Died: Bill Askey, 74
On October 17, in Houston, of lymphoma. Twice the 45.9 performer ran on Rice 4x4s that placed 2nd in the NCAA. In 1969 he was ’leadoff; the next year he anchored.
Died: Dave Bolen, 98
On December 10, in Scottsdale, Arizona. The NCAA runner-up in the 440 in ’46 and ’47, he became Colorado’s first Olympian, placing 4th in the ’48 400. Along the way he twice won the AAU Indoor 600 in ’48 and ’49. Outdoors, his best nationals finish was an AAU 2nd in ’47. He later represented the U.S. as an ambassador.
Died: Al Buehler, 92
On January 05, in Durham. A member of the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame, Buehler coached for decades at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to 6 ACC titles in cross country. He coached 5 Olympians and served at three Olympics as U.S. team manager.
Died: Murray Halberg, 89
On November 30, in Auckland, New Zealand. The Kiwi distance star, who turned to running at age 17 after his arm was disabled in a rugby accident, became the ’60 Olympic champion in the 5000. He also ran World Records in the 2M, 3M and as part of the New Zealand 4 x mile team. A 6-time World Ranker at 5000, he was No. 1 in ’58 and 1960-63. He also ranked No. 3 in the 1500 in ’58.
Died: Bob Hersh, 82
On January 18, on Long Island; from glioblastoma. One of the most influential men in the sport during his long career, he was IAAF Senior VP, a longtime USATF board member, meet announcer, and longtime contributor to T&FN (see From The Editor for more).
Died: Nejat Kök, 83
In December, in Aydin, Turkey. The former statistician, broadcaster and president of the Turkish Athletic Federation was also an important T&FN contributor for many years, and was an instrumental member of our World Rankings panel 1977–2019.
Died: Sam LaBeach, 98
On November 22, in Washington, D.C. A 3-time NCAA All-America for Morgan State, in ’51 he placed 7th in the 440.
Died: Evelyn Lewis, 93
On January 04. The ’50 AAU champion in the 80m hurdles, she finished 6th in the ’51 Pan-Am Games. She held the American Record in her event. Her children Carl and Carol both became prominent athletes themselves.
Died: John Mitchell
In January. The coach at Alabama for nearly two decades, he guided the Crimson Tide to 2 SEC titles. He later coached at Georgia for 10 years and was inducted into the USTFCCCA Hall of Fame.
Died: John Ross, 90
On November 01, in Sarasota, Florida. Running for Michigan, the Canadian placed 5th in the ’52 NCAA 1500 and 7th in the ’53 880. Ran in the ’52 Olympic heats in the 800 and 1500.
Died: Don Ruh, 90
On January 06, in Yucaipa, California, of congestive heart failure. The longtime Mt. SAC coach made the Mt. SAC Relays into one of the most important fixtures on the U.S. schedule.
Died: Jerry Siebert, 84
On December 30, in Golden, Colorado. Competed for Santa Clara and later Cal, for whom he was the ’60 NCAA runner-up in the 800. The 6th-placer in the ’64 Olympic 800, he was twice AAU champion (’62 and ’64). Four times a World Ranker, with No. 2s in ’61 & ’62.
Died: Henryk Szordykowski, 78
On December 25. A 4-time World Ranker in the 1500, the Polish star was No. 3 in both ’69 and ’70. At 800, he ranked No. 10 in ’68. In the ’68 Olympics, he placed 7th in the 1500.
Died: Eric Thomas, 49
On December 30, in Houston; as a result of complications following hip replacement surgery. The former Blinn JC 400 hurdler was a 5-time World Ranker, hitting No. 4 in ’00, the year he placed 2nd in the Olympic Trials before making it as far as the Olympic semis.
Died: Tony Waldrop, 70
On December 03, in Chapel Hill. The North Carolina miler dazzled the track world in ’74 with a string of 9-straight sub-4:00s, one of them a World Indoor Record 3:55.0. He won the NCAA Indoor 1000y in ’73 and the mile in ’74. In ’75, he won the Pan-Am gold in the 1500 but he retired from the sport before the ’76 Olympics. He was a 3-time U.S. Ranker in the 1500, with a best of No. 4 in ’74. ◻︎