When Did High School Track Begin In Chatham-Kent: Part II
The following is a two part series from local sports historian Larry Lahey, focusing on track and field in Chatham-Kent. The selections are excepts from Lahey’s book, ‘The History of Kent County High School Sports’, which is available at two locations in Chatham, Lenover Quality Meats on Park Ave. East, and the Instant Print Shoppe on Richmond Street.
For the first half of this story, Read Part I Here
Outstanding local track athletes: Keith Crummer, competing for CCI in 1929-30 won six events at the county track meet and set a pole vault record that lasted 59 years. Crummer represented Canada in the first-ever British Empire Games (now called the Commonwealth Games) in 1930. Beryl Nurse (later Mrs. Richard Ivey) while at CCI dominated local track meets and while fourteen years of age won the junior broad jump at the Canadian women’s track championships. In 1940-41 Beryl set a Kent County junior girls’ long jump record that lasted 53 years.
Max Lenover, while attending CCI and Chatham Vocational School, set Ontario and Canadian high school records in the 440 and 880 yd events. He would later represent Canada in the British Empire Games of Jack Parry of Windsor Sandwich S.S. (later to become Forster S.S.) won WOSSA sprints in 1940 and 1941.
At this time WOSSA was the largest athletic association in Ontario and since there was no OFSAA at this time winning at WOSSA was like being the best in Ontario. Jack Parry would later become a medical doctor in Chatham-Kent.
Today high school track meets are held over two days and participants are restricted to three individual events plus relays. In the 1910s male athletes could enter all nine events, all in one day. This was gradually reduced to six events and of course presently it is three events.
High school track and field was very popular during the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s. The whole student body attended the county meet resulting in about 400 students participating and 1500 watching. Mayors and dignitaries often officially opened the track meet. Cheerleaders attended, a band performed, bleachers were full, and there was a parade of cars decked out in school colours that went from downtown Chatham to Kiwanis Stadium. A dance followed the meet at the Kinsmen Auditorium.
All school principals attended the county meet. In a couple occasions when the principals were so proud of their athletes’ achievements they gave the whole student body the next afternoon off school.
Prior to the first county track meet in 1927 girls, when they were allowed to partake, did so in ‘novelty’ events mentioned previously. Slowly they were permitted to enter what we now consider ‘track’ events such as long jump, high jump and sprints. As late as 1949 girls could only enter ‘standing broad jump’, softball throw, high jump, ‘running broad jump’, 75 yd sprint and a 300 yd relay. Eventually girls could enter the ‘basketball speed throw’ (three girls in a triangle formation seeing how many passes they could make in a set time). This event, along with the softball throw and the standing long jump, lasted into the mid 1960s.
Up to 1955 all Kent County schools took part in the county track meet. From 1956 to 1972 ‘A’ and ‘AA’ schools held separate meets. Since 1972 all schools again take part in the same track meet. The last ‘Kent County only’ track meet was held in the spring of 2014. In the spring of 2015, after the new athletic association LKSSAA was formed, both Lambton and Kent athletes take part in the track meet.
This has been a positive change because at the Kent County only track meet an athlete would often be the only competitor in an event.
Unusual happenings:
When track meets were held on horse tracks the 200m race was run in a straight line which would be very unusual today.
In 1939 and 1940 the county track meet was held at Athletic Park which is now Fergie Jenkins Field at Rotary Park on Tweedsmuir Ave. in Chatham.
For two years only, 1940 and 1941, girls took part in a three person chariot race with two pulling and one riding.
In 1945 student Lloyd Deane, who had no right arm, won the long jump event.
When John McGregor S.S. and Tecumseh S. S. were junior highs (grade 9 and 10 only) from 1957 to 1964, they joined with CVS and CCI respectively to form one team each for the county track meet.
Petrolia High School, known now as LCCVI (Lambton Central Collegiate and Vocational Institute) often competed in the Kent County track meet and in fact twice hosted the meet. West Elgin S.S. competed in the Kent County track meets from 1952 until 1967 when the Kent County Board of Education was formed. Interestingly Tilbury District High School competed in Essex County track meets until it became part of the Kent County Board of Education in 1967.
In 1959 25-30 Chatham city employees worked all day the day before the Kent meet to get the cinder track at Kiwanis Stadium in shape after a week of rain.
In 1965-66 Dave Hodge reported on the county track meet while working for the Chatham Daily News. Hodge went on to host Hockey Night in Canada for years and is now host of the TSN show, The Reporters.
From 1927 until 1966 (39 years) there was a juvenile division (under 15 years of age AND under 100 pounds) for boys only in addition to the midget, junior and senior divisions.
In 1969-70 the metric system was used for the first time i.e. 100 yards became 100 metres.
The first track meet held on an all-weather track was in 1978-79 at UCC.
Tom Baetsen of BDHS broke in 1987-88 the 59 year-old pole vault record held by Keith Crummer. In 1992-93 Sarah Newham of JMSS broke the 53 year-old running long jump record held by Beryl Nurse.