Where were the ladies in 1950s?

[Guest]

I just bought a series of track and field magazines from the 1950's (thanks ebay!). Amazing source of historical information. I am in heaven. I haven't finished reading them all yet (10 issues) but still I can't find a single reference to any woman track and field athlete (or any woman for that matter!).

Cheers

[6 5.5hjsteve]

Re: Where were the ladies in 1950s?

A different time, a different world.... from what I recall T & F N itself, back in the fifties, stated quite plainly that women's track was not part of their interest set nor of interest to its readers, and no one seemed to care. Look at the 1960 and 1956 Olympic Issues and there is just one page or less devoted to the women's results.

It all changed as the times changed, as well it should. T & F N if anything helped lead the way for equality for women in the world of Track & Field.

[6 5.5hjsteve]

Re: Where were the ladies in 1950s?

>I just bought a series of track and field
>magazines from the 1950's (thanks ebay!).
>Amazing source of historical information. I am
>in heaven. I haven't finished reading them all
>yet (10 issues) but still I can't find a single
>reference to any woman track and field athlete
>(or any woman for that matter!).

Cheers

Just out of curiosity, what are these magazines that you bought ?

[Guest]

Re: Where were the ladies in 1950s?

Just out of
>curiosity, what are these magazines that you
>bought ?

T & F N

[Per Andersen]

Re: Where were the ladies in 1950s?

Yeah, but from which years? All I can find is one issue with Bob Seagren from '66 and one Prefontaine issue from '74. I need '48&49 + 1950 thru 1956.

[6 5.5hjsteve]

Re: Where were the ladies in 1950s?

Per, maybe I can remember you in my will......

[6 5.5hjsteve]

Re: Where were the ladies in 1950s?

>Per, maybe I can remember you in my will......

Better still, I'll let my grieving children negotiate price with you......

[Guest]

Re: Where were the ladies in 1950s?

This is all interesting, because last night I watched a special about the Kennedy family and the narrator made mention that Jacquelyn Kennedy Onassis (Then Bouvier) had began to make a career for herself and after marrying John Kennedy he persauded her to stop working, going on to mention how after WWII the working number of class women went down drastically to become homemakers. I have an idea that's what happened to a lot of potentially great female track and field athletes gave up the sport to get get married and become homemakers. The media at that time probably frowned upon females participating in sports (Aside from maybe golf, tennis and a few others).

[Guest]

Re: Where were the ladies in 1950s?

I remember reading a SI article (probably late 1960's) about a top American women in the 200(maybe from the Oregon area?) who was having problems because her husband did not want her to continue to run competitively but to be a homemaker. Does anybody remember the article or who it was?

[michael lewis]

Re: Where were the ladies in 1950s?

The woman was Fran Sichting, from Oregon, and Sports Illustrated opined that she might be "the fastest woman to come down an American track in years", I believe the year was 1973 or 1974. She was either American 220 champ or runner up one of those years and I think she was something like third in the 100. She had a 200 PR of 23.17 but it was hubby or the Olympics and unfortunately he lived long enough for her to keep baking his muffins.

[gh]

Re: Where were the ladies in 1950s?

That would be the infamous Ted Sichting. In 1974 Sichting was running, as I recall, for the men's team at her JC in Oregon. (being 1974, there was no such thing as women's teams). She did kinda take the sprint world by storm, ended up ranking No. 8 in the World Rankings. I think she may have run a bit in '75 as well. Her husband was a logger who had rather, shall we say "traditional views" on a woman's place in the world and that was the end of her career.

I can't be certain this many years after the fact, but I'm pretty sure she was from Coos Bay, and may even have gone to Marshfield, which was Pre's HS (maybe it's the only HS in Coos Bay?).

[Guest]

Re: Where were the ladies in 1950s?

>Yeah, but from which years? All I can find is
>one issue with Bob Seagren from '66 and one
>Prefontaine issue from '74. I need '48&49 + 1950
>thru 1956.

Mainly from 1959. Once in a while someone sells old T & F N on e-bay. You may want also to try [email protected]. You can also be nice to 6 5.5 hjsteve and he may send you his. Or you can keep bugging TFN until they put every single scanned TFN issue since creation on line (for people who pay subscription or for anyone who wants a copy; allow access only after the waive the credit card in front of you.... think all the money you can make).

By the way I finally came accross women's coverage. In a 10 pages issue, there were 2 lines (about a girl from New Zealand breaking a world record in one of those bizzare distances.... 440 yards or something like that).

Cheers

[Guest]

Re: Where were the ladies in 1950s?

Typos again....

>>Yeah, but from which years? All I can find
>is
>one issue with Bob Seagren from '66 and
>one
>Prefontaine issue from '74. I need '48&49
>+ 1950
>thru 1956.

Mainly from 1959. Once in a while someone sells old T & F N on e-bay. You may want also to try [email protected]. You can also be nice to 6 5.5 hjsteve and he may send you his. Or you can keep bugging TFN until they put every single scanned TFN issue since creation on line (for people who pay subscription or for anyone who wants a copy; allow access only after CC approval.... think all the money you can make).

By the way I finally came accross women's coverage. In a 10 pages issue, there were 2 lines (about a girl from New Zealand breaking a world record in one of those bizzare distances.... 440 yards or something like that).

Cheers

[Per Andersen]

Re: Where were the ladies in 1950s?

> Per, maybe I can remember you in my will..
That's very generous, Steve but I am afraid it might not come to pass as I suspect I am older than you besides you sound rather healthy.
Lefteris gave me some nice pointers that I will follow up on.

[gh]

Re: Where were the ladies in 1950s?

Not to get your hopes up for any specific issues,and don't ask me when, but sometime "soon" (heavy on the quotation marks) we've got some old issues we'll be putting up for sale. They'll only be available to subscribers though, and only advertised for sale to those who are also signed up for eTN.