A little over a year ago my DH was honored for his athletic achievements by his high school. With the Olympics going on, some very painful memories have resurfaced for him and I'd like to share his story with all of my 70,000+ Disney friends. This article was written by one of the organizers for his induction to the Hingham High School Hall of Fame.
"Prior to the start of the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, 27 year old amateur hammer thrower, Cliff Blair, from Boston University and Hingham, MA, had much to be excited about. He placed second in the US trials and later, in July, back in the US recorded a post-trials toss of 216 feet, 4 inches. He had a world record pending (pending, by the way, is not the same as setting.)
Remember, this was 1956 with pink pegged pants and snap-jack shoes, a time when Catholics would burn in hell for eating meat on Friday, an era when the role of an amateur athlete was defined in a very different way: perhaps by today's standards, a very silly way. No matter, the International Olympic Committee and the subsidiaries such as the USOCC had their unique concept of competition for the pure love of the sport. The Lords of the Rings felt that the acceptance of any gratuity, not just money, but anything advantageous personal recognition, a seat on the streetcar, the acquisition of a treasured family recipe, anything, including arrogance and opposition to their august controlling influence, was grounds for dismissal. Cliff crossed the lane and he was dismissed.
And so the story broke in the Boston Globe the day after Thanksgiving. Cliff had reportedly ignored all previous warnings about "writing for the Globe", and his recommendation for suspension had come from the AAU to the USOC, and it was upheld. Cliff was out. As strange as it may seem to disqualify for unpaid journalism, stranger yet was Cliff's writing, in the form of letters to long time friend and Globe sports journalist, Jerry Nason, which had been approved by the very body that initiated his dismissal. Nason had letters of proof from AAU official, Wes Santee, stating that the content of Blair's letters could be printed. No matter, the games went on without Cliff and the eventual winner, US teammate Hal Connolly, became the first gold medallist with a throw over 200 feet. Connolly's throw was a good one, but not the equal of Cliff's "pending" world record."
What isn't in this article is that the head track coach was the one who started all this. The reason? He wanted to be the one who was writing the Globe articles. When the newspaper picked my DH over him, he went insane yelling and screaming and eventually bringing it to the attention of the Olympic committee. The day after the hammer throw, Cliff was reinstated but, of course, by then it was too late.
The other night the TV commentators were talking about Avery Brundage, a head big shot from the 1950's and 60's USA Olympic organization. My DH was so upset he had to leave the room. All this from a guy who says what happened, happened and it doesn't bother him.
I guess I've written this down just to say that what you see with the "Games" is not always what you get. There are still scandals going on of course but they are nothing new. I've always felt that both the Boston Globe and the Olympic Committee owed him a written apology but he's not the type of person who wants to go that route. He's had an interesting life and from the final paragraph of the high school article: "Cliff was understandably inducted into the Boston University Hall of Fame. He returned to competition at age 58, and at the Master Nationals set a new age group record in the shot put, and won the hammer and weight throws."
Roberta
"Prior to the start of the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, 27 year old amateur hammer thrower, Cliff Blair, from Boston University and Hingham, MA, had much to be excited about. He placed second in the US trials and later, in July, back in the US recorded a post-trials toss of 216 feet, 4 inches. He had a world record pending (pending, by the way, is not the same as setting.)
Remember, this was 1956 with pink pegged pants and snap-jack shoes, a time when Catholics would burn in hell for eating meat on Friday, an era when the role of an amateur athlete was defined in a very different way: perhaps by today's standards, a very silly way. No matter, the International Olympic Committee and the subsidiaries such as the USOCC had their unique concept of competition for the pure love of the sport. The Lords of the Rings felt that the acceptance of any gratuity, not just money, but anything advantageous personal recognition, a seat on the streetcar, the acquisition of a treasured family recipe, anything, including arrogance and opposition to their august controlling influence, was grounds for dismissal. Cliff crossed the lane and he was dismissed.
And so the story broke in the Boston Globe the day after Thanksgiving. Cliff had reportedly ignored all previous warnings about "writing for the Globe", and his recommendation for suspension had come from the AAU to the USOC, and it was upheld. Cliff was out. As strange as it may seem to disqualify for unpaid journalism, stranger yet was Cliff's writing, in the form of letters to long time friend and Globe sports journalist, Jerry Nason, which had been approved by the very body that initiated his dismissal. Nason had letters of proof from AAU official, Wes Santee, stating that the content of Blair's letters could be printed. No matter, the games went on without Cliff and the eventual winner, US teammate Hal Connolly, became the first gold medallist with a throw over 200 feet. Connolly's throw was a good one, but not the equal of Cliff's "pending" world record."
What isn't in this article is that the head track coach was the one who started all this. The reason? He wanted to be the one who was writing the Globe articles. When the newspaper picked my DH over him, he went insane yelling and screaming and eventually bringing it to the attention of the Olympic committee. The day after the hammer throw, Cliff was reinstated but, of course, by then it was too late.
The other night the TV commentators were talking about Avery Brundage, a head big shot from the 1950's and 60's USA Olympic organization. My DH was so upset he had to leave the room. All this from a guy who says what happened, happened and it doesn't bother him.
I guess I've written this down just to say that what you see with the "Games" is not always what you get. There are still scandals going on of course but they are nothing new. I've always felt that both the Boston Globe and the Olympic Committee owed him a written apology but he's not the type of person who wants to go that route. He's had an interesting life and from the final paragraph of the high school article: "Cliff was understandably inducted into the Boston University Hall of Fame. He returned to competition at age 58, and at the Master Nationals set a new age group record in the shot put, and won the hammer and weight throws."
Roberta
