National High School Records Through the Years

Boys Indoor Record – 100-yard dash

Howard Drew (Springfield High School, Springfield, Massachusetts)

Performance  – 10 1/5 seconds

Date – November 16, 1912

Place – Brooklyn, New York (23rd Regiment Armory)

Meet – 23rd Regiment Games

Previous Record – Equaled the 10 1/5 by John Ravenell (High School of Commerce, New York City) in 1910

One of the country’s first great black sprinters, Drew, at age 21, was a late arrival in high school because of social and economic pressures of the era. Nevertheless he was frequently able to represent his school, Springfield High School. (For our purposes, he does not receive full credit for a national high school record, because of his age. We use a cutoff of 19.) Drew had arrived in Stockholm, Sweden, that summer for the 1912 Olympic Games as the favorite in the 100 meters, but he pulled a muscle in the first round and was forced to withdraw. After returning to the States he ran several indoor meets, including this 100-yard race in Brooklyn, 113 years ago this week, and then received a scholarship to run for the University of Southern California. In 1914 he equaled world outdoor records for 100 yards and 200 meters. Later in life Drew earned a law degree and worked as an attorney.  

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).     

READ THE FULL SERIES OF FOR THE RECORD