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Murchison and Hubbard Double Winners, Ritola victorious in the cross-country
Murchison and Hubbard Double Winners, Ritola victorious in the cross-country
Stagg Field, Chicago, IL, September 1–3, 1923
NYAC Field, Travers Island, NY, September 22, 1923
Macombs Dam Park, Bronx, New York, NY, October 27, 1923
Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA, November 24, 1923
The main events of the 1923 United States Championships were held on September 1 at the familiar Stagg Field in Chicago. The weather did not favor the competition; especially the sprinters suffered from the hot and humid conditions.
Paddock Absent, Murchison Wins the Sprints
Paddock Absent, Murchison Wins the Sprints
With the world's fastest man, Charley Paddock, quarreling with the AAU officials, Loren Murchison of Texas, a double Olympic sixth-place finisher in the 100 meters (1920 & 1924), took both the 100 and 220 yards. He did not complain much and participated as well in the 220 yards, which was unusually run on a curved track at Stagg Field. Many stayed out for a rather petty reason, namely because the curve slows down results.
World Leader Watson
World Leader Watson
Perhaps the most exciting race was the 880 yards, in which six men crossed the finish line within one second. The winner was Kansas' Ray Watson, who defeated his New York rival, Alan Helffrich, who had surged to victory in the 880-yard races at the IC4A and NCAA collegiate championships.
Watson's winning streak continued for another week at the invitational meet at Yankee Stadium, where he once again defeated Helffrich in their head-to-head matchups, showcasing his excellent late-season form.
History was made in the mile. Joie Ray of Illinois defeated Lloyd Hahn of Boston, claiming his seventh consecutive US Championship victory in the four-lap battle. He had eight victories in total in this event.
The hardworking athlete Ville Ritola, a carpenter from New York, set a relentless pace early in the five-mile race but had to withdraw due to a peculiar reason: he had his belt too tight around his waist. The victory was claimed by Ritola's tough competitor, Earle Johnson.
Ivan Riley, representing the Kansas State Wildcats, claimed the 440-yard hurdles title with a time of 55.1, the fourth fastest of the season. Earlier in the summer, this versatile hurdler had already secured a victory in the high hurdles at the collegiate championships.
DeHart Hubbard beat his opponents almost routinely in the long jump and triple jump. In the long jump, Hubbard beat both future world record holder Robert LeGendre and Ned Gourdin, who held the world record in 1923.
Meet Records Broken
Meet Records Broken
Four meet records were broken at the Chicago meet:
LeRoy Brown of New York cleared 1.97 (6-5¼) in the high jump, defeating future Olympic champion Harold Osborn, who remained unfazed and finished the decathlon with a world-leading score of 7,341.895. In the all-time rankings, this performance placed him second, just behind the world record holder, Aleksander Klumberg of Estonia.
Edwin Myers jumped over 4.18 (13-10) in the pole vault, which was still well short of Charles Hoff's world record.
Thomas Lieb of Illinois threw the discus 46.12 (151-10), which placed him second in the world rankings behind Vilho Niittymaa of Finland. Augustus Pope and Bud Houser also threw over 45 meters, performances that ranked among the ten longest throws of the season in the world rankings.
Harry Hoffman threw the javelin 59.32 (194-11), which was close to Finnish standards.
The even and well balanced Illinois Athletic Club won the team competition.
Loren Murchison. Photo: Underwood Press/Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons.
Karl Anderson from Minneapolis, Minnesota, in lane 2, wins the 120 yards hurdles.
Ritola Claims His First Steeplechase Title
Ritola Claims His First Steeplechase Title
Ville Ritola, won the two-mile steeplechase in 10:45.6. This corresponds to a relatively modest time of 10:02 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, which placed him just barely in the top 10 in the world rankings for 1923. The silver medalist finished about half a lap behind. Due to the weather, it is unlikely that they had to carry water to the water jump.
Michael Devaney, a five-time US champion in the steeplechase, had a tough outing. The Millrose AA runner fell head-first twice during the race. The second tumble—at the water jump—drained his competitive spirit, so he rushed off to the changing room.
At the Travers Island meet organized by the New York Athletic Club, invitational events were also contested. Ray Watson and Alan Helffrich faced off once again in the 880 yards. This time, on his home track, Helffrich was sharp, launching a furious kick 200 meters from the finish and, for the first time in their fall matchups, wrestled his rival to the ground.
New York policeman Orville Wanzer delivered a shot put throw of 14.89 (48-10 ¼) on his home field, a performance that ranked him second in the world standings. He improved by three centimeters on his mark from two weeks earlier at Yankee Stadium. The world-leading mark, held by Ralph Hills, was just six centimeters beyond his reach.
In late October, the "Wolf of Peräseinäjoki" secured his second consecutive 10-mile title in a race held in the Bronx, New York. The runner-up trailed by half a mile. Nothing could hold Ritola back at Macombs Dam Park. "The Wolf of Peräseinäjoki" lapped every one of his eight competitors by at least a full lap on the quarter-mile track. The runner-up trailed the carpenter by about half a mile—nearly a kilometer.
Ritola Retains US Cross-Country Title Despite Getting Lost
Ritola Retains US Cross-Country Title Despite Getting Lost
Ritola also won the US cross-country championship for the second consecutive year. The race took place in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, on a course of 6.25 miles (10.058 km).
The victory was all the more impressive given that Ville ran a couple of hundred metres astray before being guided back to the correct route. Ritola was not fazed by the mishap and set off from fifth place to catch the leaders, which he did within the next half mile. In the end, the Peräseinäjoki Wolf (his nickname in Finland) finished with a hundred meters to spare on the runner-up. Ilmari Prim of Finnish-American Athletic Club finished fourth.
Ritola's winning time of 31.56 is remarkable also for the fact that it would have placed him fifth in the 10,000 meters world rankings in 1923.
Ville Ritola's great victories were noticed on both sides of the Atlantic in 1923. Both the United States and Finnish sports authorities tried to recruit Ville as their Olympic representative for the 1924 Paris Games. At the end of December 1923, Ritola chose Finland and soon traveled to his home country to train for the Olympic Games.
Results
Results
Newspaper Stories
Newspaper Stories
Idrottsbladet, September 24, 1923 (in Swedish)
Uusi Suomi, September 30, 1923 (in Finnish)
Idrottsbladet, October 1, 1923 (in Swedish)
Idrottsbladet, October 8, 1923 (in Swedish)
Idrottsbladet, October 29, 1923 (in Swedish)
Uusi Suomi, December 2, 1923 (in Finnish)
Uusi Suomi, December 14, 1923 (in Finnish)
Uusi Suomi, December 30, 1923 (in Finnish)
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