1956 NCAA Men's Track and Field Championships
Encyclopedia
The 1956 NCAA Track and Field Championships were held in Berkeley, California
in June 1956. UCLA won the team title, ending a seven-year streak by the University of Southern California
. Nine NCAA meet records and one American record were broken at the event.
Bobby Morrow of Abilene Christian led all athletes with 20 points in the meet. Morrow won both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Morrow went on to win three gold medals in the 1956 Summer Olympics
.
Rafer Johnson
led the scoring for team champion UCLA. Johnson scored 16 of UCLA's 55-7/10 points with second-place finishes in the broad jump and high hurdles. Johnson went on to win the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1960 Summer Olympics
.
The one American record that was broken at the meet was in the 800-meter run. Arnie Sowell
of the University of Pittsburgh
set the new American mark with a time of 1:46.7.
2. Kansas - 50
3. University of Southern California – 34½
4. Michigan State – 29
5. Abilene Christian – 25
6. Villanova – 24
7. Oregon – 20
8. Michigan – 19-7/10
9. Oklahoma A&M – 19
10. Manhattan - 17
1. Bobby Morrow, Abilene Christian – 10.4
2. Dave Sime, Duke – 10.6
3. Agostini, Fresno State – 10.6
110-meter high hurdles
1. Lee Calhoun
, North Carolina College – 13.7
2. Rafer Johnson
, UCLA – 13.8
3. Looween, Mankato State – 14.0
200-meter dash
1. Bobby Morrow, Abilene Christian – 20.6
2. Blair, Kansas – 21.0
3. Whilden, Texas – 21.2
400-meter dash
1. Jesse Mashburn
, Oklahoma A&M – 46.4
2. Haines, Penn – 46.6
2. Jenkins, Villanova – 46.6
2. Ellis, UCLA – 46.6
400-meter hurdles
1. Lewis, Notre Dame – 51.0
2. Glenn Davis, Ohio State – 51.4
3. Thompson, Rice – 51.8
800-meter run
1. Arnie Sowell
, Pittsburgh – 1:46.7
2. Stanley, San Jose State – 1:49.2
3. Brew, Dartmouth – 1:50.5
3. Johnson, Abilene Christian – 1:50.5
1,500-meter run
1. Ron Delany
, Villnova – 3:47.3
2. Bailey, Oregon – 3:47.4
3. Sid Wing, Univ. South. Calif. – 3:49.7
3,000-meter steeplechase
1. Kennedy, Michigan State – 9:16.5
2. Matza, BYU – 9:17.2
3. Kielstrup, Michigan – 9:34.4
5,000-meter run
1. Bill Dellinger, Oregon – 14:48.5
2. Jim Beatty
, North Carolina – 14:51.1
3. Jones, Michigan State – 14:52.2
1. Bell, Indiana – 25 feet, 4 inches
2. Rafer Johnson, UCLA - 25 feet, 4 inches
3. Floerke, Kansas – 24 feet, 5 inches
High jump
1. Reavis, Villanova – 6 feet, 8¼ inches
1. Lang, Missouri – 6 feet, 8¼ inches
1. Dyer, UCLA – 6 feet, 8¼ inches
Pole vault
1. Bob Gutowski
, Occidental – 14 feet, 8 inches
1. Graham, Oklahoma A&M – 14 feet, 8 inches
3. Levack, Univ. South. Calif. – 14 feet, 4 inches
3. Landstrom, Michigan – 14 feet, 4 inches
Discus throw
1. Drummond, UCLA – 173 feet, 1/2 inch
2. Vick, UCLA – 171 feet, 5 inches
3. Babka, Univ. South. Calif. – 170 feet, 9½ inches
Javelin
1. Conley, Cal Tech – 239 feet, 11 inches
2. Maijala, Univ. South. Calif. – 229 feet, 10 inches
3. Bitner, Kansas – 223 feet, 11½ inches
Shot put
1. Bantum, Manhattan – 60 feet, 1/2 inch
2. Bill Nieder
, Kansas – 57 feet, 3⅛ inches
3. Owen, Michigan – 57 feet, 2/3 inch
Hammer throw
1. McWilliams, Bowdoin – 195 feet, 3 inches (new NCAA meet record)
2. Hall, Cornell – 193 feet, 8½ inches
3. Morefield, MIT – 193 feet, 2 inches
Hop, step and jump
1. Sharp, West Chester St. – 50 feet, 4¾ inches
2. Floerke, Kansas – 49 feet, 6¼ inches
3. Davis, LaSalle – 49 feet, 3¼ inches
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
in June 1956. UCLA won the team title, ending a seven-year streak by the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. Nine NCAA meet records and one American record were broken at the event.
Bobby Morrow of Abilene Christian led all athletes with 20 points in the meet. Morrow won both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Morrow went on to win three gold medals in the 1956 Summer Olympics
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
.
Rafer Johnson
Rafer Johnson
Rafer Lewis Johnson is an American former decathlete and film actor.-Biography:Johnson was born in Hillsboro, Texas, but the family moved to Kingsburg, California, when he was nine. For a while, they were the only black family in the town. A versatile athlete, he played on Kingsburg High School's...
led the scoring for team champion UCLA. Johnson scored 16 of UCLA's 55-7/10 points with second-place finishes in the broad jump and high hurdles. Johnson went on to win the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1960 Summer Olympics
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
.
The one American record that was broken at the meet was in the 800-meter run. Arnie Sowell
Arnie Sowell
Arnold M. Sowell is a former middle distance runner from the United States, who represented his native country at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. He is best known for winning the gold medal in the men's 800 metres event during the 1955 Pan American Games in Mexico City...
of the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
set the new American mark with a time of 1:46.7.
Team scoring
1. UCLA – 55-7/102. Kansas - 50
3. University of Southern California – 34½
4. Michigan State – 29
5. Abilene Christian – 25
6. Villanova – 24
7. Oregon – 20
8. Michigan – 19-7/10
9. Oklahoma A&M – 19
10. Manhattan - 17
Track events
100-meter dash1. Bobby Morrow, Abilene Christian – 10.4
2. Dave Sime, Duke – 10.6
3. Agostini, Fresno State – 10.6
110-meter high hurdles
1. Lee Calhoun
Lee Calhoun
Lee Quincy Calhoun was an American athlete, a double winner of 110 m hurdles at the Olympic Games....
, North Carolina College – 13.7
2. Rafer Johnson
Rafer Johnson
Rafer Lewis Johnson is an American former decathlete and film actor.-Biography:Johnson was born in Hillsboro, Texas, but the family moved to Kingsburg, California, when he was nine. For a while, they were the only black family in the town. A versatile athlete, he played on Kingsburg High School's...
, UCLA – 13.8
3. Looween, Mankato State – 14.0
200-meter dash
1. Bobby Morrow, Abilene Christian – 20.6
2. Blair, Kansas – 21.0
3. Whilden, Texas – 21.2
400-meter dash
1. Jesse Mashburn
Jesse Mashburn
Jesse William Mashburn is a former American athlete, winner of gold medal in 4x400 m relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics....
, Oklahoma A&M – 46.4
2. Haines, Penn – 46.6
2. Jenkins, Villanova – 46.6
2. Ellis, UCLA – 46.6
400-meter hurdles
1. Lewis, Notre Dame – 51.0
2. Glenn Davis, Ohio State – 51.4
3. Thompson, Rice – 51.8
800-meter run
1. Arnie Sowell
Arnie Sowell
Arnold M. Sowell is a former middle distance runner from the United States, who represented his native country at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. He is best known for winning the gold medal in the men's 800 metres event during the 1955 Pan American Games in Mexico City...
, Pittsburgh – 1:46.7
2. Stanley, San Jose State – 1:49.2
3. Brew, Dartmouth – 1:50.5
3. Johnson, Abilene Christian – 1:50.5
1,500-meter run
1. Ron Delany
Ron Delany
Ronald Michael Delany , better known as Ron or Ronnie is a former Irish athlete, who specialised in middle distance running.Born in Arklow, Delany moved with his family to Dublin when he was 6...
, Villnova – 3:47.3
2. Bailey, Oregon – 3:47.4
3. Sid Wing, Univ. South. Calif. – 3:49.7
3,000-meter steeplechase
1. Kennedy, Michigan State – 9:16.5
2. Matza, BYU – 9:17.2
3. Kielstrup, Michigan – 9:34.4
5,000-meter run
1. Bill Dellinger, Oregon – 14:48.5
2. Jim Beatty
Jim Beatty
James Tully Beatty is a former American track and field athlete who is best remembered as the first person to break the four-minute mile barrier on an indoor track when he ran 3:58.9 on February 10, 1962 in Los Angeles, California.Beatty graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel...
, North Carolina – 14:51.1
3. Jones, Michigan State – 14:52.2
Field events
Broad jump1. Bell, Indiana – 25 feet, 4 inches
2. Rafer Johnson, UCLA - 25 feet, 4 inches
3. Floerke, Kansas – 24 feet, 5 inches
High jump
1. Reavis, Villanova – 6 feet, 8¼ inches
1. Lang, Missouri – 6 feet, 8¼ inches
1. Dyer, UCLA – 6 feet, 8¼ inches
Pole vault
1. Bob Gutowski
Bob Gutowski
Robert Allen "Bob" Gutowski was an American athlete who competed mainly in the Pole Vault. He competed for the United States in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia in the Pole Vault where he won the silver medal behind Bob Richards' second consecutive gold medal, after finishing...
, Occidental – 14 feet, 8 inches
1. Graham, Oklahoma A&M – 14 feet, 8 inches
3. Levack, Univ. South. Calif. – 14 feet, 4 inches
3. Landstrom, Michigan – 14 feet, 4 inches
Discus throw
1. Drummond, UCLA – 173 feet, 1/2 inch
2. Vick, UCLA – 171 feet, 5 inches
3. Babka, Univ. South. Calif. – 170 feet, 9½ inches
Javelin
1. Conley, Cal Tech – 239 feet, 11 inches
2. Maijala, Univ. South. Calif. – 229 feet, 10 inches
3. Bitner, Kansas – 223 feet, 11½ inches
Shot put
1. Bantum, Manhattan – 60 feet, 1/2 inch
2. Bill Nieder
Bill Nieder
William Henry Nieder is an American athlete who mainly competed in the shot put. He was born in Hempstead, New York....
, Kansas – 57 feet, 3⅛ inches
3. Owen, Michigan – 57 feet, 2/3 inch
Hammer throw
1. McWilliams, Bowdoin – 195 feet, 3 inches (new NCAA meet record)
2. Hall, Cornell – 193 feet, 8½ inches
3. Morefield, MIT – 193 feet, 2 inches
Hop, step and jump
1. Sharp, West Chester St. – 50 feet, 4¾ inches
2. Floerke, Kansas – 49 feet, 6¼ inches
3. Davis, LaSalle – 49 feet, 3¼ inches
See also
- Athletics at the 1956 Summer OlympicsAthletics at the 1956 Summer OlympicsAt the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, 33 athletics events were contested, 24 for men and 9 for women. There were a total number of 720 participating athletes from 61 countries.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-References:**...
- NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipNCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field ChampionshipThe NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate outdoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It has three divisions: Division I, II, and III. Athlete's individual performances earn points for their institution and...