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12 THE OSHAWA TIMES, Thursdey, June 29, 1967 Three Canadian Track Stars Held Fastest Human Crown By BOB TRIMBEE Canadian Press Staff Writer "Three Canadians have held the title of world's fastest hu- man. : "For Bobby Kerr it was a joy And the start of a long associ- ation with track and field; for Bercy Williams it was a bur- den, something he was just as happy to leave behind when injury ended his career; for Harry Jerome it brought hu- Militation, suffering and even- tually grudging respect. *The trio competed decades @part. Kerr was Canada's first official Olympic gold 'medallist. Williams was. the only non - American ever to win the Olympic sprint dou- ble. Jerome was the first man to hold both the 100-yard and 100-metre records at the same time and did it twice. "In Canada's first century few will disagree with the statement that the 1928 suc- Gess at Amsterdam of Wil- liams, then an anemic and and frail youngsier just out of high school, provided this country's greatest hour at the Olympics. He was the crowning touch to Canada's best Olympic showing, a year in which Ca- nadians returned with 15 med- als, including four golds. Peerless Percy was the genius of another man: Bob Granger, his coach. He had no love for track and Granger later remarked that Percy ran better on hate. Five years before Williams ran into world headlines he suffered rheumatic fever. He never was a strong lad, but Granger slowly built him for that one supreme assault and Percy did the impossible by winning the 100- and 200- metre events within four days. WELCOMED AS HERO He was an instant hero and a month-long trip home' across Canada saw him receive tu- multuous welcomes at every stop. In the next two years he won 14 of 16 sprints at dis- tances from 40 yards to 200 metres. He set a world rec- ord of 10.3 seconds for the 190 metres and Canadians looked to Williams for a repeat of his 1928 success at the 1932 Olym- pics in Los Angeles. But it never came. Williams pulled a leg muscle 35 yards from the tape in the 100-yard final at the inaugural British Empire Games at Hamilton in 1930. He won in 9.9 seconds, but crumped in a heap at the finish. Percy tried a comeback at the '32 Olympics. He failed to reach the 100-metre final and promptly retired. Now a successful insurance salesman in Vancouver, Wil- liams recalls that fame be- wildered him in 1928. But one Whitby K. 0 f C. Council Holds Annual Golf Event WHITBY (Staff)--The Whitby Council, Knights of Columbus, started Whitby Centennial Week with its third annual golf tournament, teeing off Sunday at Sunnybrae golf course at 10 a.m., with 40 golfers. Visitors were from Scarborough and Oshawa Councils. Sharp 'n § arp n Smart Wins Division LONDON, Ont. (CP)--Lynden Dodger and Sharp 'n Smart each won a division of the fea- tured $4,250 three-year-old Su- pertest pacing stakes at West- ern Fair Raceway Wednesday Oshawa members won most of the prizes. Brother Bob Davidson of Oshawa was top winner, repeating his feat of last year. Brother Jim Bren- nen, Oshawa, was second. The winners of Flight A was Brother Pat Morgan, and the runner-up Brother Don Sawyer, Oshawa. | Winners of Flight B_ was) Brother Frank Canzi and run- ner-up was Brother James Mc- Carroll, both of Whitby. Winners of Flight C were Brother Noel Cormier and run- ner-up, Brother William La- valley, Whitby. The most honest golfer was Grand Knight elect, William Goverde, Whitby, and "the world's. greatest golfer" was night. Lynden Dodger was clocked in 2:07 4-5, fastest time of the night. Sharp 'n Smart was timed in 2:10 3-5. Secondary events on the pro- gram were the five divisions of the third leg of the City of Lon- don Pace series. The first division went to Good Time Henry. Breckin- ridge was second, Armbro Huck third, Terry Ann fourth and Dream Castle fifth. ST. CATHARINES (CP) -- Sharp Hoot won the $6,263 Sim- coe Futurity at Garden City Raceway here Wednesday. It was the trotter's first victory in three season's outings. Wee Shindig finished second in= the mile test and Little Sketch third. Mr. Flintstone made his sec- ond career start a winning one in the first race and Chuck Bardia won in the second for a Brother Hamish Munro. Ten other prizes were drawn for and were well distributed between Scarborough, Oshawa and Whitby. For scoring birdies on some holes, 10 balls were distributed to six golfers. The golf committee, under the leadership of Brother Ed Samanski, would like to thank each and everyone of the visi- tors and the Whitby Brothers who helpéd to make this day a crowning success, which was climaxed by a buffet supper prepared by Brother Gerry Ploeger and served by Brother John Goverde and his com- mittee. The evening terminated with a short talk by Whitby Chap- lain, Rev. Leo J. Austin and past Grand Knight William Lavalley thanking the chair- man and his committee, for a job well done and also all those daily double of $96.90. who generously donated prizes. thing was sure: "I was 80 happy to get out of it." As. much a part of Wil- liams's success was the dedi- cation of Granger. Granger did not know Wil- liams until two years before the 1928 Olympics when Wil- liams tied Granger's star sprinter in a 100-yard race. But from that moment Gran- ger slaved over Williams. RAN INTO MATTRESS By June, 1928, Williams, then a mere 126-pounder, was ready for his move toward Olympic fame. He tied the Games 100-metre record of 10.6 seconds in winning the B.C, trials and duplicated the feat at the Canadian trials later in Hamilton. In Amsterdam at a third- rate hotel, Granger and Wil- liams worked on starts. A mattress was placed against one wall as a buffer and Wil- liams would run into it across the room. Sunday, July 29, Williams easily won his two 100-metre heats, tying the Olympic rec- ord in the second. The next day in the semi - final, Wil- liams was left at the start but turned on a great burst. of speed to finish second by four inches. The final was anti-climactic. Williams was away with the gun and led throughout, hold- ing off a determined closing bid by Jack London, a 200- pound British sprinter. The next day Williams earned a berth in the 200- metre semi-final, eliminating the favorite, Charlie Borah of the U.S., in the quarter-final. He won his semi-final with ease Wednesday. Two hours later Granger told him that the man to watch was Helmut Koernig of Germany. STRATEGY PAYS OFF "'He's a front runner. If you come out of the curve with him or just ahead of him you will kill his inspiration and win." The strategy worked. At Amsterdam, the first man who greeted Williams after his 200-metre win was Kerr, the Hamiltonian who had won the same event at the 1908 Games in London. Kerr knew the elation of victory, but even more he loved the sport and after he retired as a competitor main- tained a connection with it as a coach. In 1912 he won a berth on the Canadian Olym- pic team but declined, saying he had passed his prime and a younger sprinter should be given a"thance to go. Kerr ended a fantastic 21- year running career in 1919. He had won more than 400 medals in sprints from 40 yards to 200 metres. His 9.4 mark in 1910 for the 100 yards equalled Jerome's winning time for the distance at the 1966 Empire Games in Jamaica. The fair-haired Kerr came into prominence in 1902 as a schoolboy sprinter. He won all events up to the half-mile at a Coronation meet in Hamil- ton. Two years later he won his first Canadian sprint title and a trip to the 1904 Olym- pics in St. Louis. SLEPT ON FLOOR Kerr saved $75 for his train fare--in those days athletes paid their own transportation UNIROYAL CENTRES The New Name of Dominion Tire Stores AUTO SAFETY SERVICES 2 WHEEL BALANCE Weights Included Wheel -- 1.95 Wheels -- 3.70 Wheels -- 5.45 Wheels -- 6.60 Wheels -- 7.50 vawn = Y linings i of the linings. Most American and Canadian Cars re oe eae os 4WHEEL | BRAKE RELINE @ Reline all 4 wheels with bonded @ Adjust parking brake @ Flush hydraulic system and install fresh fluid @ Inspect wheel cylinders @ Inspect brake hose and lines Guaranteed for 20,000 miles or 20 months. Free adjustment every 5,000 miles for the life USE YOUR CREDIT 9.95 vee KING PARK PLAZA King St. W. at Park Rd. Phone 725-6511 and found their own lodgings --to St. Louis. At a friend's home in St. Louis he was forced to sleep on the floor because of the number of visitors. Kerr reached the 100-metre semi-final before losing out to the eventual winner, Ameri- can Archie Hahn, Four years later Kerr went to London. He won a. third- place bronze in the 100 metres and then his 200-metre gold. He was the first non-Amer- ican and the only man that AT THE WIRE -- Percy Williams (left) became an overnight sensation in 1928 when he won gold medals year to reach the final in both Olympic sprints. Jerome, the son of a rail- way porter, climbed into prominence in 1959 when he broke Williams's schoolboy mark in Vancouver for the 220 with a time of 21.5 sec- ends. Reticent and serious by na- ture, he has had a bad press much of his career. The eldest of five children, his running gained him a track scholar- ship to Oregon. He gained international stat- ure in 1960 at Saskatoon when he tied the world record of 10 seconds for the 100 metres at the Canadian Olympic trials. That led to Rome and many expected him to win. a gold medal in one of the sprints, TORE MUSCLE But all the husky sprinter got was a panning. After win- ning his heats easily, he pulled up lame while trailing in the 100- and 200-metre sprints at the Olympic Games. He is shown in 1930 hitting the tape in a To- the field in the final, He crumpled' to the ground and said he had pulled a muscle. Reporters, who had been re- buffed by Jerome in pre- Games interviews, were quick to question his fortitude ,and his injury. He came home in disgrace, but continued at Oregon and eventually re- turned to prominence by equalling the then world mark of 9.2 seconds for the 100 yards. Again the moody sprinter, who by this time had estab- lished a more cordial relation- ship with the press, was hailed as a sure-bet medallist for Canada at the 1962 Empire Games at Perth, Australia. He won his first three heats in the 100-yard event, but pulled up lame in 'the final and trotted over the finish line last. Track fans were stunned. The injury lament was ques- ronto track meet. At right is Harry Jerome hitting the tape at British Games trials in Edmonton in 1966. Jer- tioned, But Jerome said noth- ing about a muscle tear in his left leg in a post-race inter- view. He admitted he had a sore throat and a heavy chest cold. One reporter leaned within five inches of Jerome's face and asked: "Did you quit again, Harry? Tell us, did you?" Jerome flushed but held his temper at the taunt and replied evenly, "No." Two days later Jerome was flying home for surgery. Sir Arthur Porritt of . London, chairman of the Games Fed- eration and an_ internation- ally - famous surgeon, diag- nosed the injury as a dam- aged thigh muscle and said Jerome was in urgent need of -surgery. That hardly lessened the boos. ' STAGED COMEBACK No one expected Harry to return and few seemed to care, ome was making a come- back after a torn thigh muscle four years earlier. --CP Photo Harry.hobbled around on crutches for months but re- sumed his track career in late 1963. Jerome said of his Perth injury: "I was trying too hard at Perth to wipe out the horror of the 1960 Olympics. I lost my balance a that's when I got hurt." He pressed on, alone, the heavy burden of defeat urging the impossible from him. At the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, he won three heats in the 100-metre event and fin- ished third in the final. In the 200 he finished fourth in the final. i Jerome was the only sprinter to reach the finals of both sprints and his achieve- ment was hailed as the Cana- dian comeback of the year. But to many he still had not proved his worth as an inter- national runner. Jerome returned to his soli- tary efforts to repair his shat- tered image. At the 1966 Em- pire Games trials in Edmon- ton, he equalled the world 100-yard record of 9.1 seconds. He again was named to re- resent Canada in the Games but, on the basis of his. inter- national form chart, no one expected a gold medal from him. He fooled the experts. In the 100-yard final, Tom Robinson of the Bahamas was away in front. Jerome caught him 40 yards from home and they hit the tape together. It took 42 minutes for officials to decide Jerome had won. * KING PARK PLAZA Paints Ltd. 723-4922 AN ALL-CANADIAN COMPANY, ON GOODFYEAR TIRES of rayon. nial trip. 162 KING ST. E. travel Canada ¥&X safely Let us help you to "travel Canada safely" on your Centennial motoring trips... _ Drive in and let our experts check your tires for safe, trouble free driving this summer. 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Organized by nn STUDENTS OI Street Collegiate tional Institute, rolled a double their school sg Centennial Park Spec Fave Trustees and p Oshawa separate s specialized instruc subjects, derived fr system, is useful | pupils for high sch Dr. George Sciu of the Oshawa sep board, said a rec of trustees and pi solved the need fo system in elementz Three Oshawa | schools operate on : LARGE CR WHITBY (Staff) | lice estimate there ' 2,000 participants | ors at the Teen S Wednesday night, "treet at the Fire A 23 - year-old in the General M plant machine shc ick Bull, has rece in the GM Sugge: It is the largest a received by an and is the larges um) award so far FIRST CIT Cro: It's been ak Doug -- Cross! home town. But, the } got his start | and the C Band, return top "star" at Variety Show torium, Doug, who last night for told The Tim turned to. C giand where for ARC. Rec ing session ¥ mediately aft contract with Phil Andersor "The mate! gland, truly Crossley said.