track History

[billthedog]

Re: track History

Bannister beat Landy in the Miracle Mile (3:58.8) and won the European Championships 1500 that same year (1954). Maybe just a single year but not just a single performance.


>I wouldn't include Bannister or Beamon -
>take away their respective great performances and
>they aren't strong candidates

[billthedog]

Re: track History

>My Men's All Time Top Ten

100-1.Bob Hayes
>2.Carl Lewis 3.Jim Hines 4.Jessie
Owens 5.Bobby
>Morrow 6.Maurice Greene 7.Donovan
Bailey 8.Armin
>Hary 9.Valeriy Boroz 10.Eddie
Tolan
200-
>1.Michael Johnson 2.Tommie Smith 3.Pietro
Mennea
>4.Henry Carr 5.Don Quarrie 6.Jessie Owens
7.Mel
>Patton 8.Frankie Frederichs 9.Carl
>Lewis
10.Calvin Smith
400- 1.Michael Johnson
>2.Lee Evans 3.Herb McKinley 4.Butch Reynolds
>5.Alberto Juantornea
6.Steve Lewis 7.Otis Dav is
>8.Larry James 9.Bill
Carr 10.Lou
>Jones

Your list is well-founded and great fun. But you have to find a place in one or both of the sprints for Metcalfe. True, Tolan beat him in both in 1932 and Owens beat him in 1936, but nobody -- nobody -- will ever equal his triple double double of 1932, 1933 and 1934. That achievement will stand longer than DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak. (Anybody remember what DiMaggio's streak was for the San Francisco Seals before he went up to the Yankees? More than 60 games, I recall.)
And in the 400, McKenley was a great all-around sprinter, but Wint beat him in 1948 and Rhoden (whom I would place fourth) in 1952.

Re: track History

Your list is
>well-founded and great fun. But you have to find
>a place in one or both of the sprints for
>Metcalfe.

In the 50's, Maxwell Stiles of the LA Times ranked the all-time great sprinters. Metcalfe was #2 behind Bobby Morrow and ahead of Owens. Stiles didn't think it was odd, and he actually saw all of them run.