Happy Birthday To The Original Rusty Boot

Happy Birthday Bill Whittaker!

Hugh Hamill, Bill Whittaker and Coach Groves. 1980-something. 

A Penn State Track Royal Flush!

The recent Reunion and Golf Tourney attracted more alumni (golfers) than ever before.  Among them were some key players in what makes our group so great!

This is our group's Royal Flush, even though the poker tourney never really happened!  That's Greg Fredericks, Mike Sands, Mike Shine and Coach Bill Whittaker joining Coach Groves at the Friday night get-together.  That's 4 Olympians in one pic.  And remember Coach Whittaker once held the PSU decathlon record and donated his javelin boots to make The Rusty Boot! 

The Rusty Boot Is In Good Hands

The "Rusty Boot" is our newest annual award given at the Alumni Reunion.  It is meant to represent the very best in all Nittany Lions.  Although the criteria are vague (almost ephemeral!) at this point, the first two recipients are certainly among the very best Nittany Lions ever.

Last year, the award went to Coach Groves himself.  And the boot was placed prominently at Coach's residence in State College for all visitors to peruse.

This year the award went to Coach Gary Schwartz, long-time Men's Assistant Coach and former Head Coach of the women's team.  Even though he went on to coach elsewhere, there is still a tinge of blue in his blood.  It was wonderful having him at all the reunion events this year!

And since Coach Groves was somewhat upset that the boot was taken from his residence for the presentation, Coach Schwartz gallantly returned it to Coach Groves' residence immediately following the presentation!  Anyone can see the bronzed javelin boot of Assistant Coach Bill Whittaker when they visit Coach Groves.

Coach Gary Schwartz and the Rusty Boot.

Coach Groves Gets Some All-American Visits During Olympics Time

In addition to the daily visit from our own All-American Course Monitor Greg Fredericks, Coach Groves also received some additional visits from several others while enjoying some fine Olympics Track and Field Action this weekend.

Here Coach shows off our group's highest honor, The Rusty Boot, to Steve Balkey and Steve Shisler, among others.  Bob Hudson was also around.

Fill me in on who the others are!

News from Steve Balkey, always right on top of things:  That's David McMillen, center, a formidable 1500M to 10K runner from South Africa, and Randy Moore, right!  I was ashamed to not recognize Randy, but I haven't seen him in quite a while.  Wonder if he remembers that great Christmas Party in Center City Philly we had in 1984-1985 or so?  And I'll bet he doesn't recognize me either!

And Phil Caraher and family made the long trip from North Carolina to see Coach.

Phil Caraher with a new T-Shirt!

But that wasn't all for Phil, as he apparently went golfing with Coach Bill Whittaker.  I have always said that it just isn't fair practicing for the next Coach Groves Tournament!

Coach Groves Was The Recipient Of The First Ever "Rusty Boot" Award

We introduced a new award to the mix at the latest Reunion and Golf Tournament.  The Rusty Boot is meant to symbolize all that is good about Penn State Track and Field and Cross Country.

We had tried to discover the origins of the Rusty Boot team cheer and had traced it all the way back into the 60's without ever finding out more than that.  But when Coach Bill Whittaker opined that he had the original pair of rusty boots, I was intrigued.  And he certainly had what one can describe as one gnarly pair of Adidas javelin spikes.  With 1" spikes in both front and back, I likened them to the velociraptors of track spikes.

I devised a plan to turn them into an award for the Reunion which would represent the highest pinnacle any of us could attain.  So I sent one of them off to be bronzed and crossed my fingers, as the process isn't always successful.  But I received the beauty just in time to bring it to the Reunion last week.  All thanks must go to Coach Whittaker.

Behold, The Rusty Boot!  I will try to get Greg Fredericks to take a picture of the actual spikes as it resides at Coach Groves' residence in State College.  Visit Coach some time to see it in-person.

Notes From The Reunion Weekend

1. The meal by PSU catering at the Indoor Complex was one of the best I have ever had at an event like ours.  The BBQ 1/2 chickens and ribs were complimented by several sauces, the raspberry chipotle being my favorite.  The mac and cheese was the absolute best I have ever had.  Even the salads were esquisite to this "occasional" salad eater!  The open bar kept many in the best of moods. Desserts were "to die for".
2. I couldn't fly the drone Airship 800U outside on Saturday because of the rain, but it did get some Thursday and Friday flights at the track with great results.  And I flew it indoors at the Ashenfelter Complex before the Alumni "Run" and only crashed it while landing!
3. Coach Groves came to all the events with his private chauffeur and had a wonderful time.
4. The rain didn't daunt the golfers among us.  Thirty-one of the thirty-two who signed up braved the conditions for the duration.  There was even sleet at the finish, just to welcome all of us home to State College.
5. We all are trying to make next year's event over-the-top great!  We will attempt to arrange the whole thing during the PSU hosting of the Big Ten Outdoor Track Championships next year.  That may even free up some of you who can't come normally because of High School District Meets.  Stay tuned...
6. Some of you had some nice things to say to me about the blog and all of our efforts to unite all 1,500 or so PSU Track and Field Alumni.  I thank all of you for helping to spread the word.  It is starting to have a real effect!
7. Tim Backenstose went out of his way to present to me a framed pic of me in the Penn Relays Marathon in 1979 (He won the whole thing!).  He needed the help of a professional photo enhancement specialist in Hollywood to pull it off.  It means more to me than he can ever know. It will be on display in my treadmill room along with my Rec Hall lockers and Letter certificate signed by both Coach Groves and Joe Paterno.  Thank you Tim!!!
8. Coach Groves received the very first presentation of the "Rusty Boot", an award symbolizing everything that's good about PSU Track and Field and Cross Country.  This was made by bronzing one of Coach Bill Whittaker's javelin spikes from 1970, a quite gnarly sight.
9. Coach Gondak received an Alumni Singlet through the efforts of our Faucon 'de Orange Mark Hawkins.  This was only the second such special singlet given out with the word Coach in the lower bar.  We all thanked him for having the Penn Relays 4 x 800M winning team wear the throwback singlets for the Championship of America race.
10. With the constant rain all day Saturday, we forgot to place the markers for the specialty holes on the course, so we don't have Closest to the Pin, Longest Putt, Longest Drive winners this year.  But I'm pretty sure all of those winners were in my threesome.  Nick K. won the closest to the pin, Clark Haley won the Longest Drive and I won the Longest Putt.  And I have the Golden Putter to prove it!
11. Those usually in charge of the Coach Groves Golf Tourney Championship Cup forgot it at the track after the event and it was retrieved by our Chief Laundry Officer and given to Tim Backenstose for safe keeping.  Thus, Tim is now our Keeper of the Cup, a title of honor in our group.  Tim also won the "Rob Whiteside" Brotherhood Award for actually golfing with us despite hating golf more than I do!  Rob Whiteside was unable to attend the event, as he just had passed into New Jersey during his through-hike of the Appalachian Trail.  This was the only certified excuse for missing the event.  Others take warning.  

Turns out that The Cup was left behind on purpose by The Keeper of the Cup Harry Smith so that Owen Dawson would place it in a display for all to see year round at the Track Facility!  There is no Idiot quite like a Track Alumni Idiot Officer, me included!

All photos stolen from Hanna Humphries and Jim McClelland!

Most of the attending Alumni.

Beth Shisler, Doreen Statare McCoubrie, Vivian Riddick, Elaine LaFramboise Pino, Hanna Humphries.

The Mall

Coach Groves, the Ladies Man!

Coach Jordan, center.

The Alumni "Run" was well attended.

Fun despite the rain! Eric Schwartz, Don Ziter, Jim McClelland and Coach Gondak.

Coach Groves, center court, with his chauffeur.

Kierrun O'Brien.

Coach Gondak with a Penn Relays Wheel!

Coach Groves with the Rusty Boot.

A Very Good Day At The Penn State National

I had the pleasure to spend a long amount of time with some of my favorite people yesterday at the Penn State National Indoor Meet.  Having to be dropped off nearly an hour early for the meet so the girls could attend the PSU Student Housing  Expo at the HUB, I was pleased to see that Greg Fredericks brought Coach Groves early too!

I had the pleasure to speak with Coach and Greg for an extended time.  It is wonderful to see that Coach is happy in his new residence, relates the food as "good" and only occasionally gets into trouble.  About exactly as any of us would figure.

Greg also delivered the raw materials that will become the ultimate PSU Track Alum Annual Award at our Reunion and Coach Groves Golf Tourney weekend.  Coach Bill Whittaker is commended for donating the item for our cause.  You all will enjoy the item's unveiling at the next Awards Dinner.

I also got to talk to Steve Shisler. whose son Alex Shisler finished 3rd in the 400M Invitational!  Beth Shisler could not be there, as she had traveled "for work".  That same excuse becomes mine next week when I miss the Sykes and Sabock Challenge and Coaches Reception.  I will be at the meeting of the Association of Miserable Curmudgeons while the rest of you enjoy yourselves.

Tim Backenstose made a surprise appearance and got to see a very fine 800M with Brannon Kidder and 3 other top NCAA finalists duke it out on the Ashenfelter Oval.  Brannon topped them all with a 1:47.01 time, near the top of this year's qualifying marks.  We both also witnessed a school record 1-Mile by Tori Gerlach with a 4:37.83, eclipsing Bridget Franek's previous record.

But my favorite part of the day was convincing the energetic dynamo Billy Francis Cvecko to become a contributor to the blog!  With his criss-crossing of the Continent and his millions of friends, he can't help but be a boon to our efforts. He isn't our Undersecretary of Fun for nothing!

I always thought there was a chance that Billy WAS the Lion until I finally saw them both in the same room.

 

Coach Groves Gets Back On His Feet

It's only a matter of time until my a$$ is kicked!

Coach Whittaker, last year's foursome captain of the oldest group to ever golf in the Coach Groves Golf Tourney, paid Coach Groves a visit and brings us good news.

Coach Groves has adjusted well to his new surroundings.  He is feeling much better.  He is stronger and eating better following his injuries and illnesses.  Let's hope you never find out how hard that is!   Although Bill reports he is not yet chasing nurses.  He relates that Coach was very pleased with the giant get well card from the team I reported on earlier.  And despite the image you may have of him, he relishes the attention we bestow on him at our annual reunion and golf tourney.  He also delights in visits from the universe of PSU track and field and cross country.  Consider a visit to Coach.  It will cheer you and him up, I'm sure.

Coach Bill Whittaker and Coach Groves in "Suburban" State College.

The "Lucy" of Rusty Boots Has Been Found in the Rift Valley

As many of you may know, Lucy is the name given to the mother of all modern humans.  Discovered in the Rift Valley by Louis Leakey in 1974, the 100 or so fragments of Australopithecus skeleton represents the earliest known ancestor of Mankind.*

Well, we may have come as close to the origins of Rusty Boots, as Leakey came with his 1974 discovery.  And our Louis Leakey, Coach Bill Whittaker himself, relates his find dates to 1972.  In this case, the Rift Valley is Bill's garage rafters.

But, for the first time, here's our "original Rusty Boots".!

"Rusty Boots" are in fact javelin spikes.  And this model is the actual boot referred to by the originators of the chant we all know.  Notice that the 5/8" talons are actually rusty!  And make for excellent purchase on a rain-soaked and muddy javelin runway. And like Velociraptors, there are spikes everywhere!

Maybe we can make these another rotating prize at the Coach Groves Golf Tourney for the MVP of the winning foursome or something?

*Except in my hometown of Dover, PA.

DFL*: But Not a Loser In The Bunch

The random draw this year was truly random.  Which is all well and good until YOU are assigned to the Methuselah Foursome!

At least I was the youngest member of the oldest foursome ever to chew up the links at our tournament.  Unfortunately,I was also the worst golfer amongst the group.  My 4 good shots all day weren't enough to drag our group from the bottom of the pile at (+9).*  We even managed 5 straight bogies to finish the round.  That's something quite difficult to accomplish with the Best Ball Format.

skwilli, Hugh Hamill, Coach Groves, Howie Triebold and Bill Whittaker.

My foursome combined me with some excellent people, all of whom support the blog with content and readership. Hugh Hamill, Howie Triebold and Coach Bill Whittaker all are better golfers than I, and deserve better than I gave them.  But, it was great to spend 5 hours with them on Saturday, thrashing at a damn little white ball, over and over and over...    You get the drift.

And they all finally supplied me with the missing link to the origins to the story of "Rusty Boots".  As soon as I can firm down names and obtain some photos, we'll have the scoop of the century.  Well, a scoop anyway.

* We were tied with another group, but claim the last spot anyway.

The Old School Stopwatch Still Runs

These two PSU Track and Field Retirees look in very good shape to me.  One could still kick your butt when you misbehave and the other used to be a decathlete!

Coach Bill Whittaker and Coach Groves strike a pose.

Heading into the Championships, the Lady Lions now rank 9th in the Nation, with momentum.

Great Performances #4: Decathlon

The Decathlon has been selected as the Great Performance #4. By that, I mean all PSU Decathletes get the recognition this esteemed prize confers. The decathlon has always intrigued me since attending Frank Zarnowski's Running Camp in 1975. He is the world's expert on the event and has millions of great stories to tell. He also grew up less than a mile from my home.

Past winners of the Great Performance Award include Don Ziter for his fraternity exploits, Vance Watson, Steve Shisler, Chris Mills and Randy Moore for a great 4 X 800 meter Relay, and Greg Fredericks for his NCAA and American Record 10,000 meter in 1972. Heavy emphasis is always placed on their proximity to the Harry Groves Golf Tournament. If they haven't actually participated, they have shown interest or attended the reunion. The decathlon selection is no different, as there are numerous PSU Track Alumni Golf concurrences.

Prior to my time, the decathlon record was held by Coach Bill Whittaker, one of last year's five champions, (don't ask how that's possible with foursomes!) Numerous decathlon event records are held by Rick Kleban and Tom Kleban, both have attended our reunion numerous times. The overall event record is held by Rick Kleban. And past PSU phenom and PSU Track Alumni Golfer Ryan Olkowski placed 11th at last year's Olympic Trials. We would love to have him again next year, with the rest of his foursome! (Just kidding Ryan, give us a ring.)

PSU decathlon records: First Day: Dave Masgay, 1987, 3,931 pts.
Second Day: James Cook, 1996 3,774 pts.
Total: Rick Kleban, 1985, 7,685 pts.

PSU decathlon event records:
100 meters: 11.01, Rick Kleban 1985, 858 points.
Long Jump: 23'7.25" Dave Masgay, 1987, 1170 pts.
Shot Put: 48' 9.5" Barry Walsh, 1989, 782 pts.
High Jump: 6' 8" , Barry Walsh, 1989, 831 pts.
400 meters: 47.65, Brian Kelley, 1991, 926 pts.
4,567 First Day
110 meter HH: 14.45, Rick Kleban, 1987, 917 pts.
Discus: 155' 3" James Cook, 1997, 815 pts.
Pole Vault: 16' 2" Rick Kleban, 1985, 892 pts.
Javelin: 206' 2" Shawn Colligan, 2008, 781 pts.
1500 meter: 4:21.05 Tom Kleban, 1989, 804 pts.
4,209 Second Day
8,776 Total

All you distance guys!! Give me your PR's in all the events in the comments, and let's see how we compare. Have any of you actually pole vaulted?

A Mish-Mash of Topics:

1. Former Champion Coach Bill Whittaker '73 golfed in the Kevin Dare Golf Tournament on Monday afternoon and brought our group up in discussions with Jess Riden, Director of PSU Track and Cross-Country. Thank you, to Coach Whittaker! Jess has responded with a nice offer of up-to-date PSU records and email lists, which will help us immensely. She is, in turn, letting Coach Sullivan know about our presence and promises to help in our reunion efforts! She apparently did not recol in horror upon viewing our web-site (as it is) for the first time. The physics references probably threw her off at first, but then again physics is my secret passion. I don't expect anyone to understand.

2. Former Champion and 1500m Record Holder Steve Balkey '88 will also be spreading the good word of PSU Track Alumni Golf to the 90's and 00's guys at the Penn State National XC meet on Friday, Oct. 17. Lets wish him well in the task and hope he doesn't strain anything important.

3. Keep all our Track alum brethren embroiled in the current financial crisis in your thoughts. While the current situation affects us all, many of our compatriots derive their living in the field. Let's hope our congress doesn't add to the problem by undertaking another money grab as they often do!* There are no good guys in this mess, just worse and worser guys. And the rest of us who have to pick up the pieces.

4. The last 3 sleeves of Noodle Ice balls are up for grabs. Signs ups are already at 13 (more than last year already!). With the upcoming ability to contact new track alums, I'm betting the last 3 sleeves will go fast. I may purchase some additional balls for the laggards in our group, but they would only recieve 1 measly ball. And 3 balls are better than 1, especially if you are fond of hitting ponds, lakes, creeks and out-of-bounds like I am. I try to make a 6000 yard course into a 10k if at all possible. Update: We are down to 1 Sleeve of Noodles left!

5. Calvin's preferred breakfast cereal is indeed Chocolate-Frosted Sugar Bombs.

6. Join Larry Mangan as a follower of the official PSU Track and Field Alumni golf blog!

*Arbitrary political thoughts are frowned upon by the officers of the group. Although I was confirmed prescient in my analysis, as Barney Frank and the boys have grabbed the entire US economy from us working stiffs!

Kevin Dare Golf Tourney :

I sent $50 to the Kevin Dare Scholarship fund today in the name of PSU Track and Field Alumni Golf. Today is the Third Annual Kevin Dare Golf Tournament at both the White and Blue Golf Courses. (It would be great if we could fill up both courses in coming years.) Coach Whittaker is currently hitting little white balls all over the hills and dales of University Park, representing our group with esteem, I'm sure. He is a 2008 Champion, (sort of!).

I have always had a healthy respect for pole vaulters since living with Don Skerpon in 1979-80. The combination of strength, speed and technique needed for good vaulting far surpasses any abilities I ever had. When Don switched to a longer pole in 1980, I couldn't even carry it down the runway!

Kevin was a talented vaulter and it is good to know he is being remembered by his family and friends and KevinDare.com. Click on the headline to this post to check out the web site.

Winning Four(Five)some Can't Putt!

In a hideous display of inept putting, the winning four(five)some raise serious questions about the legitimacy of their (-6) score. Judge for yourself. A petition is being circulated asking for a congressional investigation of the scorecard. Harold Ickes has left the Clinton campaign to head the effort. Swarms of lawyers are travelling to Florida to contest the scorecard's hanging chads, and to decide if all absentee alum golfer's votes were counted. Bob Gifford is said to be livid as he was not consulted on the card's signing. Signs saying "Selected Not Elected" have been seen along College Avenue.

End of Universe Narrowly Avoided:

Top physicists argue that the universe was spared yesterday, as the foursome including Coach Harry Groves fell one stroke short of winning his own memorial tournament. If his own name appears on The Cup, they propose, the precise balance of the dark matter comprising
99% of the universe would become unstable. Black holes in the center of the galaxy would then accelerate beyond the speed of light, and all matter would soon become obsolete.

Stephen Hawking was quoted as saying "bweep, dingle, mwoop, borgle, dom", as his voice synthesizer is on the fritz. It is believed to mean he was quite relieved after learning the score.

Overall first place went to the foursome of Clark Haley, Brian Laird/Bill Whittaker, Steve Balkey and Mike McCahill. (Brian Laird had to leave early either to make the Stanley Cup Finals or to meet "clients" at Cafe 210. Inquiries are being made.) A Tournament and Course record of 6-under par place them at the top of this pathetic bunch.

Only one stroke back. the foursome of Paul Mundy, Nick "Special" K, David Baskwill and Coach Groves pushed the leaders in unexpected ways. Coach provided amoral support in the form of four-letter tirades and an uncanny grasp of the rules of golf. An eagle on the par 5 fifth hole was aided by the original Queensbury Rules which state that "Stupid bird-houses on poles are not really barriers to four men with clubs."

Weekend Coordinator Harry Smith's foursome also broke par, despite the fact that Gary Black needed a bag of painkillers just to get to the first tee. He promises next year to bring his bionic, surgically recreated body back for a shot at the title. Post-tournament banquet hosts Steve and Beth Shisler rounded out the game foursome. Stormstown residents are now banding together in order to pass a new noise ordinance to combat the regrettable rowdiness we provided. The recycling center nearby, however, was pleased with the sudden influx of bottles and cans.

Award winners included:

Longest Drive: Beth Shisler (prid'ner near 305 yards) ; prizes included a hybrid club and a Toyota Camry SE

Closest to the pin: Clark Haley (13 feet 10 inches); prizes included a distance-finder and a BMW convertible

Longest Trip: Gary Black (309 miles), Charlottesville, VA; a golf umbrella

Longest Putt: Mike McCahill, 10 feet 10 1/2 inches; a set of iron covers and a Steelers edition pick-up truck

Ghostman Award (Longest time before participating in the event): Coach Groves; a golf hat

Shot-of-the-day: Steve Shisler; a ball retriever, for hitting the parking lot on Hole 9

Rob Whiteside "Brotherhood Award": Coach Groves; a golf book

Numbnutt Award #1: Brian Laird, for leaving early; Spongebob Squarepants golf balls

Numbnutt Award #2: Paul Mundy, for invoking Queensbury Rules; a golf hat

Thanks also to the Honorary Course Marshall for the event Greg Fredericks who allowed the use of rules originally meant for boxing, and his tireless efforts to make putting on Hole 16 memorable. Coach Whittaker is commended for mopping up for Brian Laird on Holes 7-18. We hope to see more Honorary Captains at the next year's event.

Harry Smith performed flawlessly in his first year as Coordinator, providing us with the first smile on Clark Haley's face in 7 years. Clark will continue to enjoy his retirement in the Garden State.

Anything I forgot?