First US caucasian to jump 7'

[Guest]

Who was it? Also did Bobby Avant of WS Hart High School and later USC ever clear 7'?

[6 5.5hjsteve]

Re: First US caucasian to jump 7'

the easy part first; Avant cleared 7 feet twice I believe in 1961, the second time to beat someone named John Thomas on fewer misses at the AAU nationals at Randall's Island in New York. ( I was there ! )

As to the first US caucasian to jump 7 feet, I am half guessing here ( my file of T&FN's is at home !) but I'll go with Joe Faust at the FOT in 1960.

[Guest]

Re: First US caucasian to jump 7'

several unofficial "first Caucasians over 7'"(Les Steers, Buddy Davis, Bill Stewart in unsanctioned meets, and Yuri Stepanov with illegal built-up shoe, '57) - actual first Caucasian 7'er would be Igor Kashkarov(7' 1/4, Aug. '57) Good trivia q - couldn't resist. (And I looked it up in old TFN annuals, not off top of my head, thank god)

[6 5.5hjsteve]

Re: First US caucasian to jump 7'

his initial question was first US white guy, so is that Faust, or someone else?

I'll stick with my Faust answer just from memory. Can someoneconfirm/change this, before I check myself when I go home ?

[6 5.5hjsteve]

Re: First US caucasian to jump 7'

forsyth, to be a bit picky here:

Stepanov's 7' 1" ( 2.16 ) was not illegal, as a matter of fact I believe it got approved an an official WR. But they quickly made the built up shoe illegal, but not not retroactively.

A build up was still allowed, but only to a prescribed limit. I can remember owning a pair of Adidas High Jump shoes in the early 60's ( 2 spikes in heel ) where the shoe of the take off foot was built up to the legal limit, but the other shoe was not.

And I do believe that Stepanov's 2.16 came before Kashkarov's 2.14. What I do not know without checking is what height did Stepanov clear that same day before the 2.16. Something else for me to check when i get home unless someone beats me to it.

[Guest]

Re: First US caucasian to jump 7'

Big Fish wrote: "Who was it? Also did Bobby Avant of WS Hart High School and later USC ever clear 7'?'

Comment: Avant may not have been the first US Causcasian 7 foot jumper but he had to have the most unique style. One I never saw before nor have seen since. He basically dove over the bar with his hands thrown over first and his head and rest of body curling around the bar.

I was a jumper in some of the same meets in HS (nowhere near the caliber of this '57 State HS champ) and was amazed at how he could clear the bar at all with that style.

Although I don't recall playing basketball against him, when he was at Hart HS of Newhall the story went around in the SF Valley summer leagues that his spring was so weak he couldn't even stuff a basketball. He stood about 6'1" so he should have been able to do it. Don't know if the story is true but it sure was interesting to those of us stradlers that could stuff a ball.

[Guest]

Re: First US caucasian to jump 7'

I have often wondered why a front dive wouldn't be the most efficient method. You could have a lot of speed in the approach and you can certainly wrap yourself around the bar a lot more than back first. Biomechanics don't work out right?

[jhc68]

Re: First US caucasian to jump 7'

Avant had a goofy style, that's for sure... fascinating, dramatic, scary and pretty much indescribable to anyone who did not see it in person. The only quality jumper I recall who was even similar was Max Lowe a few years later.

I'd guess that Avant was probably the second white American to clear seven feet in a legal, sanctioned meet; Faust was certainly the first with his second place finish to Thomas's WR at the 1960 OTs, jumping off the manicured grass apron at Stanford Stadium. Faust was a very young college freshman at the time. (Read about it in Archie's Little Black Book... my edition has Faust's complete age/jump progression by years, months and days!)

Everyone was suspicious of Russian claims until the stunning upset of Thomas, Dumas and Faust in Rome. I don't know where the early Russian seven-footers were born (with the exception of Brumel who hailed from Siberia) but most likely one of them is the real answer to the question since the old CCCP included the area of the Caucausus, and the specific query was about the first Caucasian jumper. (Is this a trick question?)

The most frustrated jumper of the era must have been Ernie Shelton, a USC athlete in the period immediately before Charles Dumas. Shelton jumped consistently in the 6'10"-6'11" range but could never crack the seven foot barrier.

[Per Andersen]

Re: First US caucasian to jump 7'

Yes, it has to be Joe Faust.
When Stepanov did 2.16 the "shoe" was legal. His previous jump in the competition was 2.11 (under 7ft). Kashkarov did 2.14 in Aug '57. But does BFORSYTH know that he used a "normal" shoe? Why would he not use the same type of shoe that Stepanov used? Lots of those guys experimentet with built up shoes including Bengt Nilsson and Shelton.
To my mind Avant used the Dive Straddle with a bent lead-leg very much like the great Swede Nilsson who along with Shelton dominated the H.J. in '54 and '55

[Guest]

Re: First US caucasian to jump 7'

yeah, first US caucasian over 7 was Faust, at '60 OT, behind Thomas' 7'3 3/4. And he was 17!!

[jhc68]

Re: First US caucasian to jump 7'

OK, so we've identified Faust and Avant as the first two in this demographic (white/American/7 foot high jumpers)... now who were the next ones to join the group? What was the sequence for, say, the first ten? Paul Stuber? Lew Hoyt? Did Bob Gardner ever clear 7 feet? When did Dobroth clear 7 feet for the first time? Max Lowe? Greg Heet? Ricky Sloan? Eddie Hanks? And who was the first non-American, non-Russian 7 footer? Maybe the Aussie, Lawrie Peckham?

[Per Andersen]

Re: First US caucasian to jump 7'

First non-Russian and non-American?
I think both Tony Sneazwell and Stig Pettersson jumped 7' before Peckham. Maybe also the Polish jumper Csernik (can't remember the spelling)

[Guest]

Re: First US caucasian to jump 7'

The first immigrant to the US from the Caucusus region to jump 7'? Gee, that's tough!

[6 5.5hjsteve]

Re: First US caucasian to jump 7'

I'm a HJ nerd, but I sure cannot answer all these HJ questions from memory. At least I was right on Faust. Doubt I've got the energy to check the rest.

And I say this lightly, not as an accussation of racism or anywhere close to it, but what difference does it make if a HJ'er or anyone else is white, black, blue, or green ?

[tandfman]

Re: First US caucasian to jump 7'

A blue high jumper would definitely get track & field into the newspapers.