Cardozo Clerks Track and Field 1942-1948; 1954-1964

During the period Cardozo and Hall were dominating Division II football, the Clerks were just as overpowering in track and field. Traveling to St. Louis, Missouri, in May 1946, a six-man Cardozo team won the National Negro High School Track and Field championship by scoring 37 points, 11-1/2 more than its closest competitor, Phyllis Wheatley High of San Antonio, Texas. The Purple and White captured three relay titles; two second places, and one third. Marcellus Boston in the 100, Clarence Turner in the 200, and James Baucoum in the 440 were the individual titlists; Joseph Queen in the discus and Boston in the broad jump. The Clerks' 440 relay team tied the national record of 45 seconds in winning; the 880 yards sprint medley relay team lowered the national record from 1:39.2 to 1:37.9; and the 880 yard team won a third relay championship. Boston, a freshman, won high point honors with 11-1/4 points.

Cardozo's track achievements under Hall go far beyond that national championship team. When the Clerks set a new world record in the 960-yard relay at Madison Square Garden during the 1948 National Prep and High School Indoor Track and Field championships, it marked the eighth time since 1944 that a Cardozo individual or team had captured honors in the event. In addition to the world mark, four were national high school standards. Hall's cindermen were also victorious in the prestigious Penn Relays, the Bridgeton, N.J. Relays and many other important events along the Eastern Seaboard.

Another of the Purple and White's great sprinters is the legendary Billy Mathis, the 1944 national scholastic champion in the 60-yard dash and the establisher of a new national scholastic mark in the event in 1945. Mathis went to become a U.S. collegiate sprint champion at the University of Illinois.

Hall's accomplishments, as remarkable as they were are even more so considering the conditions under which they were achieved. As E. B. Henderson was to write: Cardozo High School is a crowded old building turned over to Negroes located on a triangle between highly travelled arteries in the congested area of Washington D.C. There is only one gymnasium which is not standard approximately 45 by 60 feet. There is not a foot of play space available out of doors. Coach Hall has trained national high school champions in a hallway part of which is of tiling and part wooden flooring. For football, baseball and outdoor track it is necessary to travel to a field at least a half mile away. He has had approximately from 300 to 400 boys to work with in a school where there are about 1000 girls. Yet with these handicaps his output...has excited the admiration of sportsmen everywhere.   

Local- Out of 15 city records- Eight are held by Cardozo 1949 (taken from 1949 resume of Esteemed Accomplishments-full context located in photo gallery)

EVENT                            COMPETITOR                     RECORD           YEAR               SCHOOL

100 Yards Dash                        William Mathis                     9.8                          1945                      Cardozo

220 Yards Dash                       Joseph Walker                    22.5                         1948                       Cardozo

220 Yards Low Hurdles          Henry Johnson                    26.1                          1949                       Cardozo     

440 Yards Relay               McGoines, Carter         44.01                        1948                  Cardozo

                        Green,Walker                                                                                                                                  

Running High Jump            Wright                                 6 ft                                  1945                   Cardozo

                                           Towles                                                                        1948                       Phelps

Running Broad Jump      Edward Woodland      21 ft./11in.                         1949               Cardozo

Shot Put                          Eugene Wright             41 ft./11in                          1943               Cardozo

Discus                            Rudolph McGoines       121 ft.                                  1947              Cardozo

South Atlantic High School Athletic Conference 

100 Yards Dash                William Mathis                  9.8                                1944          Cardozo

220 Yards Dash             William Mathis             22.2                          1944         Cardozo

120 Yards Low Hurdles   Henry Johnson               13.5                                  1949         Cardozo

440 Yards Relay             Walker, Carter             43.5                           1948         Cardozo

                                        McGoines, Boston         

 One Mile Relay             Walker, Williams         3:32.1                       1948               Cardozo                                                           Sturdevant, Greene                                                                                                        

Running Broad Jump     Rudolph McGoines       21 ft./3 in.                      1948       Cardozo

Javalin Throw                 Alexander Parker           151 ft./7 in.                     1945      Cardozo

Pole Volt                           Tony Wallace                   10 ft./8 in.                       1942      Cardozo                                    

C. I. A. A. Meet Scholastic Division

EVENT                            COMPETITOR                     RECORD           YEAR               SCHOOL

220 Yards Low Hurdles          Henry Johnson                 25.8                  1949                   Cardozo

220 Yards Dash                        Joseph Walker                      22.7                          1949                  Cardozo

One Mile Relay                      Carter, Browne                  3:32.6                  1949                  Cardozo

                                               Robinson, Walker                                                                                               

Sprint Medley Relay               Edward, Kelley                        3:42.7                        1949                   Cardozo

                                               Storm, Jones

REGIONAL Competitions-Cardozo Athletes (Penn-Relays, A.A.U., ETC)

EVENT                            COMPETITOR             RECORD           YEAR               PLACE

Running Broad Jump     Eugene Wright                    21 ft./9 in.               1943        Schenectady, NY

100 Yards Dash              William Mathis                      9.8                             1944       Schenectady, NY

220 Yards Dash               William Mathis                     22.1                           1944      Providence, RI

100 Yards Dash               William Mathis                    9.9                              1944     Providence, RI

880 Yards Relay              Baucom, McCaskill           1:32.4                           1945      Providence, RI

                                        Turner, Mathis                                                                                                         

60 Yards Dash                 William Mathis                     6.3                           1945         New York

980 Yards Dash             Boston, Moon                     1:42.7                         1948       New York

                                      Drummond, Walker

75 Yards Dash               Marcellus Boston                   7.8                            1947        Baltimore, MD

440 Yards Relay            Boston, Norwood                                                    1947      Baltimore, MD

                                       Drummond, Yates                       

Medley Relay                 Silbert, Walker                       5:09                         1948      Camden, NJ

(Open Class)                Boston, Sturdevant                       

EVENT                           COMPETITOR                     RECORD           YEAR               PLACE

Medley Relay              Silbert, Walker                        5:12                   1948               Camden, NJ

(Class B)                 Boston, Sturdevant

One Mile Relay            Boston, Moon                            3:32.7               1948               Camden NJ

                                     Greene, Walker

Class B 50 Yds.            William Mathis                       5.5                      1945                 Camden NJ

 Dash                             Marcellus Boston               5.5                     1948               Camden NJ

Open Class- 50             Marcellus Boston                   5.5                         1948                  Camden NJ

50 Yards Dash               Marcellus Boston                  5.4                         1948       Philadelphia, PA

440 Yards Relay            Walker, McGoines             44.6                        1948                  Newark, NJ

  (prep schools)          Greene, Walker

880 Yards Relay             Boston, Drummond              1:33.8                        1948                 Newark, NJ

   (prep  schools)            Greene, Walker

880 Yards Relay              Boston, Drummond               1:33.1                      1948         Bridgetown, CT

440 Yards Relay              Boston, Cosby                       45.0                        1946                St. Louis, MO

                                        Broady, Turner

880 Yards Sprint            Boston, Baucom                  1:37.9                          1946                St. Louis, MO

  Medley                         Broady, Turner

960 Yards Relay             Walker, Storm                   1:44.5                     1949                New York

                                        Jones, Carter