USA (AAU)

The 1925 U.S. Championships took place at the beginning of July in San Francisco at the brand-new Kezar Stadium, near the southern edge of Golden Gate Park. During the stadium's opening meet in May, the 5000-meter race saw Paavo Nurmi once again defeat Ville Ritola.

Taylor 53.8 – World-Leading Time in the 440-Yard Hurdles

Olympic champion Morgan Taylor ran the 440-yard hurdles in a world-leading time of 53.8 (equivalent to 53.5 for the metric distance). As usual, the time was not ratified as a world record. Ivan Riley, who had posted a strong time of 52.1 over the same distance the previous year, had lost his form and finished fourth.

George Guthrie, who had fumbled in the 110-meter hurdles in Paris the previous year, redeemed himself by winning the 120-yard hurdles.

The new sprint king of America was Jackson Scholz, Olympic champion in the 200 meters, who won his specialty in the 220 yards on a straight track and placed second behind Frank Hussey in the 100 yards. Charley Paddock was competing in Europe at the same time.

Keith Lloyd, the cousin of silent film comedian Harold Lloyd, sped to fourth place in the 100 yards.

In the 880-yard, there was a fierce battle. Alan Helffrich, who had defeated Paavo Nurmi earlier that spring, won the final U.S. title of his career, narrowly beating James T. Holden in a finish measured in inches.

Finland also took home medals from San Francisco. George Lermond won the 6-mile race, while Ville Kyrönen from Nilsiä, Finland, who was living in America and owned a business in New York, finished second.

Field Event Highlights

Neither the poor track conditions nor the cold, wet, and windy weather could stop a flood of outstanding performances in the field events. In addition to Taylor and Scholz, Harold Osborn, the Olympic champion in Paris, won the U.S. title in the high jump with a world-leading 2.007  (6-7). Later that summer, Osborn cleared 2.01  (6-7¼) in Sweden.

Olympic champion DeHart Hubbard leaped to the third-longest jump of all time with a mark of 7.73 (25-4¼). Bud Houser replicated his Paris performances by winning both the shot put and discus. He heaved the brass ball to 15.26  (50-1) and hurled the discus to 47.70 meters (156-6). Both results placed him second in the world rankings for the season.

In the javelin, Henry "Zeke" Bonura from New Orleans surprised everyone with an impressive American throw of 65.21  (213-11), though the dream slash benefited from ideal winds. Officials shook their heads, remarking that such a result couldn’t be real, especially for a 16-year-old. Bonura became the youngest athlete ever to win a U.S. track and field championship in the senior division. His mark, however, was never ratified as an American record. Bonura didn’t mind the rejection and went on to play professional baseball in the American leagues. Two-time Olympic champion Jonni Myyrä finished fifth

The winds at Kezar Stadium were indeed favorable, as future Olympic shot put champion John Kuck placed second with a throw of 64.81  (212-7).

Michelsen Takes First 15-Mile Championship – Stenroos drops out

The U.S. championships continued in September. The first ever U.S. Championship in the 15 miles was contested at Yankee Stadium in New York. It was won by Albert Michelsen in the absence of Ville Ritola. 

Ville Kyrönen of Finnish-American Athletic Club jogged to second place, one lap behind. Finnish Olympic champion Albin Stenroos suffered a stitch and had to retire.

Ritola, who was fed up with the U.S. federation's actions was also not interested in the two-mile steeplechase championship, held two weeks later at Travers Island. Russell Payne easily won in a time of 10:40.8, equivalent to about 9:53 over the metric distance, which was some seconds slower than the Finnish duo of Eero Berg and Ove Andersen.

Ritola’s Easy Wins in the 10-Mile and Cross Country

The U.S. 10-mile championship took place at the end of October at Lewisohn Stadium in Harlem, New York, which has since been demolished. The weather was abysmal, with continuous downpours lasting over two shifts. The track was flooded in places, and strong winds plagued the runners. Despite the conditions, around 5,000 spectators showed up to watch. Ville Ritola won the title easily, claiming his third victory at this distance. There was little competition; Germany’s Wachsmuth finished nearly two minutes behind him.

At the end of November, the U.S. Cross Country Championships were held once again on the familiar course in Van Cortlandt Park, New York. Ritola had already warmed up by winning the New York Cross Country Championship at the same location a couple of weeks earlier.

In the larger championship race, Ritola was dominant, even though urban legend says he spent the previous night partying at a speakeasy. The carpenter won his third U.S. title, improving his New York Championship time by over half a minute, despite running 40 yards off course. Germany’s Fred Wachsmuth trailed by 44 seconds.