Introduction from The Sports Time Traveler™
In today’s post I have 3 stories:
2023:
SUB-6 AT 60 - a story about The Sports Time Traveler’s™ pursuit of a monumental running goal from this past weekend
1963:
THE POUNDINGS OF 12/8/63 - A quick whirl around the NFL and AFL from last weekend in 1963
1903:
THE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLD - An emerging story on a game that’s “coming up” next week in 1903.
If you’re not so interested in all 3 stories I strongly recommend you at skip down to look at the last one.
2023: SUB-6 at 60
This story is a bit of an aberration for The Sports Time Traveler™. It doesn’t take place at least 50 years ago. And it’s about me.
Some of you may know that I have been a competitive distance runner since the late 1970s.
I won a bronze medal in the 10,000 meter run at the World Maccabiah Games in 2001.
And I didn’t stop competing in masters and seniors track meets until the pandemic.
10 years ago, when I passed the half-century mark in trips around the sun, I set out to tackle a goal that I felt would be a crowning achievement in my running “career.”
I wanted to see if I could run a 5 minute mile again at the age of 50. I had run many sub-5 miles, but not since I was 41.
As I turned 50, in 2013, I wrote down my thoughts on this epic, monumental goal:
Somewhere along the path to turning 50, about three years ago, a thought popped into my head. For the very first time I had the notion that it would be awesome if I could run a 5 minute mile again when I reached the age of 50. It was a small epiphany. I realized that this goal was so gigantic, that achieving it would bring a sense of self satisfaction and accomplishment that I perhaps had never felt before in 35 years of participating in track & field. It would be akin to a lifetime achievement award, a testimonial to the benefit of keeping myself in good shape for half a century. It was a goal so special, so unique, that it could not even be attempted until I had finely aged. It wasn’t just running the 5 minute mile once more. It was doing it at the age of 50.
10 years ago this week I did it. I ran a 5 minute mile at age 50 in the Florida Senior Games.
I also broke the Florida Senior Games record by 8 seconds.
I subsequently wrote a story about the 5 minute mile at 50 that Runner’s World published.
You can read the article at this link:
Here’s a photo from that race in 2013 that originally appeared in the Runner’s World article.
Another article on my 5 minute mile at 50, with more detail, was published in the Jacksonville Track Club newsletter. You can read that story in the link below, on page 12, in a story titled, “One for the Aged.”
One for the Aged - Running the 5 Minute Mile at 50
A NEW GOAL - SUB 6 @ 60
At the end of the article, in the link above, I wrote, “I have not yet formulated my next goal.”
But a short while later I had the idea of running a sub 6 minute mile when I reached age 60.
I had to wait nearly 10 years to even attempt the goal.
When I turned 60 a few months ago it was finally time to try.
I quickly found out that despite being able to run a sub-6 when I was 58, it suddenly was immensely tougher to do now that I was 60.
My early attempts to run sub 6 at 60 on my own were not even close. I realized I was going to need some help.
I decided there was a great opportunity with the Jacksonville Marathon.
The marathon, which took place this past Sunday, December 10, 2023, runs right by my house, and I have every 200 marked off on a wheel on one of the miles.
I waited near my house for one of the lead packs that looked they were going sub-6 pace and tucked in behind them.
They were going faster than I thought. I came through 400 in 82.
By 800 I couldn't stay with them. I came thru in 2:50. But I was dragging badly.
I knew I only needed 3:09 for the final 800, but there is a big hill (well big for FL) at 1200, so I didn't think I would make it even with that 9 second cushion.
1200 was in 4:25, so I had only run 95 on the last 400, and now I had the hill.
I thought, "well at least I ran a good 1200 today."
And I almost packed it in.
But then I thought, “I might never get in this position again. I only need a 94.”
I ran the 200 up the hill in 49. So now I'm at 1400 in 5:14. The whole 9 second cushion was gone.
At this point I said to myself, “I'm going for it.” I passed one of the marathon runners and ran hard all the way to the finish mark.
I ran 42 for the final 200 to finish the mile in 5:56.
I did it! It was one of my most satisfying performances in 45 years of running.
I immediately thought that I wanted to dedicate this achievement to my late friend Bill Lee who was the rock star of our high school track team in New Jersey.
Bill had the greatest ability I’ve ever seen, in any athlete, to dig down and use all his powers to win.
I first observed this when he came from behind to beat the favorite, Ed Puc, to win the Middlesex County 1500 meter run in his sophomore year. After that race, in classic Bill Lee style, he told us that on the final turn he said to himself, “fuck you, man," as he sprinted past Puc and crushed him.
Bill, we will always miss you.
And now let’s get in the Sports Time Travel machine and go back 60 years for story #2.
1963: THE POUNDINGS OF 12/8/63
I’ve traveled back precisely 60 years to cover the NFL games from last Sunday (12/8/63), which was week 13 of the 14 game season. Several of the games were stunning blowouts.
Here’s a quick recap of the games that shaped the Eastern and Western Division Title races.
49ERS at BEARS
The Bears (9 - 1 - 2) came into the game just a half game ahead of the Packers in the Western Division. The Bears only loss had come in October in San Francisco. The big question was whether the 49ers, with the worst record in the NFL at 2 - 10 coming into the game, could shock the Bears again.
Here are the highlights of the game:
Early in the 1st quarter the 49ers fumbled the ball at midfield. Then watch at the 17 second mark on the video as the Bears Willie Galimore gallops 51 yards for the game’s 1st TD.
After the 49ers get the ball back they lose it again on an interception leading to another Bears TD.
The Bears led 14 - 7 at the half.
In the 2nd half another Bears interception was run back for a TD in the 4th quarter. You can see it at the 1:33 mark on the tape.
The Bears defense intercepted 49ers quarterbacks 4 times limiting them to 9 completed passes in 29 attempts.
The Bears won the game 28 - 7.
With Green Bay beating up the Rams 31 - 14, the Western Division remains a tight race that will come down to the final week to determine if either the Bears or the Packers will play in the NFL Title game.
BROWNS at LIONS
The Lions are out of contention in the Western Division, but the Browns entered Sunday’s game tied for 1st place in the Eastern Division with the New York Giants at 9 - 3.
The Browns have not won the division since 1957, which is the only season that the Browns have reached the NFL championship game in the Jim Brown era to date. The game on Sunday represented a grand opportunity for the Browns to put themselves in position to win the Eastern Division.
But it was the Lions who struck first on just the 3rd play of the game.
Watch in the highlight video below as Lions QB Earl Morrall connects with wide receiver Terry Barr for a 75 yard TD pass.
The Browns then fell behind 14 - 0 in the 2nd quarter before a field goal and a Frank Ryan 49 yard TD pass pulled the Browns to within 4 points at halftime.
In the 2nd half however, the Browns had nothing. The Lions scored 24 points and held the Browns scoreless to win the game in a rout 38 - 14.
Jim Brown, who set the all-time single season rushing record last week, was held to just 61 yards, partially because he only carried the ball 13 times with the Browns behind the entire game, and partly because the Lions defense kept Jim Brown tightly guarded, baiting Frank Ryan to throw the ball.
Ryan was only 5 for 15 passing and was pulled for back up Jim Ninowski who couldn’t do any better. He threw just 6 for 17 with 3 interceptions.
The Lions were so ferocious in the 2nd half that a reporter in the Akron Beacon Journal wrote, “The Browns were like the man who came to dinner only to find himself the main course to the delight of 51,382 at Tiger Stadium… Detroit tore apart what has been a quite consistently good Browns defense and at the same time kept (the) Cleveland attack under tight control.”
REDSKINS at GIANTS
The Giants played host to the 3 - 9 Redskins at Yankee Stadium in front of 62,992 fans who wanted to see the Giants put themselves in position to capture their 5th Eastern Division title in the past 6 seasons.
Despite their dominance in the East, the Giants have not been able to win the NFL Title since 1956.
Yet with everything on the line for the Giants they allowed the Redskins to take an early 7 - 0 lead.
The fans did not have to worry for long. The Giants quickly turned the game into a pummeling.
By halftime it was 23 - 7 Giants.
At the end of the 3rd quarter it was 37 - 7.
It reached 44 - 7 in the 4th quarter before the Redskins finally scored again.
The final score was 44 - 14 Giants.
The game was notable for a record for most interceptions by 2 teams. The Giants intercepted 7 passes and the Redskins 4, for a total of 11 in the game.
2 of the interceptions by the Giants’ Dick Lynch and Sam Huff were returned for TDs.
For the Giants defenders it was a big payday.
The New York Times reported that, “The scoring thefts by Lynch and Huff were worth $25 each to those players under the Giants bonus-incentive system: $10 for the steal, $10 for returning over 20 yards and $5 for scoring.”
Sam Huff was very excited about his pick 6. He said to New York Times reporter, Leonard Koppett, “That’s the first touchdown I ever scored with an intercepted pass… How far did I run? What? 36 yards? No wonder I was so winded. That’s the farthest I’ve ever run.”
There is concern however regarding the Giants offense for the final game of the season next week. Despite putting up 44 points, they may be without full back Alex Webster who has an injured sciatic nerve.
Arthur Daley described the importance of Webster in his Sports of the Times column the day after the game, “Webster is the clutch guy who can crunch for the big little yardage on 3rd down plays. He puts pressure on enemy defenses so that all phases of the Giant attack work better. He means ball control and the ability to piece together long scoring drives… without Webster at something resembling his best, the Giant offense consists of Tittle and not much else.”
STEELERS at COWBOYS
Pittsburgh entered the day in 4th place in the Eastern Division looking seemingly out of contention to the casual observer of the NFL standings.
The Steelers had a record of 6 - 3 - 3 putting them a half game behind 3rd place St. Louis and 1.5 games behind the Browns and Giants.
But by mid-afternoon, with the Browns getting blown out in Detroit, ironclad Steelers fans probably knew that this tight game against the Cowboys suddenly had real significance.
The game started looking like another blowout in the making after the opening kickoff. The 3 - 9 Cowboys scored on their first 2 possessions. They got a heavily wind aided 53 yard field goal on their first drive. On their 2nd drive QB Don Meredith led the Cowboys 63 yards on 10 plays for a touchdown to take a 9 - 0 lead after the 1st quarter.
In the 2nd quarter with the wind at their backs, the Steelers QB Ed Brown connected on a 55 yard TD pass to Buddy Dial to make it a 9 - 7 game.
Late in the 2nd quarter the Steelers used the long ball again as Ed Brown completed a pass of 32 yards and then a 28 yard TD pass that put the Steelers ahead.
Then with time running out in the half, Brown threw a 48 yard pass to Dial who got out of bounds to stop the clock with 2 seconds left and the Steelers kicked a field goal to take a 17 - 9 halftime lead.
In the 3rd quarter, with the wind at their backs again, it was the Cowboys turn. They took a 19 - 17 lead with a 46 yard field goal and a 76 yard TD drive highlighted by a 42 yard pass by Meredith to Pettis Normal for the Cowboys longest pass completion of the day.
Deep into the 4th quarter the Steelers were still behind. Jack Sell in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette described the situation, “Steeler hopes seemed doomed later when they had a 4th down and 14 at their own 16, but Brown hurled a pass down the right sideline to (Red) Mack, who scrambled 42 yards to the Cowboys 42.
The Steelers soon hit another critical moment as Sell wrote, “Again a 4th down came with 1 yard to go on the Dallas 32. Parker sent in (Lefty Lou) Michaels to line up a fielder from the 39, but the Steeler skipper changed his mind. He yanked Lefty Lou and (John Henry) Johnson did a dive over the top to move the sticks.”
The decision to keep attacking rather than kick the field goal paid off a moment later when Theron Sapp rushed 24 yards for a touchdown with 1:53 remaining.
Cowboys coach Tom Landry then had Don Meredith play in shotgun formation and he threw a long pass that was completed to Frank Clarke, but Clarke fumbled. The Steelers recovered and ran out the clock for the 24 - 19 victory.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
The Steelers come from behind win in Dallas in the last 2 minutes was enormous. When combined with the Browns loss it vaulted the Steelers into 2nd place and eliminated both the Browns and the Cardinals from contention in the Eastern Division.
It is one of the oddest scenarios in NFL history as can be seen by the standings after Sunday’s games:
NFL EASTERN DIVISION STANDINGS with 1 game remaining
New York 10 - 3
Pittsburgh 7 - 3 - 3
Cleveland 9 - 4
St. Louis 9 - 4
Dallas 3 - 10
Washington 3 - 10
Philadelphia 2 - 9 - 2
Pittsburgh is technically 1/2 game behind Cleveland and St. Louis. But the NFL uses winning percentage, not games back as the determinant of the standings. And the Steelers at 7 - 3 - 3 have a winning percentage of .700 while Cleveland and St. Louis are at .692.
Even more stunning is the fact that with Pittsburgh scheduled to play at New York in next week’s final game of the season, the winner of that game will be the Eastern Division champion.
That means both the Browns and the Cardinals have now been eliminated.
If Pittsburgh beats the Giants next Sunday they would finish at 8 - 3 - 3 while the Giants would be 10 - 4. Again, the Steelers would finish 1/2 game behind the Giants, yet would take the Eastern title on winning percentage. Even if St. Louis and Cleveland were to win, their record of 10 - 4 would put them percentage points behind Pittsburgh.
The Steelers have strong reason to believe they can win the division now. They shut out the Giants in week 2 by a score of 31 - 0. Of course Y.A. Tittle did not play in that game. But the Giants may not have Alex Webster next Sunday.
It’s going to be a great day at Yankee Stadium next Sunday and The Sports Time Traveler™ will be there.
NFL WESTERN DIVISION STANDINGS with 1 game remaining
Chicago 10 - 1 - 2
Green Bay 10 - 2 - 1
Baltimore 7 - 6
Detroit 5 - 7 - 1
Los Angeles 5 - 8
Minnesota 4 - 8 - 1
San Francisco 2 - 11
The Western Division picture is much less complicated. Chicago can win the division with a win or a tie next Sunday when they host the Lions. Green Bay can only win the division if they win in San Francisco and the Bears lose.
POUNDINGS CONTINUE WITH THE AFL
All 4 AFL contests were decided by at least 2 touchdowns on Sunday.
Buffalo beat the Jets 45 - 14.
Boston defeated Houston 46 - 28
Kansas City rocked Denver 52 - 21
Oakland knocked off San Diego 41 - 27
The AFL did not play on the weekend following the assassination, and their clubs don’t all play each weekend. As a result some teams have 1 game to play and some have 2. left.
AFL STANDINGS
EASTERN DIVISION
Boston 7 - 5 - 1
Buffalo 6 - 6 - 1
Houston 6 - 6 - 0
New York 5 - 6 - 1
WESTERN DIVISION
San Diego 9 - 3
Oakland 8 - 4
Kansas City 3 - 7 - 2
Denver 2 - 9 - 1
MORE POUNDING AND A RECORD BY COOKIE
In the Bills blowout of the Jets, Bills fullback Cookie Gilchrist pounded the Jets defense as he rushed for an AFL record 243 yards on 36 carries and scored 5 touchdowns.
The 243 yards tops the single game professional mark of 237 yards by Jim Brown.
And now I’m traveling back in time another 60 years to 1903.
1903: THE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE WORLD
I received a scoop from my friend Darin Hayes recently about a professional football team in 1903 that put together the greatest group of players ever assembled up to that time.
The team was based in the the little town of Franklin in western Pennsylvania. Wealthy oil barons in Franklin didn’t like losing to nearby Oil City’s football team in 1902 and were determined to build an unbeatable all-star team for the 1903 season. Bringing in players from around the country they put together a formidable squad.
Darin has written a fantastic short book about the Franklin “All-Stars.” You can learn more about the book by clicking on this link: The 1903 Franklin All-Stars
Darin’s book has me so intrigued that I made a virtual trip back to 1903 today to see what’s going on with the Franklin All-Stars.
At this time in 1903, Franklin’s regular season has concluded and here are the scores of all their games as reported in the Harrisburg Daily Independent on 12/1/1903:
Notice that Franklin didn’t just win every game they played.
They won every game in a shutout.
The Franklin “All-Stars” have not let up a single point all season.
Here in 1903 there is no well organized professional league. But there is a professional championship of sorts.
Starting last year in 1902, some promoters in New York created a “Championship of the World,” that is played inside Madison Square Garden.
Franklin is one of four teams that have been invited to play in the tournament that starts in just a few days on December 14th per today’s issue of The Evening Republican (12/12/1903) in nearby Meadsville, PA:
As I write, here in 1903, a 6 day bicycle race is concluding in Madison Square Garden. Tonight 300 loads of dirt will be brought in to convert the floor of the Garden into an 80 yard football field.
Franklin will play the Orange Athletic Club of Orange, NJ in the semi-final game on December 15th.
If they win, the final will be on December 17th.
The Sports Time Traveler™ will be there and will report on it next week.
That’s all for today.
Thanks for reading.
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