About a week ago, National Masters News publisher Randy Sturgeon sent me a copy of a letter he printed in his July edition. It was from Phil Shinnick, an Olympic long jumper who in 1963 went 27-4 at the Modesto Relays and thought he had a world record. Not quite. For the next 40-plus years, Phil fought track’s major powers to get his record recognized. It lasted only 16 months, but he demanded justice. I posted the letter on a Track & Field News message board thread that dealt with Phil’s lost WR in great detail. Within hours, it was deleted. Well, I’ve posted it again — on a board devoted to free speech for the Fourth of July weekend. If this link is dead, you’ll know it has been zapped anew. What for? Probably because Phil defames Bob Hersh, a longtime T&FN correspondent and IAAF bigwig.

In case it goes dead again, here’s what I posted on T&FN:

I posted the following letter a few days ago on a 2004 thread that discussed in exhaustive detail Phil Shinnick’s claim to a world record 27-4 long jump at the 1963 Modesto Relays.

It was deleted from that thread, so I’m trying again here.

The old thread:
http://mb.trackandfieldnews.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?t=3464&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=phil+shinnick+modesto&start=0

This letter was sent to National Masters News publisher Randy Sturgeon after Phil noted that Randy had cited the Modesto jump as inspiring him to take up track as a kid. NMN reprinted this letter in its July edition. I have cleaned it up a bit and corrected some spelling:

6/3/09
Dear Randy

Read your blog about seeing me when you were young beating Boston and setting the WR. Grant Birkenshaw from New Zealand also saw my jump in New Zealand on TV and decided to become a jumper, he went to Washington as a freshman and jumped over 25′ then tore his knee up triple jumping.  

He called me one day because he heard later that my WR didn’t go forward.  He prepared a presentation to US T and F in 2003 and my jump was accepted as an American record  retroactively to 1963 based upon testimonies from officials and a wind gauge reading at the time in the hurdles.  He had the support of the Australian and New Zealand track associations.  

In 1963 Track and Field News carried a story from Bert Nelson who was sitting up in the stands  who said he thought that the wind was too much, 5 minutes after I jumped. That became the official story.  I measured the wind before I jumped with my coach and jumped as the 220 low hurdle race was run, the reading was 3.1 MPH.  

When I contacted the WR Book people and asked why if Sports Illustrated  said that there was no wind and also the seven officials at the pit and the SF and Oakland papers testified as to no wind why they didn’t count it.  They said they didn’t subscribe to those papers only Track and Field News and said go back to your association get the testimonies and get approval.

I did this and got approval thanks to Grant who made the presentation with Lee Evans and Ralph Boston as back up in the meeting. Bob Hersh had a fit in the Records Committee after they voted to accept it, he told them they had not right to do this and over turned other members vote.  

The Men’s Executive Committee overturned it because John Chaplin was standing by the take off board when I did it so it became an American Record.  Hersh was so mad that he stormed into the meeting several times and Chaplin told him if he didn’t exit because of his personal animosity he would head butt him and drag him out by his heels.  He then recused Hersh from all dealing with me at the international level.

I went to the international level and was met with great resistance because of Hersh.  Sebastion Coe told me that Hersh was making sure I never could get the record and Nawal el Moutawakel reconfirmed this.  

I met with Lou Dapeng from China who told me to just get council support and this was a post McCarthy sort of thing because of my politics with China and the old Soviet Union to create peace during the cold war. I met Alberto Juantorena Danger in Cuba last fall who said he would get the Athletes Committee to support me.  So this is a political problem and also an American official, Hersh, who even though he was recused violated ethics by lobbying for my demise.

Evidently Hersh is an editor of Track and Filed News and didn’t want to sully the reputation of Nelson who claimed  wind, judged after my jump and in the stands. Also Leon Glover, the wind gauge official told me the wind came from the West  and that the runway was north south lined with people so it blocked the wind, which wasn’t that much at the time.

Both Glover and his father testified as to no wind. I asked Tom Moore why he didn’t put forward my record  because he had a world record in the hurdles counted with no wind gauge and Brutus Hamilton put forward the record which then was counted.  He said that Ollan Cassell told him if he did it that he would loose certification for his meet at Modesto if he did it.  He regretted it and called me before he died to apologize and wrote a strong letter of support for me.

In 1963 they changed the rule to have all events with a wind gauge but there was only one at meets during that year so they ran it back and forth and missed a lot. In 1963 my jump came under the 1939 rules which said seven officials could give testimony and that is acceptable for a WR as to the condition of the wind and field. Wind gauge rules required a reading after that year.

So there was a wind gauge, even if there were not, seven official testimonies is enough. After the meet, next day, nine officials on the field (because they wanted to see Ralph break the record and I jumped just before him) voted to accept my jump.

I’m glad my jump led you into track and now you know the real story and not fiction by Track and Field News and Hersh, who himself is compromised ethically.

With greatest respect
Phil Shinnick

Phillip Shinnick.Ph.D.,M.P.A.,L.Ac.
Director
Research Institute
1070 Park Ave
New York, New York 10128
212 426 3744
Fax 212 534 9743
phillip@pbtinstitute.org

Many track writers have covered this ground, but there may be some new wrinkles in Phil’s latest missive.

Some old stories:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/18/sports/backtalk-one-man-s-battle-to-change-1963-s-record-books.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1996/05/10/SPORTS10248.dtl

http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2005/edition_05-01-2005/featured_3

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20031130&slug=blai30

Phil’s reference to a blog was probably this:
http://masterstrack.com/blog/003948.html

Update less than 24 hours later:

Yeah, they pulled the plug on my post: 

Click image to see where my post used to be.