Ralph Spearow Explained

Ralph Spearow
Nationality:American
Birth Date:3 October 1895
Birth Place:LaGrange, Georgia, U.S.
Death Place:Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Father:-->
Sport:Athletics

Albert Ralph Spearow (October 3, 1895  - December 17, 1980) was an American pole vaulter. He placed 6th in his speciality at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris; later that year, he exceeded Charles Hoff's world record in Tokyo, but his mark was never ratified.[1]

Biography

Spearow was born in LaGrange, Georgia,[2] but became an athlete in Oregon, competing first for Multnomah AC and then the Oregon Ducks.[2] [3] Spearow was a versatile jumper, excelling not only in the pole vault but also the long jump and the high jump.[3] [4] [5] While at the University of Oregon, he was also the regular pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Cottage Grove;[5] [6] after graduating, he left that post to become an insurance agent.[6] [7]

Spearow placed 4th in the pole vault at the 1919 national (AAU) championship meet[2] [8] and became one of the first jumpers to clear 13feet in 1920.[9] In 1922 he placed 2nd at the AAU championships, losing only in a jump-off to Edward Knourek.[8]

Spearow's best year was 1924, when he first broke the intercollegiate record with a jump of 13inchesft2.95inchesin (ftin)[6] [10] and then qualified for the US Olympic team. At the Olympic Trials in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Spearow and three others - Lee Barnes, James Brooker and Glenn Graham - cleared 13feet to qualify for the Olympics.[11] Of the four, Spearow had the best attempts at 13feet, getting over the bar twice but brushing it off on the way down both times.[11] In the absence of Norway's world record holder Charles Hoff, Spearow entered the Olympics as the leading favorite.[2] [12] However, he injured his ankle in training ahead of the competition[13] [14] and only managed a disappointing 6th.[2] [6]

After the Olympics, Spearow embarked on an exhibition and coaching tour in Japan with several fellow athletes.[15] [16] Near the end of the tour on November 5, in a meeting in Tokyo, Spearow had the best performances of his career, clearing first 13feet[2] and then 13feet; the latter height exceeded Hoff's official world record of 4.21 meters. Spearow's jump has appeared in many listings of world record progressions since[17] [18] but has never received official recognition from the International Association of Athletics Federations.

Why the jump wasn't ratified as a record is unclear, with both contemporary and later sources providing contradictory explanations. Bill Bowerman claimed the jump was statistically valid but Spearow's lack of an AAU permit to compete prevented ratification.[6] [19] Track and field historian Richard Hymans quotes eyewitness Jonni Myyrä as saying the height Spearow cleared was found to be below the world record on remeasurement; however, Martti Jukola, also citing Myyrä as his source, claimed Spearow failed on his three official attempts and only made the height on an additional exhibition jump.[20] The November 19, 1924 edition of the Eugene Guard referred to Spearow "unofficially" breaking the record,[21] while the November 21 edition said Spearow "tried for a world's vault record but failed by a scant margin."[22]

Spearow died in Portland, Oregon on December 17, 1980.[2] [23]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ralph Spearow . Olympedia . 29 September 2021 . 29 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210929193519/https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/79075 . live .
  2. Web site: Ralph Spearow Bio, Stats and Results . https://web.archive.org/web/20200418102746/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sp/ralph-spearow-1.html . dead . April 18, 2020 . Sports Reference LLC . April 25, 2013.
  3. News: Pole Vault Record Made in Portland . . May 6, 1919 . April 25, 2013 . June 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230608165657/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19190506&id=eGZjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JvADAAAAIBAJ&pg=4472,311837 . live .
  4. News: Washington Beats Oregon on Track . . May 22, 1922 . April 25, 2013.
  5. News: Oregon Jumper Holds Pulpit . . August 13, 1922 . April 25, 2013 . June 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230608165659/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19220812&id=G6xVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=t-EDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4387,391109 . live .
  6. News: Ralph Spearow: CG's pole vaulting preacher, Olympian Spearow competed the 1924 "Chariots of Fire" Olympics . Thompson, Jerry . August 6, 2008 . April 25, 2013 . Cottage Grove Sentinel . dead . https://archive.today/20130616084510/http://www.cgsentinel.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=&story_id=3168&page= . June 16, 2013 .
  7. News: The Preacher's Salary . . April 23, 1925 . April 25, 2013 . March 22, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230322150237/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19250423&id=PMtYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZOgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6309,3122541 . live .
  8. A History Of The Results Of The National Track & Field Championships Of The USA From 1876 Through 2011 . Mallon, Bill . Buchanan, Ian . Track and Field News . . April 25, 2013 . April 7, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140407071326/http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/tafn-presults?list_id=36&sex_id=M&event_id=23 . dead .
  9. Web site: FIRST 51 MEN AT OR ABOVE 13 FEET (3.96,2m) . Dumas, Gerard . Ruth, Roger . Pole Vault Canada . April 25, 2013 . dead . https://archive.today/20130616084430/http://polevaultcanada.ca/records/13foot.txt . June 16, 2013.
  10. News: Ralph Spearow Holds World's Mark In Vault . May 28, 1924 . The Eugene Daily Guard . April 25, 2013 . June 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230608165658/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19240528&id=TF0zAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TegDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4613,83815 . live .
  11. Web site: The History of the United States Olympic Trials - Track & Field . PDF . Hymans, Richard . USA Track & Field
    Track and Field News
    . April 25, 2013 . July 2, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120702051900/http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/special-articles/1150 . live .
  12. News: Americans to Contest Olympic Scoring Plan . . June 19, 1924 . April 25, 2013 . March 22, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230322150237/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1913&dat=19240619&id=HY0gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SWUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1315,6678076 . live .
  13. News: Forty-Five Nations in Olympic Games Parade Opening Paris Meeting . . July 5, 1924 . April 25, 2013 . June 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230608165701/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1970&dat=19240705&id=G0gxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2eMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4193,372327 . live .
  14. News: Farrell Points Out Blunders at Paris Olympiad . June 13, 1928 . April 24, 2013 . . June 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230608165659/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19280613&id=flgbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=REoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3883,6116046 . live .
  15. News: Experiences of Ralph Spearow in Japan Told . The Eugene Guard . October 15, 1924 . April 25, 2013 . June 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230608165704/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19241015&id=nl0zAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TegDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6844,6567261 . live .
  16. News: Ralph Spearow Tells Of His Experiences In Tour of Japanese Isle . The Eugene Guard . November 6, 1924 . April 25, 2013 . March 22, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230322150237/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19241106&id=h0YUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MekDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6950,922044 . live .
  17. Web site: MEN'S OUTDOOR RECORD POLE VAULT PROGRESSION . zur Megede, Ekkehard . Hymans, Richard . Pole Vault Canada . April 25, 2013 . dead . https://archive.today/20130616084444/http://polevaultcanada.ca/records/prowm.txt . June 16, 2013.
  18. Web site: Track and Field Statistics . trackfield.brinkster.net . 2013-04-25 . 2012-05-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120514020100/http://trackfield.brinkster.net/RecProg_All.asp?RecCode=WR&EventCode=MF2&Gender=M&P=F . live .
  19. News: Highclimber . . February 28, 1962 . Strite, Dick . April 25, 2013 . June 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230608165659/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19620228&id=iftVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3OIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5401,5190369 . live .
  20. Book: Huippu-urheilun historia . 1935 . . Jukola, Martti . Finnish.
  21. News: Ralph Spearow Is In States; Trunk Is Filled With Trophies . The Eugene Guard . November 19, 1924 . April 25, 2013 . March 22, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230322150237/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19241119&id=kkYUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MekDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5513,1554960 . live .
  22. News: Ralph Spearow Home From His Tour of Japan . November 21, 1924 . April 25, 2013 . The Eugene Guard . March 22, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230322150237/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19241121&id=lEYUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MekDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4366,1725724 . live .
  23. News: Plan Memorial . . December 31, 1980 . April 25, 2013 . June 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230608165703/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=799&dat=19801231&id=pKRPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uFEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6542,8219316 . live .

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