London newspaper of the time con-
tainS an account of a match there in
which the Indian was to run eleven
and a half miles in an hour. He