National High School Records Through the Years

Note: Photo Patterson Park, Baltimore; No known photo available of Ada French

Girls Outdoor Record – 440-yard dash

Ada French (Eastern High School, Baltimore, Maryland)

Performance  – 74 1/5 seconds

Date – November 4, 1922

Place – Baltimore, Maryland (Patterson Park)

Meet – Baltimore Cross Country Club Invitational

Previous Record – 76 ½ seconds by Clara Taylor (Peabody HS, Pittsburgh) at a meet at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh May 17, 1913

In the pioneering prewar days of track and field for women in America, the 440 was rarely contested. At a small meet in the Fall of 1922, a 440 was held for women on a track in Patterson Park in East Baltimore, won by Miss French, a student at nearby Eastern High School. Eastern was one of the first and largest public high schools in American exclusively for girls. At its peak it had an enrollment of some 3,000 young women. It opened in 1844 before closing in 1985. Patterson Park opened in 1827. Incidentally, 1922 marked the first women's international track and field competition, the Women's World Games, in Paris.

National High School Records Through the Years appears once a week, compiled and written by a track historian, Jack Pfeifer (Lake Oswego, Oregon). Inquiries may be directed to him by email (jack.pfeifer@gmail.com).     

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