V. 1 #16 Facts about the University of Cincinnati Track & Field and Cross Country Part 1 of 3; 1892-1949

V. 1  #16    Facts about the University of Cincinnati Track & Field and Cross Country

Part 1 of 3; 1892-1949

Compiled by Bill Schnier and UC Sports Information Department

1892

The first official track team sanctioned by the University is started.  Football is the only older sport on the Clifton campus.

1896-1999

UC has been affiliated with eight separate conferences:

Ohio Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1896-1909)

Ohio Athletic Conference (1910-25)

Buckeye Conference (1925-37)

Mid-American Conference (1946-53)

Missouri Valley Conference (1957-70)

Metro Conference (1975-91)

Great Midwest Conference (1991-95)

Conference USA (1995-2005)

1897

The University of Cincinnati united with other colleges from Ohio to form a committee making the State Intercollegiate meet possible. UC was represented at this meet.

1898

Adna L. Innes set a new record in the 220-yard dash in a time of 23 3/5 seconds.

Chas E. Salmon set two new field records including the running broad jump (20'1") and the running hop, step, jump (42' 4.5").

1899

The track team did not materialize, and the field day was not held following a problem arranging dual meets.

1900

Captain Harry Burk died May 6, 1900.

Five track team members made the first ever "C" honor roll for recording a first place finish.

A new plan for field days was adopted, resulting in a tri-meet against Miami University (OH) and Ohio State. UC placed first.

1901

War debts closed the fields thus displacing the track team and making it impossible to hold intercollegiate meets. An inter-class field day was held instead.

1906

The first mention of an actual coach (other years only mentioned the captains and managers) was John A. Davis.

1907

Stowe D. Baldwin was captain, and H.F. Koening Jr. was manager.

1908

Two dual meets were scheduled, although one was cancelled due to bad weather. Miami was victorious in the other meet.

1909

UC placed first in the Celts Meet. Helbig was captain; Brown was manager.

1910

Scheduled meets are listed, but results are not reported. Johnson was manager.

UC competed in an intercollegiate meet against Miami (OH) and Butler University.

1911

Ralph Belsinger, nicknamed "eight stride," became the first African-American track member. He would run until 1915. Manager was James W. Pottenger. Barr was Captain. 

1912

This group was hailed as one of the strongest team in the Midwest. They set nine new state records in the dual meet against Kentucky College. The relay team beat Miami (OH), Ohio State, and Ohio Wesleyan during the Y.M.C.A. Carnival Meet.

1913

Cincinnati finished third in both the Y.M.C.A and the C.A.A.F meets.

1915

This could have been considered the best team in history (up to this point), but events were limited due to the war. Won all the local indoor meets, but lost to Ohio University. No outdoor meets were scheduled.

Coach Broadbeck was there from 1915-1916.

1916

UC placed second to Ohio State in Carson Field Meet (at home).

Tommy Rodgers set a new record in the 1/4 mile, finishing the race in 50 3/4 seconds. He also equaled a state record in the Big Six Meet.

Rypins lowered the two mile record to 10:20, while the relay team set a new record of 3:28 3/5.

1917

Oliver Nikoloff was the longest tenured track and field coach at UC (1917-1959).  He taught and coached (basketball, tennis, track and field, and cross-country) at UC for 42 years.  There was a time when Nick and the AD were the entire UC athletic department. An annual track meet, named after him, is held on campus each spring. During World War II the Bearcats did not field a team so Coach Nikoloff trained soldiers for the U.S. Army instead.

Oliver Nikoloff

1918

The first UC conference championship team was in 1918.

The team beat Ohio Wesleyan for the first time ever.

They won the Ohio Intercollegiate Cross Country Championships.

1919

Cincinnati beat Ohio Wesleyan for the second year in the row, and placed first in an indoor triangular meet. They also tied for fourth in the Big Six.

Mittendorf set a new varsity record.

1920

The team was hindered by poor field conditions, but they did manage to down Miami in the final meet of the season.

1921

Beating Indiana and Georgetown, the track team qualified 10 members to the "C" honor roll. They also tied for fourth in the Y.M.C.A Carnival Meet.

1922

Due to low interest, UC failed to win a meet. They placed fourth in the Big Six Meet, however, and "Big Joe" Linneman set a new state record in the 16-pound shot, throwing it 44' 51/2".

1923-24

First year Head Coach, George McLaren implemented drastically different training techniques transforming the Bearcat team. Practice was held five miles away on a high school track, forcing the team to show their dedication and determination just to get there.

There was rarely more than a ten-point margin between UC and their competitors, allowing them to be viewed as tough opposition by the end of the season. The Bearcats placed third in the Y.M.C.A meet, then after losing a close meet to Denison, smashed Ohio University. Georgetown College then fell to the Bearcats, at home. After a loss to Miami, UC placed third in the Big Six Meet.

1925

The Bearcat relay team placed third in the Triangular Meet, second in the YMCA Meet, and first in the Cincinnati Gym Meet. As a team, UC downed Georgetown and Ohio University.

Yarwood broke three records during the season.

1926

George McLaren completed his stretch as Head Coach in style as the team posted their best finish up to this point. The Bearcats went undefeated in dual meet competition, and finished third in the Buckeye Meet, with the runners scoring more points than any other school.

The relay team broke a school record in the fourth place finish in the Big Six Meet, but because they didn't win the race, the mark didn't count. Back then the policy for a UC athlete to establish a school record was that not only did they have to surpass all previous school marks, but they also had to place first in the meet competition.

Ralph Bennett twice equaled world records for the curved track mark in the 220-yard dash. He won every race he entered. His new school record for the 220 was 21.3 seconds, a mark that would stay among the school’s top10 all time performances through the end of the century.

1928-29

Ralph Bursick set a record in the 120 high hurdle race with a time of 15.6 seconds. It remained untouched for the next 13 years.

1930

Oliver Nikoloff again was the coach.

The first meet of the season was held indoors against Ohio University.

Although the team struggled against injuries all season, the Bearcats posted a stellar performance against Kenyon University, winning 111-6. During that match, UC took every first place, and all but one second.

The team placed fifth in the Buckeye Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (BIAC).

1930-31

Charles Kinsley led the Bearcats to a fifth place finish in the BIAC Meet. Kinsley finished first in the 100 and 220-yard dashes in every meet but one.

John Fleming was the leading scorer on the field team, winning the high jump against both Ohio University and with a height of 6'1" against DePauw.

As a team, UC posted seven first-place finishes against Denison.

1931-32

Seven records were set during the BIAC meet, including a 12' 5.25" vault by Marshall of Cincinnati, who led the Bearcats to a fifth place finish.

UC also defeated Denison with a score of 79-52 during the second dual meet of the season.

Curley Metz was the high scorer for Cincinnati, setting a new school record by throwing the discus 125'6".

The team lost a close meet to Carnegie Tech due to a technicality. Located in Pittsburgh, Carnegie Tech participated under different rules than did UC. The Carnegie coach insisted on including the hammer throwing event, even though it was not an event UC had ever participated, and garnered nine unanswered points, giving them the small victory by a score of 70 1/3-69 2/3.

1934

London Gant set a new school record in the Javelin, tossing it 193' 0". It is still ranked on the UC all-time top-10 list. He held the UC javelin record for 40 years until Phil Scott topped it in 1974.  Gant also played basketball for the Bearcats.  He was the second African-American to do so.

1937

Now under the guidance of Coach Chic Mileham, UC beat Hanover College, and placed fourth in the BIAC Meet. James Ritz placed second in the two-mile race at the BIAC, and Cannon won the Mile. Larry Gibboney showed well for the field team, placing fourth in the discus.

1938

The Bearcats beat Hanover for the second consecutive year.  William Hopkins who won the 220, the 440, and anchored the winning relay team led them.

Henry Winkler, also a member of the track and field team, ran under 50 seconds for the 440.  He served as the 23^rd president of UC (1977-84). During his presidency he helped transition UC from being a city to a state university thus saving it from near-bankruptcy.  He was the only UC president who was also a UC graduate (1938).

1940

Head Cross Country coach Oliver Nikoloff again took over at the helm, and guided the team to a win in the Tri-Meet vs. Wittenberg and Dayton. He instilled a new recruiting system, aiding in the addition of high school stars and local standouts to the roster for following years.

Coach Nikoloff

1940-41

Freshmen were able to compete on varsity for the first time, aiding the Bearcats in wins over Hanover College, and Berea College. Cincinnati placed fifth in the All-Ohio meet, beating Ashland and Dayton Universities.

1941-42

Willie Stargel tied a record set in 1929 in the 120 high hurdles. Stargel finished the race in 15.6 seconds.  Willard was a star football and basketball players as well as an outstanding track athlete.  Coach Nikoloff once said that the best all-round athlete that he ever coached was Stargell.  Stargel was the third African-American to play basketball for UC. Stargel set the 440-yard hurdle record, which lasted until his son broke it. 

Will started studying at UC in 1941.  Then he served in the military during WWII.  After returning to UC on the GI Bill he resumed his athletic career.  In '46, Stargel again gave the African-American population reason to rally after returning from the armed forces to rejoin the football team. It was a memorable year with the Bearcats opening the season with an upset of Big Ten champs Indiana, finishing with an 8-2 record and receiving a bid to play in the Sun Bowl in El Paso.

Unfortunately, other memories turned into nightmares. Stargel had to sit out the Kentucky game because opponents refused to take the field with him, and then Sun Bowl officials barred UC from playing with him. Enraged, UC President Raymond Walters asked the Board of Trustees to refuse the bowl bid for "ethical and patriotic reasons." A power struggle ensued, and local citizens began choosing sides. Walters lost, the Bearcats won, and the university suffered.

Willard Stargel, #13;

1948

Posted a 2-1 dual record, placing third in the Tri-Meet, and fifth in the Mid-American Conference Meet.

The freshmen produced a strong team, defeating freshman teams from Ohio University and Miami (OH).

1949

Won two dual meets, and finished second in two Tri-Meets. Placed fourth in the Mid-American Conference Meet, and first in the Cincinnati area AAU Meet.

The 880-relay team set a new school record, finishing the race in 1:32.0.

1950

Donald Fisher set a record in the tri-meet against Butler and Western Michigan. Fisher threw the shot put 48'5 3/4".

The Bearcats placed fifth as a team in the Conference Meet. The highlight of the year was a 98-24 victory over Xavier. Cincinnati captured 12 of 14 first places in that meet.