Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-01-11
SPOTLIGHT
SPORTS
Eiaht Years OId-ond GROWING
BY BILL FUCHS

1T WILL BE THE ninth annual Star Games coming up
January 81 and from its rather quick confused beginning
the meet certainly has gathered ivy hurredy From
expected afterhought that popped into the mind Of try
ing to concentrate another matter the Games have be-
established the top winter sports spectacle in the
area.
The man in question Howard p Bailey of The Evening
Star had driven to the National Guard Armoy winter
afternoon in 94 seeking to line up the spacious building
inspection center for box derby another
Star promotion He struck by the vaStneSs OF the place
and visions of an indoor track meet began crowdng out
soap boxers who weren't due to until summer anyhow
Six fast-yng weeks later, the first Star Games were
reality
Regarding that s4S meet it isn't Joe Cianciabelas VIC
tory Bill Mathis in the spnts the high Jump victory
by 35-year gaer named Dave Albton that first
to mind Rather is that failed to fire. Some things
pick humor in retrospect and such is the remembered
embarrassment of Starter Yank Robbins trying fire blanks
through stubborn pistol The red-faced Robbins
duced to dropping handkerhefs until later in the evening
the weapon relened and fired efficiently and noisy.
BEST REMEMBERED "GooF" of course, is the short
tack Of 1850. That the meet in which 17yearold
schooboy named Henry Thresher, at that time student
Mercerburg Academy rescued meet officials by stealing
the melght in the sprint series Thresher, later dash
star at Yale not only beat out the favote in the sprnS
but set 10 and dash records in the The
ords counted there but in the distance events miSlaid
piece of tape put the whammy all times The track had
been measured with steel tape but unknown to those in
charge the tape had snapped previously and when repaired
a section six feet in length had been left out.
1t confused night for all concerned. Don Gehr
the Wisconsin STAR had just the mile In 4016,
nearly four seconds faster than the world indoor record
owned by Gil Dodds incidentally, Dodds mark of 4:053
stood for years. until 1855 when first Yves Santee
in Boston and week later, Gunnar Nielsen in New York,
chopped 1t down.
One reporter had cornered Gehrmann in the dressing
and had with what seemed to be the feature
story of his While the reporter worked his tipping
machine others learned the awful truth The track SO
yards short of mile The feature writer filed his story
adding confusion to the home office workers. who
already had in hand corrected story dealing with the mis-
measurement
Best story ever wrote that never got in the paper"
the writer said later.
BALANCE, EFFICIENCY, maturity have to The
since them that is of the best-handled
events of its size anywhere ALI the top track stars consider
it must their indoor schedules Bob Richards peren
NAL favorte here says is his favoe meet Arthur Wnt
Herb MCKINLEY, Don Laz Art Bragg Horace Ashenfeter
Fred Wilt Joe Gafney Arne Sowell Santee and Nielsen
the world renowned athletes who have performed
here.
And who remembers George Wade? George won The
Star Games mile in 1949 but comparatively speaking this
of little to the Yale University student who
had to wonder at the way things Some George
just plain lucky but it would rather that the
Hand of Heaven interviewed here
Wades original plans that year did not include the in
door track Christmas at home his primary
until Track Coach Bob Gegengack persuaded him to
give up the trip the West Coast favor Of improving his
running Wade already had the chartered
plane but reinquished it got out his track shoes.
The plane crashed killing Is of Georges fellow students
STRIKING LESS sOMBER note it will be interesting to
Art Bragg continue his mastery in the Exchange
Club Sprint Series Bragg almost complete monopoly of this
event is amazing Spriners co. Bragg the exMor
State STAR rolls gathering Exchange Club trophies
his way.
Macdonald Bailey, the British star, and Thresher the
schooboy sensation Of the previous the big
when Bragg his first Series in 1851 David Neville and
Ira Kane the competition the following Bob
a. See sPoTI1huT ON SPORTS. Page c.