Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44" athlete...

[Guest]

Last day, while watching some archives on video
about the mythical MEXICO Olympics, something
attracted my attention:
Larry JAMES's incredible finish at the 400m final
won in 43"86 by Lee Edward EVANS.
This long-limbed young quarter-miler was second
in a sensational 43"97.
His flying 43"2 leg at the 4x400m relay had made
him definitively enter the legend of 400m.
Very strangely, I have never found any article
specifically written about this meteorit.
Did he stop his career just after Mexico?
Of course, we all know the political context in
1968, that didn't allow his fantastic US
generation -the best ever?- to become track
professionals.
Is he still sharing his experience of track
with the younger generations, nowadays?

[Guest]

Re: Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44

This is actually an interesting question; where is The King to answer it?

[Guest]

Re: Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44

His career didn't end after Mexico City. If you check out the archived World Rankings on the front page of this site you can easily discover that he was No. 6 in the world in both 1969 and 1970. Now coaches at some college in New Jersey I believe.

[Guest]

Re: Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44

And then he did turn professional. He was on the ITA pro-track tour for several years.

[Guest]

Re: Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44

Larry is the Athletic Director of Stockton State College outside Atlantic City and serves as the Chairman of the Budget Committee of USATF. I believe he is up for the Track & Field Hall of Fame this year along with Mexico City teammate John Carlos.

[Guest]

Re: Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44

A truly undeserving Hall of Famer if ever there was one: a single silver medal gets in while there are countless gold medalists who haven't? A guy who never won a single national title and who won the NCAA only once?

The old-boy network strikes again.

(A nice-nice guy who was a valuable member of the '68 team, but a hall of famer he's not)

[Guest]

Re: Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44

"A truly undeserving Hall of Famer if ever there was one: a single silver medal gets in while there are countless gold medalists who haven't? A guy who never won a single national title and who won the NCAA only once?
The old-boy network strikes again.
(A nice-nice guy who was a valuable member of the '68 team, but a hall of famer he's not)"


Well, there's more to it than his medal count. He did run 43.97, in 1968 no less. Last I checked, nobody is running that time now, 35 years later.

[The King]

Re: Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44

Profile of Larry James from www.runningnetwork.com

''Born November 6, 1947. A double medalist at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Larry James also set world records and won NCAA titles during his track career. James won the silver medal in the 400 meters with his time of 43.97 seconds at the 1968 Olympics, bettering the existing world record but placing him second behind teammate Lee Evans (43.86). James added a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics by running the third leg on Team USA's winning 4x400m relay team, which set the world record of 2 minutes, 56.16 seconds, which lasted until 1992. James set the 400m world record of 44.1 seconds in placing second to Lee Evans at the 1968 Olympic Trials at Echo Summit, Calif., when Evans' winning time of 44.0 was disallowed by the IAAF because he wore illegal brush spike shoes. James was the 400m hurdles gold medalist at the 1970 World University Games, where he ran the anchor leg on Team USA's gold medal winning 4x400m relay team (3:03.33). As a collegian at Villanova, James won the NCAA 440 title in 1970 and NCAA indoor crowns at that distance in 1968-1969 and 1970.''

The USATF website say this about Larry James after Track & Field,
''James is currently the Dean of Athletics and Recreational Programs and Services at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey''

[6 5.5hjsteve]

Re: Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44

that's all good info., but who can tell us where he went to high school, and also tell the name of the best quarter miler on that team... it was not Larry !!!

[Guest]

Re: Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44

Well, there's more to it
>than his medal count. He did run 43.97, in 1968
>no less. Last I checked, nobody is running that
>time now, 35 years later.>>

If they ran the Nationals in Mexico City every year there probably wouldn't have been a year since 1968 when somebody didn't break 44.

[6 5.5hjsteve]

Re: Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44

And his 44.1 was at Echo Summit ('way up there) as well.

No knock on Larry, what a superb athlete, but he just got elected to the T&FN Hall of Fame, and I for one do not think he is deserving. Sorry Larry.

[Guest]

Re: Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44

I am sorry that you think that Larry " The Mighty Burner" James is an unknown sub 44s 400m star. Because he was amegastar from 1968 thru 1972. although he narrowly missed the 1972 Olmpic team. The burner was recruited by Jumbo Elliot in !966 as probably the third fastest 400m man on his White Plains New York high school team. Possibly the smoothest quartemiler ever. He was the 1969 and 1971 440 yard outdoor champion. He helped Villanova win six Championship of America Relay titles at the Penn Relays. All of this was at a time when freshman were not eligible. Probably the most memorable of these was the 68 Mile relay demolishing of Rice's Dale Bernauer while the Owl anhor was running avery credible 45.9 leg. Heis the most beautiful runner I've seen in my 40 years of watching T & F.

[Guest]

Re: Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44

I don't know where you get your facts but if this is not Hall of Famer there should not be one> HAVE you lost all of your track sense or did you ever have any.

[Guest]

Re: Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44

Excuse me track fans but Larry was the 1968 and 1970 NCaa 400-440m champ. My bad

[tandfman]

Re: Larry JAMES, the most unknown sub-44

>that's all good info., but who can tell us where
he went to high school, and also tell the name of
the best quarter miler on that team... it was not
Larry !!!<

OK, this is off the top of my head after several glasses of wine, but my recollection is that it was White Plains (NY) HS and if Larry wasn't the best, it would have been Otis Hill.