Farewell To Those We Lost This Year

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

To conclude a year like no other, it seems fitting to remember and pay respects to those prominent members of the track community who died in 2020. 

This is not a complete list, but one that I've pulled together with the help of Walt Murphy's daily 'This Day In Track and Field' and other sources. COVID-19 took several people on this list, while an array of other listed causes took the rest. 

All of them deserve a moment of reflection before we gladly turn the page and begin 2021 with the hope that normal times return. 

It seems like everyone lost somebody they knew this year, whether a family member or a friend. 

We at DyeStat extend our condolences. 

Jarvis Alexander/Jaquala Young - The two 19-year olds were killed in a senseless shooting in Rochester, N.Y. in September. STORY

Robert Andrews  - 'Brother Bob' was a long-time teacher and track coach at Archbishop Molloy High in New York City. He was an Armory Hall of Fame coach who led Molloy to a New York state cross country title and 17 New York City Catholic Indoor and Outdoor titles. He died in April of complications caused by COVID-19.

Joe Austin - The track and field coach at Milton High, near Pensacola, Fla., died in July due to COVID-19. He was 45. 

Jim Bailey - The former Oregon Duck was the first man to run a mile in under four minutes on U.S. soil. The Australian native, history's No. 5 sub-four miler, died in March. STORY

Dick Bank - One of the world's foremost track experts of his day, he made one of the most famous broadcasting calls in track and field history in 1964 when he blurted out 'Look at Mills, look at Mills!' as Billy Mills kicked to victory in the 10,000 meters at the Tokyo Olympic Games. He was not the broadcaster, but merely the spotter. His voice was never supposed to be heard. He died in Ferbruary.

Steve Bartold - Nicknamed 'Daddy B,' he was an influential head coach at St. John's and Yale for 40 years. He died in November. 

Cliff Bertrand - He was a Hall of Fame athlete from Trinidad & Tobago who competed in the 1964 Olympic Games. He died in November.

Ed Bowes - A fixture in New York City track and field for decades while coaching at Bishop Loughlin, he ran both the Bishop Loughlin Games and resurrected the high school portion of the Manhattan Cross Country Invitational. He died in July. STORY

Dick Buerkle - One of America's finest distance runners in the 1970s, the former walk-on at Villanova was a two-time Olympian and held the world record in the indoor mile for 13 months (3:54.93 in 1978). He died in June. STORY

Joe Clark - He was well-known as a high school principal and became the subject of a movie starring Morgan Freeman, 'Lean On Me' (1989). But he was also the father Olympians Joetta Clark-Diggs and Hazel Clark, and coach J.J. Clark, currently at Stanford. STORY

Walter 'Buddy' Davis - He was the 1952 Olympic Games champion in the high jump. At 6 feet 8, he later played basketball in the NBA for the Philadelphia Warriors and St. Louis Hawks. He died in November.

Dalton Ebanks - He was the head track coach at George Mason University from 1997 to 2005 and was a top assistant on the 1996 NCAA Championship men's team. He died in April of complications due to COVID-19. STORY

Clem Eischen - A 1948 Olympian in the 1,500 meters, he was a two-time state champion in Washington (Vancouver High) before moving on to compete at Washington State. He returned to Vancouver and coached at Hudson's Bay High, winning a state team title in 1961. He died in December.

Peter Fox Smith - He was the women's cross country coach at Dartmouth from 1977-91. He died in October.

June Foulds - She was a British sprinter who competed and won 4x100 relay medals at the 1952 (bronze) and 1956 (silver) Olympic Games. She died in November.

Paula Girven - The Virginia native made the 1976 Olympic team as an 18-year-old, winning the U.S. Trials in the high jump with a leap of 6-1.75. She held the U.S. high school record for five years. She died in November. 

Jim Grelle - He was one of the early standouts in the mile at the University of Oregon, a 1960 Olympian, a teammate of Phil Knight and a pupil of legendary coach Bill Bowerman. He was the fourth American to run sub-four minutes in the mile. He died in June. STORY

Harry Groves - He was a Hall of Fame coach whose career spanned 53 years, including 38 at Penn State. He coached 14 Olympians and 21 NCAA champions. He died in February.

Sheila Ingram - A product of the robust 1970s D.C. track scene, she was part of a silver medal winning U.S. 4x400 relay team at the 1976 Olympic Games at just 19 years of age. In 2019 she was inducted in to the NSAF High School Track and Field Hall of Fame. She died in September. VIDEO

Rafer Johnson - A legendary decathlete, he won the 1960 Olympic gold medal after earning silver in 1956. He lit the cauldron at the 1984 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in Los Angeles. He died in December. STORY

Prentis Jones - He coached cross country and track and field for 40 years at New Mexico's Rio Grande High. He died in November. 

Pearson Jordan - The former LSU sprinter competed in the 1976 Olympic Games for his native Barbados. He died from complications due to COVID-19 in March.

Bob Lida - A world renowned Master's sprinter from Kansas, he held six World records in age-group sprinting events at the time of his death in June. At the age of 80 he could still run 200 meters in less than 30 seconds. He also promoted the Wichita River Run.  

Ron Livers - One of the world's greatest triple jumpers in the 1970s and a Pennsylvania track legend, he won three NCAA titles at San Jose State. He was an assistant coach at Perkiomen Valley High. He died in December.

Tony Martin - A promising long jumper and freshman at Michigan State, he was killed in a shooting in July. STORY

Bruce MacDonald - He represented the U.S. as a racewalker at three Olympic Games (1956, 1960 and 1964) and served as a team manager and official at an additional four Olympic Games. He also coached track and field at Schreiber High in Port Washington, N.Y. for 45 years. He died in March.

Bill and Marcia McChesney - Incredibly valuable citizens of 'TrackTown U.S.A' in Eugene for decades, they were the parents of star runners at South Eugene High. Billy McChesney Jr. was an Oregon star in the late 1970s and qualified for the 1980 Olympic team. Bill Sr., a long-time Hayward Field official, died in April. His wife of 67 years, Marcia, followed died in July. STORY

Orlando McDaniel - He was a two-sport star at LSU and the NCAA runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles in 1980 who went on to found the North Texas Cheetahs Youth Track Club. He also briefly played football in the NFL for the Denver Broncos. He died in March due to COVID-19. STORY

Nick Modungo - He was the track and field coach at Valhalla High in New York for nearly 40 years. He died in April due to complications with COVID-19. 

Bill Mongovan - He was a high school track and field coach for 55 years at Greenwich High and St. Mary's of Greenwich. He died in December. 

Charlie Moore - At the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, he won the gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles and also took home a silver as a member of the U.S. 4x400 relay team. He died in October. 

Moore High (Oklahoma) Cross Country runners (Rachel Freeman, Yuridia Martinez and Kolby Crum) - All three were killed tragically in February near their school as they began a training run when a hit-and-run driver ran into them. STORY

John Morgan - He was the father of Lisa Morgan-Richman, who is the women's cross country coach at TCU and a five-time Team USA coach. He died in April. 

Bobby Morrow - A legendary Olympian, he was the 1956 Melbourne Games champion in the 100-meter dash, 200 meters and 4x100 relay. Once the world's fastest man, he broke 11 world records in the 1950s. He died in May. STORY

Paul Nihill - A British racewalker, he was a three-time Olympian who earned the silver medal in the 50-kilometer walk at the 1964 Olympic Games. He died in December. 

Walter Pinion - An influential club coach at photographer in Georgia, he died in accident at his home in October. STORY

Larry Questad - A legendary athlete from Montana, he made the U.S. Olympic team in the 200 meters and competed at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, and placed sixth. He was the NCAA champion in the 100 meters while a student at Stanford. He died in October. 

Arnie Robinson Jr. - He was the 1976 Olympic champion in the long jump after earning bronze in 1972. The San Diego native won the 1970 NCAA long jump title for San Diego State. He coached the track team at San Diego Mesa College. He died in December due to to complications with COVID-19.

Bill Roe - He was a longtime distance coach at Western Washington University and meet official who founded Club Northwest. He served two terms as President of USATF. He died in February.

Mary Roman - She was a world class Master's athlete from Norwalk, Ct., who died in March due to COVID-19 complications.

Donato Sabia - He was an Italian 800-meter runner who competed in the 1984 Olympic Games, where he was fifth, and the 1988 Olympic Games, where he finished seventh. He died in April and is believed to be the first Olympic finalist to die of COVID-19. He was 56.

Hugh Short - He lived a full life of 98 years and died in November. He tied the world record in the 600 yards and anchored a world record mile relay team at Georgetown in the 1940s. He coached track and cross country in high schools in New York and Vermont for more than 40 years.  

Earl Sincere - He was the coach of the Bremerton Jaguars Track and Field Club in Washington and a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Navy. He died of COVID-19 complications in September. 

Janell Smith - The Kansas native was a teen sensation and pioneer in women's track and field with numerous national titles and records in the early 1960s. She competed in the 1964 Olympic Games in the 400 meters at the age of 17. She died in July. 

Willie Smith - A standout sprinter at Uniondale High NY and Auburn University, he was a two-time NCAA champion, the U.S. champion in the 400 meters in 1979 and 1980, and a member of the U.S. 4x400 relay team that won gold at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He was the 1974 Track and Field News High School Athlete of the Year. He died in November. 

Steve Telaneus - He was the track and cross country coach at Flower Mound Marcus High in Texas for more than 30 years and guided the girls cross country program to four state championships. He died in April.

Rich Torrellas - A long-time USATF staff member, he served as the head women's manager of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. He died in December. 

Bill Wilson - He was an influential coach in Florida who led the Vero Beach High track team to state titles in 1989 and 1990. His long career also included coaching at Sebastian River High. The Bill Wilson Relays are held in his honor. He played halfback for Florida A&M in the early 1960s. He died in September.

Ed Winrow - A standout runner at Buffalo State in the early 1960s, he served as the head track and cross country coach at Mansfield University (Pa.) from 1975 to 1988. He died in March.

Dana Zatopkova - She was the 1952 Olympic champion in the javelin and the silver medalist in 1960. She broke the world record in 1958 at the age of 35. She was also married to legendary Czech runner Emil Zatopek. She died in March.