Throw Back Thursday

Friend of the Group (and Coach Groves) Larry Fall sent us this morsel of goodness on the day that Penn Relays finally returns!   No, it isn't from the Relays, but it is pretty tasty anyway.

In the olden days before widespread awareness of the evils of alcohol were apparent (or was it just ignored?) there was a race in State College a little over a mile long which involved up to 7 stops at bars to down a cup of beer.  It was actually a charity event from our Greek friends.  Crowds were enormous and even the police were on the side of the revelers, providing security and safety to the throngs.

There were notable entries from our group involved.  I will never know how Don Ziter pulled off a top level finish while still on the team?  He will be at the Reunion to explain.

But no one was better at the event than Pete Bortolotti.  Greg Frederick's Athletic Attic Store was his sponsor.  He recorded a 5:13 on the 1.1 mile course without spilling a drop. For charity!

Looking at the brochure poster, I think that Bill Clinton made an appearance in the event.  No times could be found.

There Was a Time When the Chief of Police and the Mayor of State College Participated in the Phi Psi 500

Of course, somewhere along the line, a few miscreants took it too far and caused the whole event to be cancelled and relegated to the dustbin of history.  When I asked recently if a "Beer Mile" could be a part of a future Reunion weekend, the responses were fairly even, yes and no.  However, there was a notable underpinning of prohibition-like zealotry from some anonymous sources.  With my vast powers of the inner workings of internetty thingies, I even know who the anonymous people are.  But their secret is safe with me!  And for the record, they do not have a prohibition-like,  teetotaling past either. As in most things, moderation can be the key to happiness.

My vast network of internet friends led me to Larry Fall who has way more memories of the Phi Psi 500 than any of us.  Larry recently retired from IBM and returned to State College.  As a friend of Pete Bortolotti and Charlie Maguire, he has enough bona-fides to make him an honorary PSU Track Alumni (Golfer).  He may not be aware of it, but he's also invited to our Reunion and Golf Tourney in perpetuity!  That's just how we roll.

Here's Larry speaking about the event:

Pete Bortolotti leads with Larry Fall blocked out in the back of the team.

One of my more treasured findings in my foot locker. A shot of my team at the start of the Phi Psi 500 sometime in the late 70s. The only bummer is that I'm the fifth guy and am mostly blocked out of the pic.

For those that don't know, the Phi Psi was a charity beer drinking race run through the streets of State College. Basically, it was a 1.1 mile race where you ran in and out of six bars chugging a beer in each bar. It started and ended at the Phi Psi house on Locust Lane. The race began in 1969 and lasted for about 20 years before it was finally shut down.

In it's heyday it had over 2000 people running and about 20,000 people lining the streets of town watching. Being able to run immediately after chugging a beer is a bit of a unique skill. Not everyone can do it. Those who try almost immediately discover it's a lot harder than it looks. I was fortunate in that it was a talent that seemed almost natural to me - and I got pretty good at it.

The route usually ran from the Phi Psi house on Locust, left onto Foster, right onto Pugh, left onto Beaver at SAE then onto the Phyrst, from the first you backtracked a few yards then turned down the Alley to Rita's (or the TomCat, or Brickhouse, whatever the now torn down bar would have been called that year). From Rita's you continue down to Calder Alley and the My-Oh-My (now the Darkhorse). From the Darkhorse, you continued on to the Skeller, ShandyGaff, then the Brewery. After exiting the Brewery you headed back down Beaver Ave to SAE where you turned back onto Pugh retracing your steps to Phi Psi.

I'm sure my team in the photo won the team division that year because we were stacked. Between the five of us, we probably had around 8 individual championships so there was no way that anyone was going to threaten us. From left to right in the photo: Dennis Gildea, Pete Bortolotti, the late Tod Jeffers, Jim Frye, and me.

— with Dennis Gildea and Pete.

Pete Bortolotti is now a professor in Providence RI and adds this:

Thanks for bringing back some fun and fond memories. I think that was the year I set the record (5:13). Have to make some time to find my way back to SC again soon.

Pete did make it to one of our Reunions a few years ago.

And then there is this about PSU's NCAA 6-mile Champion, Charlie Maguire:

 I remember Charlie winning the 5000 meters at the Penn Relays in '74 or '75, then winning the Phi Psi the following weekend. He said he was more proud of the Phi Psi win than the Penn Relays one.

 This post would not be complete without a nice video from Larry Fall from 1982!