Santee truly would have been first sub-4 miler if AAU had let him
Wes Santee’s death Sunday, at age 78, is a reminder of one of the most outrageous crimes in American track and field—the actions that kept my former Kansas track alumnus from becoming the first miler to break 4 minutes. Trust me, he would have been the one—beating Roger Bannister to the punch—if U.S. track authorities hadn’t been so cruel and anal. I’m not aware of Wes having run masters track. But he should have. It might have helped remove the sour taste of elite track from his mouth. If you ever have time for one book, read “The Perfect Mile,†a 2004 book by Neal Bascomb. It’s a beaut. Rest in peace, Wes. And Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, for eternity.
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I think Gunder Hägg or Arne Andersson would have been the first sub-4 miler if the swedish track authorities hadn´t been so cruel.
It was appalling to read in Santee’s obit how he was treated by the AAU. I thought Pre’s treatment was outrageous, but Wes’ was criminal. Talk about a bureaucracy out of control.
Apparently our national governing body has always had problems?
We older guys recall well the in-fighting and turf battles between fat, old men who ran the AAU, the USTFF, and the NCAA. You run in one group’s sanctioned meet, you can’t run in the other’s. The athletes paid a big price in competitive opportunities because of these battles and control struggles. The athlete was powerless.
I remember reading years ago about Wes and being taken down for getting too much meal money. That was kind of when my eyes were opened about running for yourself, because someone can take your records & even your career if you don’t do what they want.
Sad but true. Athletes had it pretty rough then, i remember guys cashing in plane tickets and flying standby just to put a few dollars in your pocket. We used to sell our shoe vouchers, I knew one guy who became a successful decathlete who only started the event so he could get ten shoe vouchers and sell them. The Javelin boots were like gold, they were 4 times the price of a pair of running spikes…
“Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio…?” Yes, those were the days. Joe DiMaggio at the track meet, the band playing, spectators all decked out, track and field seemed much bigger then. I was a little surprised to see the wild displays of enthusiasm by some of the spectators, thought they were more sedate back then.
Couldn’t help but notice how many people not in the race made physical contact with the winner, Fred Dwyer, within the first 10 seconds after he crossed the line. Would have been a bit much for my taste, but then I haven’t won a race in track and field since 1976, so what do I know.
BTW, Ken, you did fool me. At first I thought I was watching Wes Santee in the lead, but the video does note it was Fred Dwyer.
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