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Next February will mark the 50th Anniversary of the Wanamaker Mile at the 1955 Millrose Games, a race entitled at the time by Sports Illustrated as "The Riotous Wanamaker Mile". It certainly ranks with one of the "most bizarre things in track and field", especially in a major race.
To set the scene--A week earlier in the Boston A.A. Mile Wes Santee, then America's greatest miler, had crushed Gunnar Nielsen, the Danish 1952 Olympic 1500m bronze medalist, in his American indoor debut, by 35 yards, running 4:03.8 to break Gil Dodds' record of 4:05.3. They met again a week later in the Wanamaker on the old Madison Square Garden 160-yard board track before a passionate sell-out crowd. Also in the race was Fred Dwyer of Villanova, the 1953 Wanamaker winner. After a very fast pace, Santee led at the half-mile. On the middle of the backstretch on the last lap with 80 yards remaining, it was Santee, Dwyer and Nielsen in close single file. Suddenly Nielsen shot to the lead and into the turn. Santee, tiring, moved out to prevent Dwyer from also passing him. Dwyer moved inside Santee in an attempt to catch Nielsen. Santee suddenly moved back to the pole and Dwyer was forced off the track. Dwyer continued to run off the track and then came back on the track at the head of the homestretch in front of Santee. Santee reacted by grabbing Dwyer's shoulder. Dwyer grabbed Santee around the waist and the two of them spun around the track in each other's arms, then broke apart and staggered across the finish line. Dwyer was disqualified for running indide the track. Ahead of them Nielsen had finished in a world indooor record of 4:03.6, breaking Santee's week-old record. It was a world record that few of the 15,000 spectators had actually witnessed. All eyes had been on the strange Santee-Dwyer fiasco.
To set the scene--A week earlier in the Boston A.A. Mile Wes Santee, then America's greatest miler, had crushed Gunnar Nielsen, the Danish 1952 Olympic 1500m bronze medalist, in his American indoor debut, by 35 yards, running 4:03.8 to break Gil Dodds' record of 4:05.3. They met again a week later in the Wanamaker on the old Madison Square Garden 160-yard board track before a passionate sell-out crowd. Also in the race was Fred Dwyer of Villanova, the 1953 Wanamaker winner. After a very fast pace, Santee led at the half-mile. On the middle of the backstretch on the last lap with 80 yards remaining, it was Santee, Dwyer and Nielsen in close single file. Suddenly Nielsen shot to the lead and into the turn. Santee, tiring, moved out to prevent Dwyer from also passing him. Dwyer moved inside Santee in an attempt to catch Nielsen. Santee suddenly moved back to the pole and Dwyer was forced off the track. Dwyer continued to run off the track and then came back on the track at the head of the homestretch in front of Santee. Santee reacted by grabbing Dwyer's shoulder. Dwyer grabbed Santee around the waist and the two of them spun around the track in each other's arms, then broke apart and staggered across the finish line. Dwyer was disqualified for running indide the track. Ahead of them Nielsen had finished in a world indooor record of 4:03.6, breaking Santee's week-old record. It was a world record that few of the 15,000 spectators had actually witnessed. All eyes had been on the strange Santee-Dwyer fiasco.
LOL
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