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At 9 O'CLOCK Saturday (7-11-36) morning we
received a message from Frank Wykoff which read in part as follows:
"As a competitor sent by Glendale I won't give up until the race is
over."
At 11 o'clock the same morning we received
word he had been eliminated, placing out of the money in his first
heat. It was depressing news, especially in view of the fact
that Owens broke the tape in that heat in 10.5, a time which Frank had
been making consistently. The best way to dispel
one's gloom is to do something that will provoke a different one of
greater intensity. So, we went out to play golf and contemplate
suicide. The two seem to fit perfectly.
WE WERE CURSING, a corkscrew spoon shot on
the fifteenth fairway when an Indian runner brought us word that Frank
had gotten another chance, had changed his shoes, beaten the field in
a race for leftovers, rested for a mere twenty minutes, and had come
back in a grand finale to place third and make the Olympic Sprint
team.
In the lap of gloom fell glittering dividends
clipped from a bond of friendship. I'd like to believe that part
of Frank's success might be traced to a determination not to let down
those Glendale people who, of their own volition,
kicked through with
$300 to send him to New York.
* * * * * *
THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED in this strange
adventure were given a pleasant surprise. Being a sentimental
group, they must have reveled in the sight of the wire-photo pictures
which shoed Frank qualifying in the old Glendale High school jersey
which carried him to glory in 1928.
It was his way of showing he hadn't forgotten
the old friends and the home town. A subtle message which lends
a richness to the adventure far greater than the race itself.
* * * * * *
Note -- the above reprint is only a
portion of Mr. Graham's column.
Click here to read another portion of
his column concerning an apology to Olympic Champion Diver, Dorothy
Poynton Hill. |